What does this mean for individuals and businesses?

For individuals

• Most of your footprint is carbon dioxide from electricity, fuel and travel, but food adds methane and nitrous oxide.
• Get your air conditioner serviced by trained technicians and ask that the refrigerant is recovered, not vented, when it is repaired or scrapped. Leaks of HFCs add up.
• Wasted food that rots in a landfill releases methane, so reducing waste and composting helps.

For businesses

• A greenhouse gas inventory under the GHG Protocol should cover all seven gases that apply to your operations, not only carbon dioxide.
• State which GWP set you used (AR5 or AR6) and keep it the same across years, or recalculate the base year when you switch.
• Keep records of refrigerant purchases and top-ups; for offices, cold stores and food businesses this is often a hidden source of scope 1 emissions.
• Agribusinesses, dairies and food companies should look closely at methane and nitrous oxide, which can be a large share of their footprint.