EU4BusinessRecovery

The seminar "Carbon accounting and business sustainability" was organized in the premises of the Foreign Trade Chamber on May 3 and 4, which was supported by GIZ on behalf of the German government through the Green Recovery component. 

Fifty representatives of Bosnian companies were educated on the use, benefits and strategies of carbon accounting and reduction of greenhouse gas emission. 

Carbon accounting is becoming an increasingly important topic in the world of business, and more and more companies recognize that their production processes have an impact on the planet Earth, and that by switching to a green economy, they can have a double benefit - savings and environmental protection. One of the ways of doing such business is the introduction of carbon accounting - a technique that enables measurement but also reduces greenhouse gases. 

By introducing carbon accounting in their business, companies contribute to decarbonization, and since they act on one of the five points of the European document "Green Agenda for the Western Balkans", and in this way, they strengthen competitiveness on export market in the European Union. By adopting new knowledge and using the carbon footprint as a tool to estimate greenhouse gases, it is possible to identify their sources and reduce them. 

Adrijana Marić, manager of the Green Recovery component, says that the general goal is to provide support to BiH in mitigating the economic consequences caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with special reference to the green transition of small and medium-sized enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

"This seminar is a great opportunity for our companies, with the support of an eminent professor from the University of Birmingham, to gain new insights and knowledge on how to calculate their carbon footprint and thus meet environmental requirements and strengthen their competitiveness on export markets in the European Union," Marić stated. 

The lecturer at the seminar was Ian Thomson, professor of accounting and sustainability and director of the Center for Responsible Business at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, who spoke on this occasion about the use and benefits of carbon accounting, carbon reporting practices and standards, and carbon accounting strategies and reduction of greenhouse gases.

In order for companies to introduce this technique, they need to plan reduction of the emission of harmful gases in production but also in transport to the customer, and some of the ways are the use of renewable energy sources in production facilities, waste reduction, increasing energy efficiency or the use of renewable energy sources. Such operations contribute to reducing the company's impact on global warming. 

Professor Thomson emphasized that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is not complicated, expensive or difficult, and that companies should recognize that greenhouse gas emissions are predictable consequences of everyday decisions - from what and from whom they buy, how things are delivered, what they invest in, how buildings are heated or cooled, how products are stored to how customers use and dispose of products. He emphasized that investing in climate literacy, accounting and finance quickly returns the investment, and that carbon accounting is one of the simplest techniques to make greenhouse gases visible, understandable and manageable. 

"Once we “see” all these gases, we can find new, innovative ways to reduce them. If we can't “see'” them all, then we make irrational and ill-informed decisions that make the problem worse," concluded professor Thomson

The company representatives had the opportunity to participate in the discussion, and after listening to the lecture, they were able to expand their knowledge on the topic of carbon accounting through the interactive part. 

Green Recovery is a component implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German government. It is part of the wider project Covid-19 Investment Response/EU4BusinessRecovery, which is co-financed by the German government and the European Union. The objective of the component is to provide support to BiH in mitigating the economic consequences caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a special focus on the green transition of SMEs.