Belgian open source initiative of CO2logic and EnergieID aims to ensure lower CO2 emissions of families and companies Brussels / Berchem, 23 February 2021 - The Belgian companies CO2logic, a pioneer in guiding companies to reduce CO2 emissions, and the online energy monitoring platform EnergieID, launch CO2emissiefactoren.be for a better climate. This initiative should make it possible for companies, governments and individuals to correctly calculate their carbon footprint. Because climate action is urgent, the new website is open source. The initiators are transparent in the emission factors and calculation methods used and make these available free of charge. For example, CO2Logic and EnergieID want to make Belgian families and companies more aware of their CO2 emissions and encourage them to reduce them.

 

Everyone knows that the climate is a hot topic. During the current corona crisis, we are even concretely pressed to the facts: According to the WHO, climate and environment also influence the development and spread of diseases. Belgium endorses the European Commission's target of reducing CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030. Many organizations, initiatives or governments in Belgium currently have the objective of reducing CO2 emissions. The purpose of the website CO2emissiefactoren.be is to publish a widely supported list of emission factors that makes the calculation of a climate print more transparent.

 

Open source

CO2emissiefactoren.be offers an up-to-date list of substantiated emission factors in Belgium, which forms a basis for drawing up and improving the CO2 footprint of households and corporate and government activities. The emission factors are grouped into seven categories: fuels for power generation, fuels for vehicles, heat supply, electricity, refrigerants, freight and passenger transport. “In order to calculate and compare the CO2 footprint of different activities, it is important to establish a common basis ”, say founder Antoine Geerinckx and Jan Janssen of CO2logic. “With this website we want to ensure in an open source way that more and more people have access to the correct CO2 emission factors so that correct calculations can be made to stimulate better and faster climate action. We are transparent in the emission factors and how we calculate CO2 emissions. In addition, the use of the website is completely free.”

 

Uniformity

Vincent Dierickx, co-founder of EnergieID, emphasizes the importance of uniformity in calculating the CO2 footprint of Belgian families and organizations. “Calculating CO2 emissions is a complex matter. For several years now, EnergieID has been confronted with different ways of calculating CO2 emissions for our users based on consumption data, ”he says. “In the Netherlands, there has been a public initiative to standardize calculation methods for some time. We are pleased to have found a partner in CO2logic to launch such an open initiative in Belgium as well. "

Antoine Geerinckx agrees with CO2emissiefactoren.be: “Worldwide, around 40 billion tons of CO2 are emitted per year. This results in a huge climate debt. We hope that companies and organizations will immediately start working on their CO2 emissions through our website. ”

 

In practice
These emission factors are already used, among other things, for the CO2 performance ladder. This is an initiative at the request of the Association of Belgian Contractors of Civil Engineering Works, based on the calculations of CO2logic and EnergieID. Between 2019 and 2022, some 25 pilot projects for major construction works will be launched in Belgium. It is a system that encourages construction companies to reduce their CO2 footprint. Companies that achieve a positive score on that CO2 performance ladder and therefore make more efforts to reduce their CO2 emissions, have a greater chance of winning a public contract. “This is how the authorities integrate sustainability into their purchasing policy,” say Antoine Geerinckx and Jan Janssen.

EnergieID will also make intensive use of the new emission factors in the new version of energieid.be that will be launched at the beginning of March. “This initiative will greatly enhance the transparency and credibility of our CO2 emission calculations!”, Explains Vincent Dierickx.

 

A Belgian collaboration
The independent climate agency CO2logic has specialized for years in calculating, reducing and compensating CO2 emissions. The agency developed the "CO2-NEUTRAL label" (validated by Vinçotte), which guarantees that organizations that also take their responsibility with regard to the remaining climate impact, receive the necessary recognition. “Too many companies and organizations are still talking about climate goals, but are not taking concrete action. The new website should give them a boost ”, say Antoine Geerinckx and Jan Janssen.

EnergieID has also been pursuing better climate targets for years. In 2011, the company started an online monitoring platform with which families and organizations can collect, compare and follow up their data on energy, water, waste and mobility, free of charge and safely. Both companies are trying to encourage everyone to accelerate climate action.

Visit the website CO2emissiefactoren.be.