Heather Clancy writes in ZD Net’s Green Tech blog about monitoring carbon and advice from Michael Meehan, founder and CEO of Carbonetworks.

Meehan, who hails from Victoria, British Columbia, figures there are five steps companies need to climb on their way to getting a better grip on their carbon position:

1. Measure actual carbon emissions and document where it’s coming from. What’s true for one division may not be true for another.
2. Understand how your carbon position relates to core business values. In other words, how would reducing your company’s footprint affect profitability?
3. Gauge the financial liability/value associated with your company’s greenhouse emissions.
4. Assess the impact of various reduction strategies across the entire company. Sometimes, something that may seem like a great idea for one division may have a detrimental effect on the company as a whole.
5. Link up with verified offset providers to take action.