Sustainability Chapter 2: Carbon PDF

Sustainable Carbon Strategies: Slicing Through Emissions Just as committing to a low-carb diet keeps your waistline in check, embracing a low-carbon emission strategy safeguards the future sustainability of your company. Governments and international bodies...

Sustainable Carbon Strategies: Slicing Through Emissions Just as committing to a low-carb diet keeps your waistline in check, embracing a low-carbon emission strategy safeguards the future sustainability of your company. Governments and international bodies are incentivizing emission reductions, urging businesses to adapt or suffer consequences. Companies across all industries including food, consumer goods, and technology are working on how to reduce their emissions. Flagship companies such as IKEA are committed to going “carbon- neutral” by the year 2030. As older companies pivot their production methods to stay competitive, fledgling startups are looking to go zero- Covered carbon as a fundamental business in This Chapter: practice. Types of Greenhouse Gases Carbon Footprint Business Incentives for Emissions Reduction Decarbonization Strategies  The Greenhouse Effect The driving force behind the urgency to lower [PLACEHOLDER GRAPHIC] emissions is The Greenhouse Effect: the means through which the Earth’s atmosphere traps heart adiating from the planet’s surface. Without the Greenhouse Effect, Earth would be a frozen ball of ice. Too much of it, however, is what’s going to melt the ice caps enough by the year 2030 to flood Miami and Amsterdam. Our livable temperature is in a very delicate balance, with an average global temperature of 15C. The amount of Emissions, is upsetting that balance, trapping more heat, and causing this average temperature to rise.  Emissions Terms ( 1 / 3 ) Emissio ns - The means through which greenhouse gases are released into the Earth’s atmosphere. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) The most common by-product of industrial processes, transportation, and energy production. Remains in the atmosphere for hundreds of years unless removed.  Emissions Terms ( 2 / 3) Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) - Any kind of gas building up Earth’s in the atmosphere that traps heat. Carbon Dioxide Equivalents (CDEs) (CO2 Es) - A shorthand way to refer to the other greenhouse gases that trap heat and cause global warming, such as Methane, Nitrous Oxide, or Fluorinated Gases. Frequently the word “carbon” refers to CO2 Global Warming Greenhouse Gas itself along with these other gases. Potential (GWP) 1. Carbon dioxide 1 While not released nearly in the same quantities as (CO2) CO2, they contribute to total Global Warming Potential (GWP) many times over, as depicted in 2. Methane (CH4) 29.8 the chart to the right. 3. Nitrous Oxide 273 (N2O) Each kilogram of Methane, for example, is as potent as 4. ~14,600 29.8 Kg of Carbon. Hydrofluorocarbons  Emissions Terms ( 3 / 3) Carbon Neutral An increasingly common goal for many companies and nations, to be Carbon Neutral means you’ve managed to offset all of your carbon emissions. Carbon Negative (Climate Positive) When a company manages to offset more emissions than they produce. Microsoft has pledged to be Carbon Negative by 2030 Net Zero Carbon A much more difficult goal to achieve, but distinct from Carbon Neutral in that the company pledges to nullify their carbon output across all three scopes of carbon production (covered in the following slide).  Decarbonization Incentives EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) - The “cornerstone of the EU’s strategy to tackle climate change head-on.“ Is a financial incentive for the most egregious emitters of CDE to cut their emissions or pay the price that would render their product to be competitive with that do not emit lots of CDEs. Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CABM) - In order to have low-emissions products remain competitive with products that were produced with non-sustainable methods, the EU is currently working on implementing a system similar to the one already in place used by California that will tax imported goods based on how much CDE emissions were made in their production process. The Three Scopes of GHG Emissions Businesses are responsible for GHG emissions originating from one Three Scopes: Scope 1 GHG Emissions from an organization’s directly-owned operations such as factory emissions, or even AC condensers in office buildings. Scope 2 These are indirect emissions, mostly from purchased services and utilities, such as electricity, heating, cooling, etc. Scope 3 The “widest” of the scopes, and where 75% of a company’s GHG emissions originate from, these are indirect emissions not included in scope 2: such as outsourced distribution networks, business and employee travel, procuring raw materials, waste disposal, and end-of-life treatment of goods.  