Lecture 5 - Understanding and Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Overview

• Focus on Scope 1 and 2 emission reduction through building design and construction.
• Continuation from previous lectures on identifying and determining scopes of GHG emissions.

Recap of Previous Lectures

• Setting Boundaries: Identified organizational and operational boundaries where interventions can occur.
• Emissions Inventory: Accounted for emissions sources, identifying positions for action and types of interventions.
• Scope Definitions: Explained scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and categories involved (6 categories for scope classification).
• Challenges: Discussed challenges in identifying different emissions.

Case Studies Overview

• Focus on real projects and how different companies report their GHG emissions.
• GHG Protocol principles: transparency, completeness, etc.

Case Study 1: US Healthcare

• Scope 1 (Direct Emissions):
  • Emissions from facilities (hospitals, care units) not including purchased electricity.
  • Includes emissions from medical processes (e.g., incinerators) and fleet vehicles (ambulances).
• Scope 2 (Indirect Emissions):
  • Indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heating, and cooling.
• Scope 3 (Indirect Emissions):
  • Includes food catering, medical supplies, business travel, staff commuting, and construction emissions.
  • Identified additional emissions from patient and visitor travel (not under standard scopes).

Case Study 2: Dairy Farm

• Scope 1:
  • Direct emissions from on-farm activities (machinery, livestock, fertilizer reactions).
  • Identification of carbon sinks (e.g., forests) and their impact on emission calculations.
• Scope 2:
  • Purchased electricity and cooling for farm use.
• Scope 3:
  • Indirect emissions from purchased goods, transportation, and sold product processing.
  • Includes end-of-life treatment of products and waste management.

Case Study 3: Academic Institutions

• Scope 1:
  • Direct emissions from campus power plants and fleet vehicles.
• Scope 2:
  • Purchased electricity from the grid.
• Scope 3:
  • Indirect emissions from air travel, waste transportation, and emissions from campus buildings due to embodied energy from construction.

Case Study 4: Tile Manufacturing Plant

• Scope 1:
  • Direct emissions from fuel combustion in kilns and machinery operation.
• Scope 2:
  • Purchased electricity and related transmission losses.
• Scope 3:
  • Transportation of raw materials and finished products, packaging material production, and emissions from raw material extraction.

Additional Examples

• National Grid:
  • Identified fugitive emissions from gas leaks and transportation emissions.
• Apple & Microsoft:
  • Scope 1: Direct emissions from manufacturing processes.
  • Scope 2: Power consumption for data centers and offices.
  • Scope 3: Hardware disposal and lifecycle emissions.
• Airport Carbon Footprint:
  • Scope 1: Direct emissions from energy production and ground transportation.
  • Scope 3: Emissions from aircraft not owned by the airport.
• Real Estate Company (Mahindra and Mahindra):
  • Construction emissions treated as Scope 1 while operational energy emissions post-sale are Scope 3.
• IKEA:
  • Considered customer travel emissions in location decisions as part of Scope 3.

Conclusion and Next Steps

• Focus on accounting methods in week 4.
• Discussion on quantifying emissions and implementing policies for emission reductions.
• Narrowing focus to building design and construction impacts on Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

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Note: Ensure to review the practical examples shared for better understanding of GHG emissions classification and reporting.