We Explain by YouSustain

What is carbon accounting, how do companies calculate their greenhouse gas emissions, and what do Scope 1 and Scope 2 actually mean?

In Episode 11 of We Explain by YouSustain, we begin a two-part special on carbon accounting, breaking down the fundamentals behind how companies measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions. 

We start with the basics: what carbon accounting is, why companies are increasingly expected to measure their emissions, and why carbon dioxide is only part of the picture. We also explain CO₂ equivalents (CO₂e) and why different greenhouse gases need to be converted into a common measurement. 

From there, we look at one of the most important building blocks in carbon accounting: emission factors. We explain how companies take activity data — such as fuel use, electricity consumption or purchased materials — and translate it into greenhouse gas emissions. 

We then break down the GHG Protocol and begin working through the different emissions scopes, including:

• Scope 1: direct emissions from sources such as fuel combustion, vehicles and refrigerants
• Scope 2: emissions associated with purchased electricity, heating, cooling and steam
• The difference between location-based and market-based electricity emissions
• Where companies typically find the data needed for carbon accounting
• How carbon accounting connects with CSRD, ESRS E1 and Science Based Targets (SBTi)

We also discuss why carbon accounting is becoming increasingly relevant beyond regulation, as pressure from customers, investors and supply chains pushes more companies to measure and disclose their emissions. 

If you work in sustainability, ESG, reporting or simply want to understand how companies actually calculate their carbon footprint, this episode gives you the foundations before we continue the discussion in Part 2.

Do you have any questions for the team? Write them down on the comments section and we'll answer them on the next episode! Don't forget to hit that like and subscribe button

What is happening to the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) role, and what does it mean for the future of corporate sustainability?

This week on We Explain by YouSustain, we’re joined once again by Ryan Dawson from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) for a sustainability news round-up covering sustainability leadership, climate disclosure, greenhushing, U.S. climate policy, corporate climate targets, and ESG strategy.

We start with the changing role of the Chief Sustainability Officer. As some companies move away from dedicated CSO positions, we ask whether sustainability is becoming more integrated into business strategy, finance and operations — or whether companies still need a dedicated sustainability leader with the mandate and expertise to drive change internally.

From there, we look at Nike and climate disclosure, after investors rejected a proposal calling for more transparency around how the company plans to meet its existing 2030 climate targets. That leads into a wider discussion about corporate climate targets, accountability, emissions reduction, and sustainability reporting, and what happens when companies set ambitious goals without a clear pathway for achieving them.

We also discuss changes to U.S. climate policy, including the rollback of emissions rules for coal and gas power plants, as well as the different ways regions approach climate action, energy security, critical raw materials, and the green transition.

Then we get into greenhushing: why some companies may continue working on sustainability internally while becoming quieter about it publicly, and how political, regulatory and investor pressure can shape what companies choose to disclose.

Finally, we touch on the evolving relationship between Canada and the European Union, climate cooperation, carbon policy, and what closer ties could mean from a sustainability perspective.

For a broader look at what’s changing in sustainability leadership, disclosure and climate policy, this episode covers some of the key conversations happening right now.

This week on We Explain by YouSustain, we take a closer look at nature-related risk and why companies increasingly need to think beyond carbon.

We start with the idea of climate risk and how businesses assess what could go wrong across their value chains,  from floods and wildfires to drought, supply disruption and changing operating conditions. From there, we move into nature-related financial risk and the growing role of the TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures).

We break down what TNFD actually means in practice, including the difference between climate risk and nature risk, how companies identify their dependencies on nature, and how those dependencies can turn into financial risks and opportunities. We also talk about ecosystem services, pollinators, soil health, biodiversity and why location matters so much when companies assess their exposure to nature-related issues. 

The episode also looks at how frameworks like TNFD and TCFD are used alongside regulations such as the CSRD and EU Taxonomy, why the frameworks themselves are not necessarily laws, and how they still shape the way companies are expected to assess and disclose risk. 

And, as always, we get into the practical side: what does it actually cost to mitigate a risk, when does mitigation make financial sense, and what happens when nature-related impacts trigger legal or operational consequences for a business? 

If you’ve heard terms like TNFD, biodiversity risk, ecosystem services or nature-related financial disclosures and wondered how they connect to business and sustainability reporting, this episode is a good place to start.

This week on We Explain by YouSustain, we’re back with a sustainability news round-up covering some of the latest developments in EU sustainability regulation before the conversation takes us much further north.

We start with updates on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and the ongoing reaction from smaller companies trying to understand what the new rules will mean in practice. From there, we move into the latest developments around CSRD and the revised ESRS, including what the changes could mean for companies already reporting and those preparing to report in the coming years. 

We also talk about XPRL and digital sustainability reporting, why digital tagging matters, and how it could make sustainability data easier to compare, verify and use across companies.

Then the episode shifts from reporting requirements to natural resources.

We discuss the EU’s position on new oil and gas exploration in the Arctic, Norway’s response, and the wider tension between energy security, economic interests and environmental protection. The conversation then moves into deep-sea mining, critical minerals, biodiversity and the risks of extracting resources from ecosystems we still know relatively little about. 

