Carbon Management - Assess

Written by: Georgia van Rooijen and Kim le Cerf, EPA Victoria

Each of the previous six editions of Carbon Matters has included a regular article about one of the Carbon Management Principles and how you can apply them to your business. This article looks at the seventh principle: Assess.

The principles comprise eight steps:  

1. measure emissions
2. set objectives
3. avoid emissions
4. reduce emissions
5. switch to alternative energy sources
6. sequester emissions
7. assess residual emissions
8. offset what you can't avoid

Once you have been through the process of measuring and setting objectives, avoiding, reducing and switching your onsite greenhouse gas emissions and considering whether sequestration is a viable option for your business, it is a good time to assess how you have fared. There are a number of things you can consider at this stage. Some of the questions you might ask include:

• Have you met your initial objectives?
• Do you need to change your original decision criteria?
• Is there any new guidance, policies, best practice that has emerged since you began managing your carbon?
• Do you need some help or advice on how to further reduce your emissions or overcome challenges?
• Are there still measures that you can take?
• Are you planning to offset the remaining emissions?
• What have you learnt from the process and what would you do differently next time?

EPA went Carbon Neutral for the 2005-06 year and we have maintained this commitment since. Over the past four years, we continue to learn and adjust our approach to carbon management by assessing against our initial objectives.

How does EPA 'assess'?

Below are some examples of the activities EPA undertakes to assess and improve our carbon management each year:

• EPA assesses the processes we apply when calculating our greenhouse gas inventory. This includes checking the methodologies and emission factors used, to ensure they are still the most relevant, up to date and robust figures for each emission source.
• EPA considers additional scope 3 emission sources to include in our inventory each year.  So far we have added and developed life-cycle methodologies for six new sources:
  • 2006-07 - office paper and water use
  • 2007-08 - staff commuting and catering
  • 2008-09 - colour publications and couriers
• EPA assesses its residual emissions – our greenhouse gas emissions left in our inventory after we have taken actions to avoid, reduce and switch. This informs our procurement of carbon offsets, which includes identifying the quantity and types of offsets required.
• EPA has our greenhouse gas inventory externally assured by another organisation, which adds to the credibility of our carbon management processes. For the past three years consultant Net Balance has audited and approved our inventory. Net Balance is accredited by the International Register of Certified Auditors (UK) for sustainability assurance provision.

Assessing allows you to check whether your carbon management plan has been implemented effectively, and may take you back to improving your approach to previous Principles. The Carbon Management Principles are designed to be an iterative process and the steps that you include depend on your objectives and relevance to your business.

The next edition of Carbon Matters will include an article on Carbon Offsets, the final step of the Carbon Management Principles as they currently stand.

We are reviewing the Carbon Management Principles to ensure that they remain relevant and applicable to business. If you have any feedback or would like to be involved in the review process then please contact us at carbon.innovators@epa.vic.gov.au