Measuring doesn’t reduce emissions on its own, but it means you can stop acting blindly and start deciding with data.
Where this project comes from
For Aigües Vic, the carbon footprint isn’t framed as a climate-excellence exercise, or even as a starting point — it’s a necessary step in a journey already underway. An exercise in precision: putting numbers on it, organising impacts, and deepening understanding of the real impact of a company that runs an essential service and operates critical infrastructure across the territory.
The project came about in a context where there were already efforts under way in efficiency, energy management and operational improvement, but where an integrated view of climate impact was still missing. The footprint made it possible to build that shared, common picture — needed to move forward with better judgement.
This process was possible because the organisation opened up the space and resources to do it, and it took shape from within, with technical teams and middle managers actively involved. They were the ones who pushed the analysis forward, asked the uncomfortable questions, and connected the results to the service’s real day-to-day operations. Not as a communication exercise, but as a tool for working better.
The question that guided the project wasn’t “how do we present ourselves”, but “where do we stand, what are we already doing well, and what can we start improving with data in hand”.
The footprint wasn’t designed to explain the company better — it was designed to manage it better.
What it changes, and why it matters
Calculating the carbon footprint across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 made it possible to put numbers on things that, until then, were only intuitions. The result was clear: over 90% of the impact sits in Scope 3, concentrated in three areas closely tied to the water service’s day-to-day operations — network maintenance works, the management and treatment of waste from water processes (mainly construction waste and sludge), and staff travel.
Over 90% of the impact sits in Scope 3, tied to decisions made as part of day-to-day operations.
This finding mattered because it shifted the focus. The impact wasn’t so much in direct electricity consumption or facilities — it was in the value chain, and in operational decisions that are part of everyday work.
How we do it
At Spora, the footprint was approached as a starting exercise, not a closing one. We calculated the full emissions inventory following the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064, setting a base year and a methodology that allows the calculation to be repeated annually.
The resulting picture became the basis for a realistic action plan, focused on what the company can actually act on: exploring new treatment and recovery routes for construction and sludge waste; analysing purchasing and the main suppliers with the biggest share of emissions; and planning a gradual, well-considered fleet transition, compatible with the service’s operations, to cut the impact of corporate travel. The inventory made it possible to prioritise waste, suppliers and fleet within a viable action plan.
Limits, lessons, and the future it sets in motion
This project owns its limits from the start. Aigües Vic isn’t starting from a position of technological advantage or a large budget for experimentation. But it does start from something key: knowledge of the territory, and a genuine will to improve from within.
The carbon footprint doesn’t reduce emissions on its own, but it organises, prioritises, and provides judgement. It means the company can stop acting blindly and start deciding with data. The future it sets in motion isn’t immediate or grand: it’s a climate-neutrality strategy built step by step, resting on operational decisions, team involvement, and a continuous improvement process that recognises that, in essential-service companies, the transition also needs to be careful, gradual and responsible.