Along the way, we get into the difficult trade-offs behind the green transition: the growing demand for minerals, the environmental cost of accessing them, and the question of how far we should go in pursuit of new resources. 

As always, there are plenty of side tracks, opinions and sustainability rabbit holes along the way.

If you want a catch-up on what’s moving in EU sustainability policy, and a wider discussion on Arctic drilling, deep-sea mining and the future of resource extraction, this episode is a good place to start.

Carbon pricing is becoming an increasingly important part of climate policy, but understanding how these markets actually work is not always straightforward.

In Episode 7 of We Explain by YouSustain, we’re joined by Ryan Dawson, a carbon market and climate policy specialist at the London Stock Exchange Group, for our first guest episode.

We break down how carbon pricing actually works, the difference between a carbon tax and cap-and-trade, and how the EU Emissions Trading System turns the right to emit into something companies can buy and sell.

We also get into EUAs, CBAM, carbon accounting, voluntary carbon markets, and the policy and market forces that move carbon prices.

And finally, we look at what comes next: the future of the EU ETS, why sectors like shipping, aviation, cement and steel are much harder to decarbonize, and what companies exposed to rising carbon costs should be thinking about now.

If carbon markets have ever felt like a maze of allowances, acronyms and complicated rules, this episode is a good place to start.

This episode is a little different: we have an announcement.

Fanny is starting a PhD in collaboration with YouSustain, the Research Council of Norway and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. The research question is at the right at the heart of sustainability reporting: Are mandatory regulations by governments or voluntary pressures from financial institutions the main drivers of modern ESG reporting among private companies in Norway and the EU?

The working research topic focuses on ESG reporting in Norway and the EU, and the role of governments, banks and private-company motivations. More specifically, the project will explore whether regulation is really the main driver of ESG reporting, or whether banks and financial institutions may play a much bigger role in shaping, controlling and pressuring companies to report.

We also get into why companies continued reporting voluntarily during the uncertainty around Omnibus, what financial risk has to do with sustainability disclosures, and whether the future of ESG reporting will be driven by regulation, business incentives, or a mix of both.

And yes, we also discuss what happens when someone decides that running a company, renovating a house and raising a puppy somehow still leaves enough free time for a PhD.

What happens when sustainability regulation meets real world business?

In Episode 5 of We Explain by YouSustain, we unpack some of the latest stories making waves in sustainability, ESG and regulation, with plenty of opinions along the way.

This week, we revisit PPWR and the backlash from small and medium sized businesses across Europe, as some companies respond to new packaging requirements by stopping cross border shipments altogether.

We also dive into:

• New Zealand’s climate liability debate and a new law raising big questions about whether companies can be held legally accountable for the climate damage caused by their emissions.
• Temu, Shein and EU regulation and why new rules on low value imports appear to be changing shopping behavior in Sweden, while Norway continues buying millions of products from ultra cheap online marketplaces.
• The hidden cost of data centres and how data centres are consuming a remarkable share of Ireland’s electricity, with households increasingly feeling the impact on their energy bills.

From EU regulation and corporate accountability to fast fashion, AI infrastructure and electricity prices, this episode looks at what happens when sustainability policy moves from paper into everyday life.

ESG ratings are everywhere, but what does an A, a B, or a 73 out of 100 actually mean?

In this episode of We Explain, by YouSustain, we look at the EU’s new rules for ESG rating providers and why transparency around scoring, methodology and conflicts of interest is becoming a much bigger deal. Under the new directive, rating providers operating in the EU will need authorization from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), explaining how their scores are calculated, and be much clearer about what is behind the E, the S and the G.

We also get into why a high ESG score doesn’t necessarily mean a company is “sustainable,” and why separating ratings from consulting services could make the whole system a little more credible.

And, because no sustainability episode is complete without a little CSRD, we finish with the latest changes to the ESRS and what the new voluntary standard could mean for companies outside the EU that want to do business in Europe.

Setting a climate target is the easy part. Proving there’s a real plan behind it is much harder.

In this episode of We Explain by YouSustain, we look at something we come across all the time: emissions targets that sound ambitious on paper, but don’t always have much underneath them. Think unclear timelines, patchy data, and a lot of faith that future technology will somehow close the gap.

We also dig into the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which became legally binding on 12 August 2026. We talk about what it actually means for companies, why so much depends on decisions made at the packaging design stage, and what Coca-Cola’s packaging history, including those old green Sprite bottles, can teach us about sustainability claims that don’t age particularly well.

If you’ve ever looked at a company’s sustainability messaging and wondered what’s solid, what’s optimistic, and what’s mostly good wording, this episode is for you.

In this episode of We Explain by YouSustain, we answer your questions. We tackle questions submitted by our audience and explore the topics, concerns, and everyday challenges that matter most to you.

From misconceptions to broader questions about responsibility, impact, and what meaningful sustainability really looks like, this Q&A episode is all about making the conversation more open, accessible, and relevant.

Whether you’re curious about where to start, unsure about certain sustainability claims, or simply want to hear how others are thinking about these issues, this episode is shaped by the audience and the conversations happening around sustainability today.

Have a question you’d like us to cover in a future episode? Keep them coming, your questions help shape the conversation.