Carbon Tunnel Vision Carbon emissions get the most coverage when it comes to sustainability. Throughout the early 2000s, “going green” was synonymous with reducing carbon emissions. The thought behind the effort is in the right place, but it only addresses a small part of a much more multi- faceted issue. The coin termed by Jan Konieztko about this is “Carbon Tunnel Vision,” addresses the tendency we have to try to place the blame all on one thing. The solution is much more complex. In order for businesses to achieve sustainability, they need to look at much more than just their raw CO2 output.  Carbon Tunnel Vision Eutrophicatio Water Pover n shortages Healt ty Biodiversity h loss Education Ecotoxicity Carbon emissions Resourc e Air scarcity pollutants Affordable Inequality goods and Overconsumpti services on  What is a Carbon Footprint? Think of a “footprint” as a weight or impression you left behind. For companies wishing to take a sustainable approach, they want to minimize their footprint. Your organization’s Carbon Footprint is the “sum total of all the GHG emissions that had to take place in order for a product to be produced or an activity to take place” (Berners-Lee, 2022). Generally crucial business operations such as energy use, transportation, and production increase how big our Carbon Footprint is.  Measuring your Organization’s Carbon Footprint Before we can go about reducing our organization’s carbon footprint, we first need to assess how big of a one we’re making to begin with. When starting a new sustainability endeavor for a company, this is one of the most important material steps to successfully adapting your business. Rally Your Stakeholders Some Orgs make the mistake of assigning a single department to a massive task like emissions estimates. It needs to be a fundamental company policy, that every department participates in the measuring of GHG emissions. Use the Right Tools Frameworks such as GHG Protocol’s Corporate Standard and ISO 14064 offer organizations a set of guidelines to measure and report their own GHG emissions. These processes can be streamlined through software packages such as Carbon Analytics, which can automatically hook your facilities up to an IoT network to facilitate data collection. Identify and Quantify Throughout your organization, you’ll need to identify which are your greatest sources of GHG emissions, most likely from transportation, energy usage, and production. Reduce Business Travel So far it may sound like reducing carbon footprint requires an organization to make fundamental changes to their business strategy, but this isn’t the case. There are immediate changes your leadership team can make that will make an impact right now, and one of the most effective changes is to Reduce Business Travel. Air travel is one of the biggest contributors of GHG emissions, and organizations with frequently flying their teams across the continent for meetings and conferences, the impact adds up. While it’s true that a video conference just isn’t the same as meeting in-person, it does benefit us to take a good look at our business travel, and ask ourselves is all of it really necessary? Along with prioritizing video conferencing and reducing air travel, encouraging team members to engage in carpooling, or giving incentives for taking public transport all make a real difference in reducing your organization’s environmental impact.  Reducing GHG Emissions through Product Greener Product Portfolio Design Using more environmentally friendly raw materials such as carcinogen and toxic-free fabrics, flexible ceramics, biodegradable plant-based packaging, etc., or products that use recycled, upcycled, or recovered materials. The end-user experience also must be taken into account such as refurbishment or potential repurposing of the Innovation in Clean product at end-of-life. Technologies Encompassing a wide range of fields, including agriculture, chemical engineering, and renewable energy resulting in such General applied innovations as waterless washing machines or Guidelines consumer-level air purification systems. Don’t focus only on the “end of pipe” solutions, instead look more towards prevention of pollution during the production process. Ask your suppliers how they can possibly reduce the amount of energy and materials needed to make our products. An extension of pollution prevention is Product Stewardship: additional weight placed on minimizing environmental impact throughout the entire lifecycle of the product. Most importantly choosing raw materials with less emission producing potential. Sustainable Product Innovation in Apparel In the past, product design focused solely on cost reduction, with little regard to environmental impact. Today’s businesses must be savvy towards every step of their value chain and its role in GHG emissions. Levi’s Jeans is an example of an apparel company that has revamped its flagship product: jeans by using 96% less water through its Water>Less technique. Implementing sustainable production methods into product portfolios is becoming a must have for any business that wishes to remain competitive in the current business landscape. On the next slide, let’s take a look at some examples of a selection of industry leaders and how they are