Abstract
If planet Earth is to limit its average temperature rise to 2 °C from pre-industrial times, greenhouse gas emission reductions will be required from organizations around the world. All sectors will be affected, from energy generation to manufacturing, transportation, and operation of the built environment. Some advances in decarbonizing the economy will result from the more rapid deployment of renewable energy, from expanding the use of mass transit, and from raising standards of construction for buildings. But more will need to be done to achieve the common goal. As time is short, organizations cannot wait for others to act or for technology to advance. Leaders need to examine their organizations’ consumption of energy and the embodied carbon in their supply chains to determine to what extent their organizations can reduce their impact on global warming. This chapter addresses the approaches, tools, and methods used to “count carbon” based on principles developed since the late 1990s.
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Notes
- 1.
Accounting for biomass CO2 emissions can be controversial. The IPCC Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2021) “do[es] not automatically consider biomass used for energy as “carbon neutral,” even if the biomass is thought to be produced sustainably, because:
-
(1)
“In any time period there may be CO2 emissions and removals due to the harvesting and regrowth of bioenergy crops;
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(2)
“Land use changes caused by biomass production can also result in significant GHG fluxes; and
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(3)
“There may also be significant additional emissions which are estimated and reported in the sectors where they occur e.g.:
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a.
“From the processing and transportation, etc., of the biomass
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b.
“Direct methane and nitrous oxide emissions from the biomass combustion
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c.
“From the production and use of fertilizers and liming if either is used in cultivation of the biomass.
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a.
“For example, direct methane and nitrous oxide emissions from biomass combustion for energy use are reported in the energy sector” (Question 2–10).
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(1)
- 2.
A major uncontrolled leak of natural gas from the Porter Ranch gas storage facility in Southern California released 30 tons of methane per hour for months in late 2015 and early 2016 (Barboza 2016).
- 3.
“Metric tons” are also known as “megagrams” in the Système International (SI) of measurement.
- 4.
ISO 14033 (2019) uses different terms to describe quantitative environmental data.
- 5.
More in-depth information about quantitative information may be found in ISO 14033 (2019), Environmental management—Quantitative environmental information—Guidelines and examples.
- 6.
“Imported” means that the electricity or other energy-containing product was generated outside the operational boundary of the organization and is delivered to the organization. Typically, this happens when a power plant operator sells electricity to its customers.
- 7.
The GHG Protocol categorizes GHG emissions by “scopes.” In their system, direct emissions are scope 1, emissions related to imported electricity, heat, steam, and cooling are scope 2, and other indirect GHG emissions not included in scope 2 are scope 3.
- 8.
Foundation headed by Dame Ellen MacArthur, renowned British winner of sailing races, active in the promotion of environmental protection.
- 9.
Definition ©ISO. This material is reproduced from ISO 14064-1:2018, with permission of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on behalf of the International Organization for Standardization. All rights reserved.
- 10.
Clause 9.3.1 ©ISO. This material is reproduced from ISO 14064-1:2018, with permission of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on behalf of the International Organization for Standardization. All rights reserved.
- 11.
Clause 9.3.2 ©ISO. This material is reproduced from ISO 14064-1:2018, with permission of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on behalf of the International Organization for Standardization. All rights reserved.
- 12.
Annex F ©ISO. This material is reproduced from ISO 14064-1:2018, with permission of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on behalf of the International Organization for Standardization. All rights reserved.
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Shideler, J.C., Hetzel, J. (2021). Counting Carbon. In: Introduction to Climate Change Management. Springer Climate. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87918-1_3
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