Carbon Footprinting for Marinas

What is a carbon footprint?

Due to modern society’s dependence on fossil fuels as our primary energy source, most of our activities produce greenhouse emissions (GHGs) — primarily carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂0), and these are causing climate change. Depending on the source of these emissions, we separate them into three types:

Scope 1: Direct emissions. These occur from activities where fossil fuels are burned on-site or within your immediate environment; they can also be caused by refrigeration systems. Common examples in marinas include fuel for vehicles including boats, generators, heating systems, and machinery.

Scope 2: Indirect emissions from electricity use. These arise from the way the electricity you use is produced. They may rely on fossil fuel consumption, but the actual combustion happens off-site.

Scope 3: Indirect emissions in your value chain. Everything you buy or sell has a carbon footprint — from production to disposal. Upstream emissions come from producing items like machinery or construction materials (e.g., cement, which has a high carbon impact). Downstream emissions include fuel sold to clients or waste from chandlery products like rope or packaging.

We standardise all GHG emissions as CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalent) to create a common unit that makes it easier to compare, calculate, and communicate the total impact of different gases on climate change. And this is what we call a Carbon Footprint.

Why should we measure it?

Marinas are often located in sensitive coastal environments, making them particularly vulnerable to climate change effects such as sea-level rise, stronger storms, and ecosystem degradation. By measuring and reducing emissions, marinas contribute to global mitigation efforts and demonstrate a commitment to protecting the marine environment they depend on.

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

This well-known business principle holds true for carbon footprinting. Measuring your carbon emissions provides an important new lens to show the true environmental cost of your business operations — not just in financial terms, but in terms of climate impact.

By quantifying emissions, businesses gain clear visibility into where their greenhouse gases are coming from. This allows you to identify the highest-impact sources and create targeted strategies that focus effort where it matters most. Rather than guessing or applying broad, inefficient measures, carbon footprinting lets you prioritize actions that deliver real reductions. By addressing Scope 3 emissions, a marina is also able to support its clients to reduce their impacts by supplying lower impact products or better waste management systems.

However, it’s also important to recognize that climate change is just one dimension of environmental health. Issues like biodiversity loss, water scarcity, plastic pollution, and ecosystem degradation also demand attention. Carbon footprinting is a powerful tool — but it should be used as part of a broader sustainability approach that considers all aspects of environmental and social responsibility.

How to do it?

Carbon footprinting is a specialised and continually evolving field, and it could be wise to seek professional support. Depending on your needs and resources, this might come in the form of either a consultancy firm with carbon accounting expertise or a purpose-built online software platform. If you plan to have your footprint certified or publicly reported, you’ll also need to undergo third-party auditing to verify the results.

To build your own understanding of the subject there are a lot of resources available. The GHG protocol is the world’s most widely used standard and they offer a variety of training and standards on their website. The French Bilane Carbone method by Ademe is recommended if you’re working in France and they have plenty of French resources. The SME Climate Hub, an initiative of the We Mean Business Coalition, is focused on helping SMEs manage the transition and their website provides measuring tools, case studies and guidance. If you’re a larger organisation or corporate entity you can use this website to understand how to set a Science Based Target to align your business with the Paris Agreement.

Regardless of the support option you choose, it’s important to understand that the bulk of the work lies in data collection, and the accuracy and credibility of your carbon footprint depends heavily on the completeness and quality of the data gathered.

Overview of the steps

1. Define Your Boundaries

Start by setting organizational and operational boundaries i.e., define what you will include in your carbon footprint. This is where you will identify what fits within your Scope 1, 2 & 3 emission categories.

For each category, decide how you will measure the data, where to find it, and who can help. Scope 1 and 2 emissions are usually easy to track through your accounts, using clear units like litres of fuel or kWh of electricity. Scope 3 emissions are trickier. Purchases might come from different teams, and things like staff travel or supplier transport won’t appear in your financial records — you’ll need other ways to collect this information. Plan early. If you wait too long, it may be hard to find accurate data.

2. Put your team in place

Different types of data require different access methods and team support. Identify who can help based on the data you need and set up regular meetings. Consider team training or a climate-focused workshop, such as The Climate Fresk, to build skills and engagement.

3. Collect Data

Work with your team to create templates for gathering the emissions data for each source. Try to do this on a monthly basis to keep on top of it and spot issues as they arrive. Some of these might include fuel purchase records, electricity bills, water usage, waste disposal volumes, visitor and staff commuting data, or supplier delivery logistics.

Tip: Keep data collection simple at first. Use existing invoices and records where possible, you might be surprised how much data you are already collecting.

4. Calculate Emissions

Use the best emission factors for your location (e.g. from the UK Government GHG Conversion or Bilane Carbone for France) to convert your activity data into tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e). Online tools like the Carbon Trust Footprint Calculator or the GHG Protocol's Excel tools can help automate this step.

5. Identify reduction strategies

The most important step is action. The goal of carbon footprinting is to reduce emissions — and that starts with understanding which activity categories have the biggest impact. Share your results with your team and stakeholders and agree on a focused plan with measurable actions.

Switching to a renewable energy supplier — or better, installing on-site renewables — can be an obvious first step, especially if it lets your clients access clean energy too. Marinas can also support the shift to low-carbon boating, so explore local options for clean fuel or electric charging and engage customers as to what they want to see.

6. Communicate

Once you have your plan, communicate it to your team and other stakeholders. It’s important to explain why you are targeting some areas and not others, and this is where having the data from your carbon footprint becomes so important. Keep tracking progress and keep everyone up to date as you reach your targets - and then celebrate your success!

Resources