Carbon Management - How to measure your emissions

While the rapid pace of climate change is putting increasing pressure on business to develop sound carbon management strategies, organisations often struggle to prioritise actions and decide on the approaches that will provide the best outcomes.

EPA Victoria's Carbon Management Principles, drawn up when EPA went carbon neutral, have guided many companies in their quest to reduce their carbon footprint. While the principles are designed to reduce emissions, improved business value is frequently achieved through reduced input costs and business risk. Market opportunity can be improved and reputation enhanced.

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.

The strategy should then be reviewed regularly to ensure you can take advantage of new practices and technologies.

The first step, measuring emissions, requires the development of an emissions inventory.

The extent of inventories varies markedly, but a minimum emissions profile should include greenhouse gases (GHG) directly produced on site, such as fuels for boilers and vehicles, and indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heat or steam.

Other indirect emissions, eg commercial air travel and those associated with purchased materials, should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

The most commonly recommended guide for establishing which emissions should be included and quantified in a GHG corporate inventory is the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, developed by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. (www.ghgprotocol.org)

You may wish to have your inventory independently verified by an external assurer (EPA used Net Balance Management Group) to ensure accuracy and credibility.

Once this step is completed, it's important to monitor emissions regularly and keep accurate records that can be tracked against your objectives.

A summary of EPA's current emissions inventory, including design principles, is available on the EPA website, along with details on the Carbon Management Principles and an extensive range of Australian and international resources that support the development of a carbon management strategy.

Visit http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/climate-change/