One of the foremost topics of discussion for the energy industry is the amount of CO2 and other green house gases that are generated as a result of their activity. We will discuss methods to reduce the amount of CO2 emitted by increasing the efficiency of drivers and driven equipment. Another key area for improvement is to make the overall operation more efficient. The operational effectiveness of a pipeline or a pipeline system will not be measured only by the cost of transporting a certain amount of gas to the end user, but also by the carbon footprint related to this effort. Natural gas is the most environmentally friendly fossil fuel. All forecasts indicate the leading role of natural gas in the effort to provide the world with energy, while reducing the environmental impact. While natural gas is abundant in some regions, the transport of natural gas is receiving scrutiny regarding its environmental impact. One of the key theses of this paper is the requirement of a system level view, rather than the level of individual units. This is particularly true for operational issues to be considered, such as the discussion of the carbon footprint of electric motor driven compression versus gas turbine driven compression. Topics like this require an evaluation including the carbon footprint related to the generation and the transport of electric power.