as discussed by Swarts et al. (2012), were excluded from the
calculation. This approach was used for both road and rail
transport. The activity-based approach calculates carbon
emissions by using the following formula (McKinnon &
Piecyk 2011:5–6):
CO2 = tons transported × average distance travelled
× CO2
emissions factor per ton-km [Eqn 3]
The information required for this study was drawn from
financial statements provided by Firm A, as well as semistructured
personal and telephone interviews. The data
gathered during the interviews was verified and triangulated
through financial statements received.
The small sampling size of one firm (a case study approach)
and the unavailability of environmental costs to do a full
environmental impact study can be viewed as limitations of
this research.