Thai businesses face growing challenges in calculating their carbon footprints as tightening global climate rules increase pressure to accurately measure greenhouse gas emissions and develop credible reduction plans.
Speaking at Sustainability Expo (SX) 2026 under the theme “Know Your Carbon: Unlock Business Opportunities”, Phakamas Rassameechan, deputy managing director of KClimate 1.5, a subsidiary of Kasikorn Bank, and Natthawipha Limchaisiri, an ESG advisory specialist, outlined the difficulties and a six-step process for calculating a carbon footprint for an organisation (CFO).
Requirements linked to the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) sustainability disclosures and Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) reporting standards mean companies must go beyond routine annual compliance.
However, identifying emissions across operations and supply chains, collecting reliable data, and selecting appropriate emission factors can make carbon accounting complex.
Ms Phakamas said the six-step process involves setting organisational boundaries, identifying emission sources, collecting activity data, selecting emission factors, calculating carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions and obtaining verification under standards such as ISO 14064-1.
She said more than 50 Thai organisations in manufacturing, agriculture and hospitality had begun measuring their carbon footprints with Kasikorn Bank.
The calculation covers three categories.
Scope 1 includes direct emissions from fuel burned in boilers, generators, company-operated vehicles and forklifts, as well as refrigerant leaks from air-conditioning systems, methane released from agricultural waste and nitrous oxide emissions from fertiliser use.
Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling. These can account for up to 90% of an industrial organisation’s footprint, depending on its operations.
Scope 3 covers other indirect emissions throughout the value chain, including raw materials, packaging, business travel, product processing and, in the banking sector, financed emissions linked to lending activities.
Identifying these sources is only the first challenge, she said. Businesses must then determine which activities contribute most to their emissions and decide where reductions will deliver the greatest returns.
She recommended using a marginal abatement cost curve to compare the cost and carbon-saving potential of possible measures. KClimate 1.5 modelling ranked LED lighting upgrades as the most cost-effective option, offering immediate financial returns.
Chiller optimisation could deliver nearly twice the emissions reductions, but requires a longer payback period.
Ms Natthawipha said companies should also assess upfront costs, equipment replacement cycles, operational readiness and sustainability targets before investing or seeking green loans.