Carbon Management - Avoid

in
Newsletter 5 - March 2009

Written by: Sally Jungwirth of EPA Victoria

In the last two editions of Carbon Matters, we included a regular article about applying the EPA Carbon Management Principles to your business. This issue focuses on the third Carbon Management Principle: Avoid.

Avoiding greenhouse gas emissions will help your business reduce energy costs and carbon exposure and risk.

In this article, we explore four ways to approach avoiding emissions:

1. Measure to Avoid

The most effective way to avoid emissions is by first knowing where they come from, which is why 'Measure' is the first principle of the Carbon Management Principles. Once you know the source of the emissions, you can target your efforts toward those emissions 'weighing down' your business' carbon profile.

Example
Informed by our greenhouse gas inventory, EPA is undertaking the following actions to avoid emissions:

  • Delamping to avoid surplus lighting
  • Using sensor lights to avoid energy consumption when no one's around
  • Installing hot water timers to avoid heating water when it’s not needed
  • Offering Metcards at work and subsidising Bicycle Victoria membership to avoid car travel by providing alternatives
  • Using video conferencing to avoid car and air travel
  • Creating a PIN system for photocopiers/printers to avoid unnecessary printing of documents

Find more information on Measure, including EPA’s Greenhouse Inventory Management Plan.

 

2. Using less costs less

Avoiding energy use saves you money by: lowering electricity and gas bills, avoiding the cost of sequestering emissions, and avoiding the cost of the potentially associated carbon permits.

You may be able to make a product with a smaller carbon Footprint – manufacturing it using a less energy-intensive process; substituting a material with less embodied energy; or designing it to last longer or use less energy when 'switched on' – whilst providing the same benefit to your customer.

Example
On one hand, the relationship and trust building from an initial face-to-face meeting with a client is valuable. On the other hand, subsequent meetings may be equally effective via video-conference or telephone. The meeting (and the associated carbon from flying interstate or internationally) has allowed you to establish a good working relationship. If you can't avoid an emission, at least make sure it's working for you!

 

3. On-site or off-site (and how to avoid shifting burdens)

On-site emissions may not be your biggest opportunity to avoid greenhouse gas emissions. In the case of motor vehicles, a life cycle assessment of gasoline vehicles showed that 72% of its carbon emissions occur in driving1. So a measurement of carbon emissions at the car manufacturing plant alone will not reveal the biggest opportunities to avoid and reduce emissions. The UK Publicly Available Standard, PAS 2050, provides guidance to measure and communicate greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain, and will help you define an appropriate scope of measurement by taking a life cycle approach.

It is also important to consider the interrelationships between energy, water, waste and materials, and on-site and off-site. This is so your business doesn't just shift a burden in trying to avoid energy emissions – either to another environmental component, into your value (supply) chain, or a different geographic location.

Example
Viridian glass has a film coating with thermo-insulation properties, reducing heating and cooling needs in households, avoiding energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

 

4. Creating business value in a different way

If you've maximised your ability to avoid emissions and waste in your current business operation, the next step is to reconsider your design and planning to create more business value.

Example
In the 1990s, DuPont increased global business by 30% whilst reducing total global energy use by 9% and greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide equivalent) by 67%.  Dr. Paul Tebo led this change by decoupling energy and material use from business value – coining the term Sustainable Business Growth.

 

Think
Is your carbon profile helping you achieve your business objectives? Measure what value your business is getting from greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Conclusion

The first three approaches listed (measure to avoid, using less costs less, on-site or off-site) show us that avoiding emissions can be achieved through process re-engineering, material substitution or waste reduction. However, for your business to thrive in a carbon constrained economy your business will need to create value in new ways or through new business; addressed by the final approach outlined in this article – creating business value in a different way.

To find out more on how to avoid emissions, please visit: http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/climate-change/carbon-management/default.asp#principles

1 http://www.allbusiness.com/transportation/motor-vehicle-manufacturing/351606-1.html

Page last updated: 17 Dec 2010
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