Is carbon footprint calculation mandatory in Spain?

Mandatory carbon footprint calculation in Spain 2024

Concept of organisational carbon footprint

The organisational carbon footprint is an environmental indicator that measures the total greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted as a direct or indirect consequence of the development of the activities of companies.

Non-Financial Information Statements (NFI)

In Spain, the carbon footprint of an organisation is a parameter that must be disclosed in the Non-Financial Reporting Statements (NFS) that must be prepared by companies with more than 250 employees and that meet at least one of the following requirements:

• That they are considered public interest entities.
• That for two consecutive financial years they meet at least one of the following circumstances:
  -Total assets must exceed €20,000,000.
  -The net annual turnover exceeds €40,000,000.

However, Law 11/2018, which regulates NFIAs, does not specify the scope of the carbon footprint to be reported, so each organisation establishes its own criteria.

CSRD Directive

In practice, companies that currently prepare an NFI must adapt to the requirements of the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). This Directive obliges such organisations to calculate their carbon footprint (scopes 1, 2 and 3) and clearly states what information and data must be reported, with the aim of comparing the results obtained.

Organisations with more than 250 employees must include this information for the first time in the 2026 report, with data from 2025. The Directive states that organisations with less than 750 employees can exclude scope 3 in the footprint calculation in 2026.

Law 7/2021 on climate change and energy transition

The entry into force of Law 7/2021 obliges certain companies to calculate their carbon footprint and publish a GHG emission reduction plan.

The organisations that must comply with these requirements are to be included in the amendment to Royal Decree 163/2014, of 14 March, which creates the registry of carbon footprint, offsetting and carbon dioxide absorption projects.

The publication of this amendment is suffering a certain delay. To date, only a preliminary draft has been released, which specifies that the calculation of the carbon footprint will be mandatory from 2025, with data from 2024, for:

• Companies affected by Law 11/2018 on non-financial information.
• The ministerial departments of the General State Administration, its autonomous bodies and the managing entities of the Social Security.

However, we will have to wait for the publication of the modification of the aforementioned Royal Decree to confirm what type of organisations will finally be obliged to calculate their carbon footprint.

Autonomous Communities

Apart from European and national regulations, several Autonomous Communities have required the calculation of the carbon footprint for certain companies. This is the case of the Balearic Islands, Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Navarre, the Valencian Community and the Basque Country. The organisations required in each case are:

• Islas Baleares: large and medium-sized companies that carry out all or part of their activity in the Balearic Islands and meet one of the following conditions:
  -Companies with 50 or more employees, or which their annual turnover or annual balance sheet is more than 10 million euros per year.
• Andalucía: companies that consume more than 1 GWh/year.
• Islas Canararias: tourist exploitations, agricultural and livestock exploitations and activities, industrial and commercial activities with a size greater than what is determined and activities linked to the management of water resources.
• Navarra: agricultural and livestock exploitations.
• Comunidad valenciana: large and medium-sized enterprises operating in the Community of Valencia. 
• País Vasco: public administrations, livestock farms, agricultural, forestry and fishing activities, waste management and water treatment facilities, industrial facilities, leisure and tourism establishments, sub-sectors of the service sector.

Final conclusion

It is clear that Public Administrations will progressively require more organisations to calculate their carbon footprint.

However, the reality is that it is the market itself that is driving this obligation. More and more large companies are requesting carbon footprints from their suppliers and this requirement is extending throughout the value chain. Undoubtedly, the entry into force of the CSRD Directive will accelerate this trend even more, so all organisations will have to calculate their carbon footprint sooner or later.

Baker Tilly Ecogesa is at your disposal for any clarification or support you may need related to the calculation, reduction and/or compensation of GHG.