Want to make a real impact? Then start tracking marginal emissions!

To keep global warming manageable, as called for in the Paris Agreement, we need to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. With the EU leading the movement, the drive toward corporate sustainability has never been stronger. Yet, despite this surge in environmental commitments, we face a critical problem: many companies are calculating the wrong thing. If your business genuinely wants to make a difference rather than just check a sustainability box, understanding and using marginal emissions could be your most powerful tool!

Why traditional emissions accounting falls short

For years, companies have relied on Average Emissions Factors (AEFs) to calculate their carbon footprint. These calculations take the overall electricity generation mix for a power grid and apply it to a company’s energy usage. While this approach might seem logical and is still the standard used when it comes to reporting, it fundamentally misunderstands how power grids actually operate, and we would highly recommend using marginal emissions for internal decisions and real impact assessment.

When your business makes energy decisions—like when to run equipment, where to locate a new facility, or when to charge electric vehicles—you don’t impact the entire generation mix equally. Most of the grid’s generation continues unaffected by your choices. What actually responds to your decisions are specific power plants called marginal generators—typically the most flexible (and often most carbon-intensive) plants that ramp up or down based on demand. Marginal emissions aim to take this into account by including in your calculations the amount of greenhouse gases emitted per unit of energy consumed by the last power plant brought online to meet the fluctuating demand.

The real-world impact of marginal emissions

In today’s context, where companies have to meet ESG targets and sustainability goals, it becomes important to track the right metrics if you want to have real-world impact and not just greenwash your way into it.

Marginal emissions factors (MEFs) measure the emissions from these responsive generators, the ones that actually change their output based on your consumption patterns. There is a global consensus amongst research specialists that this is the way to measure emissions, and this is not just an academic opinion: —it’s the difference between paper-only achievements and real-word climate impact.

Consider this: when you implement smart building energy management or shift your electricity usage to different times of day, it’s the marginal generators that respond. Using MEFs to guide these decisions will then lead to substantially different—and more effective—decarbonization strategies than using grid averages.

MEFs are hard to calculate on your own though, so nonprofits like Watttime gather all the necessary data and building MOER models based on the Gavin McCornick technique published here. They also cover 99%+ of the global electricity grid, so chances are they’ll have the data you’re looking for!

The circular connection: how IT choices affect your emissions

This focus on real-world impact rather than checkbox compliance aligns perfectly with our circular economy principles. While the energy transition is crucial, it only addresses 55% of global emissions. To reach net-zero, we must transform how we make, use, and reuse products and materials—tackling the remaining 45% of emissions.

The IT sector presents a particularly compelling opportunity. With approximately 22% of global emissions embedded in internationally traded products, the hardware in your server rooms and on your employees’ desks carries a significant carbon burden before it even powers up.

At Ynvolve, we’ve been championing circular IT solutions for almost two decades. Our approach directly targets Scope 3 emissions—those from your value chain—which often constitute the majority of a company’s carbon footprint.

Here’s how circular IT will help you:

1. Extended equipment lifecycles: By refurbishing and redeploying hardware, we eliminate the production emissions that would otherwise occur from manufacturing new devices. The Circularity Gap Report reveals that implementing circular solutions could reduce global material extraction needs by one third.
2. Fit-for-purpose infrastructure: Our assessment helps identify the right hardware for your actual needs—avoiding overprovisioning that leads to unnecessary energy consumption and associated marginal emissions.
3. End-of-life management: When equipment truly reaches the end of its useful life, our recycling partners responsibly process materials, preventing emissions associated with improper disposal and the extraction of resources for new production.

The results are substantial—circular IT solutions not only offer up to 80% cost savings compared to new equipment but also dramatically reduce the carbon footprint associated with your technology infrastructure.

Moving forward: impact-first technology strategy

As we’ve explored, the path to genuine sustainability isn’t about ticking boxes, it’s about making informed decisions that lead to tangible, measurable impact. When making strategic decisions on infrastructure usage, shifting your focus from average emissions to marginal emissions will empower your business to drive real-world reductions in carbon output. Coupled with circular IT solutions, this approach doesn’t just transform your sustainability strategy, it reshapes your entire operational footprint.

At Ynvolve, we’ve seen firsthand how businesses thrive when they align their environmental commitments with practical, impactful actions. Whether it’s extending hardware lifecycles, optimizing infrastructure, or responsibly managing end-of-life equipment, each choice contributes significantly to your sustainability goals—and the planet’s future.

So, ask yourself: Are you ready to move beyond traditional metrics and embrace solutions that truly matter? The tools and insights are here. The opportunity for meaningful change is now. Let’s get in touch and make every decision count—one marginal emission at a time.