Carbon handprint value for the service company and its customers
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School of Business |
Master's thesis
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Authors
Date
2023
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Management and International Business (MIB)
Language
en
Pages
106+10
Series
Abstract
Businesses around the world have taken leaps forward in sustainability management, and are increasingly finding ways to show added sustainable value that the business can create through reducing emissions in their value chain. Carbon handprint tool is developed to help communicating the reduction of customers’ carbon footprint through the service or product offered. In order to understand better the utilization of carbon handprint within service business environment, the aim of this qualitative research is to investigate the possibilities of sustainable value creation by adopting the carbon handprint tool within service company’s strategies. Furthermore, the study explores methodologies for effectively measuring the carbon handprint and communicating the results reliably. The research questions were analyzed through 10 interviews with carbon handprint experts and an illustrative case study focusing on EV charging installation and operation service. While the primary data consisted of the interviews, secondary data sources included academic literature and internal documents from the case company. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings show that carbon handprint can create added sustainable value for the service company by involving various stakeholders, as long as the aim of using it is never to overshadow company’s other sustainability efforts. Regarding customers, the added sustainable value carbon handprint calculation of an EV charging service can create is dependable on the customer segment, service investment value, and the significance of the emission reductions in the customers’ business. Before calculating carbon handprint, companies should clearly state the underlying needs to tailor the calculation for answering the questions addressed. Results indicate that most critical and challenging parts of the service calculation are defining system boundaries and choosing a baseline. Moreover, the absence of unified guidance among methodologies contributes to challenges in making consistent choices throughout the process. Based on the findings regarding reliable communication practices, in addition to the requirements proposed by the Green Claims Directive, it is recommended to use consistent and defined terminology, highlight the difference between carbon footprint and carbon handprint, state what the carbon handprint is associated with and mention collaborative efforts with other value chain parties. While this qualitative study focused more on the strategies and decision-making, further research is needed to calculate real life carbon handprint cases in services and to standardize carbon handprint calculation methodology.Description
Thesis advisor
Patala, SamuliKeywords
carbon handprint, carbon handprint methodology, impact assessment, GHG emissions, sustainable value creation, carbon handprint communication, service company