Why Most Organisations Underestimate Their Environmental Footprint

Introduction

Most organisations believe they understand their environmental footprint. Carbon emissions are calculated, KPIs are tracked, and environmental disclosures are included in annual or sustainability reports. However, when methodologies and boundaries are examined closely, material gaps often emerge. Underestimation is rarely intentional. It is usually structural.

Research, from CDP and a Boston Consulting Group, of shows that most organisations are only capturing a fraction of their environmental footprint. Studies suggest that 75–90% of a company’s emissions often sit within its value chain, yet only around 38% of businesses currently track these Scope 3 emissions. In some sectors, supply-chain emissions can be up to 26 times higher than direct operational emissions, highlighting how easily environmental impact can be underestimated when measurement boundaries remain narrow.