innovating their product portfolios to assuage demands of sustainably-minded stakeholders: Sustainable Product Innovation: Industry Mini- Automotiv Case Studies e BMW has pivoted towards sustainable manufacturing methods by using upcycled materials in their factories, and innovations such as the Hydrogen Fuel Cell that boasts a CO2-free drivetrain, and have brought out a fleet of electric models. Source: BMW Group Report 2022 Beverage Coca-Cola aims to lower their carbon footprint by “creating a circular economy for packaging” and are investing in bio-based plastic packaging that will offer a lower carbon footprint than other plastics. Source: Coca Cola Business and Sustainability Report Consumer Goods One example among many of how Unilever is aiming to future-proof their product portfolio by replacing their entire lineup of fossil-fuel derived cleaning detergents with plant-based carbon, and other clean sources by 2030.  Products Designed for the Environment Design for environment / Eco-design / Circular economy Materia design Water and Cleaner Sustainable Circular l Energy Cost Productio consumption economy Choice n Designed-for-environment products 80% of a aim for environmental sustainability, economic security, and social well- product’s being. environmenta Raw l impact is Materials 4 Factory 3 Transport 2 Use 1 End-of-life determined at the design stage.  Effective Carbon Offsetting According to the David Suzuki foundation, The Greater Golden Horseshoe in Canada is a massive greenbelt of trees and wetlands around 750,000 hectares, when its potential carbon output is calculated is valued at around $4.5 billion. This outweighs any potential industry, farmland, or golf courses that developers want to build there. This is the concept known as Carbon Offsetting: the mitigating of GHGs through preservation and cultivation of natural places. Carbon Offsetting is crucial for businesses to invest in and proliferate due to: Carbon Removal Via tree-planting, direct air capture and storage. Newer techniques like soil management and ocean-based carbon removal through seaweed cultivation are also gaining traction as of late. Carbon Avoidance Preservation of “carbon sinks” like the GGH as well as providing families in developing countries with sustainable appliances such as gas stoves to replace their need to cut down trees in order to cook their food and heat their homes.  Carbon Offsetting: Danger of Greenwashing In contrast to our previous example of the potential value and effectiveness of carbon offsetting, there are also less effective ways of doing so: namely handing over money to a loosely regulated internal department or another company or organization that purports itself as a dedicated carbon offsetter. Volkswagen, for example in 2015 invested in a carbon offset program that involved planting new trees, but it was later revealed these trees were never actually planted. For your own organization’s sustainability efforts, always look to reduce your own emissions before offsetting, and be sure to meticulously examine whatever carbon project you are investing. If you are seeking any kind of “discount,” on your project, chances are it will come back to haunt your company’s reputation at a later date.  Carbon Insetting Another form of carbon reduction, Carbon Insetting is mainly centered around agricultural practices and agroforestry programs at the farm level, looks to interrupt the processes through which our business and industries produce GHG emissions. Projects utilizing Carbon Insetting “are interventions along a company’s value chain…” that result in a net carbon loss.  Green Facilities Just as what we do makes a difference, so does where we do it. Organizations are retrofitting or starting anew in regards to production facilities and office spaces. Energy Efficient Systems Implementing more energy-efficient HVAC systems, replacing old lightbulbs with LEDs, and controlling lighting via IoT “smart” technologies all make a significant measurable difference over time. Green Materials and Construction When building a new project, it’s important to choose eco-friendly building materials such as recycled steel, upcycled wood, and concrete alternatives. Energy Efficient Systems Implementing water-efficient fixtures, rainwater harvesting systems, and graywater recycling to minimize water consumption promotes water conservation within the facility.  Direct Air Capture Most ways to reduce our carbon footprint are slow, gradual, long-term solutions, but these aren’t as fun as a giant battery of fans that clean the air now. According the International Energy Agency (IEA), Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology will capture more than 85 megatons of CO2 by 2030, and 980 megatons by 2050. There are currently 18 direct air facilities operating across Canada, Europe and the US. While we can’t expect technologies like DAC to replace natural preservation, an important factor about them is they get people excited about emissions reductions, because it’s something that’s happening now, instead of decades in the future.