Mandatory Carbon Footprint Calculation in Spain: What You Need to Know
The Spanish Government has approved a new Royal Decree that requires certain organizations to calculate and disclose their carbon footprint. Would you like to know if this applies to you?
On March 18, the Government of Spain approved the Royal Decree establishing the Carbon Footprint, Offset, and CO₂ Absorption Projects Registry. One of the key points of this regulation is the new requirement for certain organizations to calculate their carbon footprint and to develop and publish greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction plans.
This new document builds upon Royal Decree 163/2014, which since then had allowed organizations—on a voluntary basis—to calculate and register their carbon footprint through a platform created by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITERD). The registry also enabled companies to offset all or part of their carbon footprint through national forestry projects that were likewise registered in this system.
Currently, the Carbon Footprint Registry includes 14,250 registered carbon footprints, over 23,000 hectares of reforested land, and carbon offset certificates representing more than 150,000 tons of CO₂.
After ten years, it was deemed necessary to revise the regulation to improve its operation, clarify certain aspects, streamline procedures, and introduce new requirements.
Main updates introduced by the new Royal Decree:
- Inclusion of event carbon footprints: Until now, registration with the MITERD Carbon Footprint Registry was limited to organizations. From now on, greenhouse gas emissions generated by any type of event can also be calculated and registered.
- Mandatory carbon footprint calculation for certain organizations, which must also establish emission reduction plans and publish their results in the MITERD registry. Specifically, the directly affected entities include:
Private sector
- Public interest entities
- Companies with more than 500 employees
- Companies already required to report non-financial information (EINF) under Law 11/2018, i.e., organizations with more than 250 employees and, for two consecutive years, either assets exceeding €20 million or annual turnover exceeding €40 million
- Companies that prepare consolidated financial statements
Public sector
- All institutions of the General State Administration, including ministerial departments, autonomous agencies, Social Security managing entities, and others.
Beyond compliance: key benefits of carbon footprint calculation
Even for organizations not yet subject to the new regulation, calculating the carbon footprint offers multiple advantages:
- Reduces GHG emissions and decreases dependence on fossil fuels.
- Provides a competitive advantage in tenders and supply chains, as more public and private clients are requesting emissions data from their suppliers.
- Lowers operational costs and improves efficiency through action plans that optimize resource consumption (electricity, fuel, etc.) and enhance production processes.
- Strengthens corporate image and reinforces environmental commitment before stakeholders.
For all these reasons, BAKER TILLY encourages you to calculate your carbon footprint, whether or not your organization is legally required to do so. Doing so will undoubtedly help boost competitiveness, increase efficiency, and contribute to the fight against climate change—which is precisely the spirit behind the newly approved Royal Decree.
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