Transcript OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES OF CALCULATING YOUR CARBON …

“OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES OF
CALCULATING YOUR CARBON
FOOTPRINT”
American University
Lindsay Madeira, Manager of Sustainability Programs
American University
Mayra Portalatin, LEED AP, Project Manager
Facility Engineering Associates, PC
American University
Institutional Sustainability
• Tallories Declaration
• American College & University Presidents
Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) *
Requirement
• Baseline Data for Sustainable Rating Systems
– STARs – OP Credit 11: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Reductions
– LEED EB: Operations & Maintenance- EA
ACUPCC
• Commitment to move towards carbon
neutrality by…
– eliminating their contribution to global warming
over time
– accelerating their research and educational
efforts to re-stabilize the earth’s climate
ACUPCC
• What does the commitment involve?
– Create Institutional Structure
– Emissions Inventory
– Take Immediate Steps to Reduce Greenhouse Gas
Emissions
– Establish a Climate Neutrality Action Plan
– Make the Action Plan, Inventory and Progress Reports
Publicly Available
American University
Greenhouse Gas Inventory
• Student Driven Initiative
• AU’s President Signs ACUPPC
• Facility of Engineering Associates – FEA to
help Facilitate Data Collection & Calculation
• Clean Air – Cool Planet Carbon Calculator
Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Meeting the Challenges
• Different Departments Hold Information
• Incomplete Information
• Unavailable Information
Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Transportation
• Transportation sources accounted
for approximately 29 percent of
total U.S. GHG emissions in 2006.
• Accounts for 47% increase of total
US emissions since 1990.
• Falls under Scope 3 Emissions for
GHG Calculations
Table 5: Fleet and Air Travel
MODULE
WORKSHEET
UNIVERSITY
Campus calculator: http://www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/
Direct Transportation Sources
University Fleet
Fiscal Year
Gasoline Diesel Natural
Other Electric
E85 Fleet B5 Fleet B20 Fleet B100 Hydrogen
Fleet
Fleet Gas Fleet
Fleet Fuel Fleet
Gallons Gallons MMBtu
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
-
-
-
Gallons
Gallons
-
-
Gallons Gallons MMBtu
-
-
-
MMBtu
kWh
-
-
Tables 6 & 7: Students, Faculty,
and Staff Commuter Habits
MODULE Input
WORKSHEET Commuter Traffic
UNIVERSITY American University
Students - Personal Vehicle / Carpool
Fiscal Year
Students
#
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
%
Automobile
%
Personal
Trips / Day Days / Year Miles / Trip
Fuel Efficiency
Carpool
Vehicle
MPG
%
%
#
20.63
20.42
MODULE
20.84
WORKSHEET
21.06
UNIVERSITY
20.91
21.19
22.10
Automobile Fuel
22.10
Faculty
% Personal Vehicle
Fiscal Year
Efficiency
22.10
22.10
#
%
22.10 MPG
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
S
-
20.63
20.42
20.84
21.06
20.91
21.19
22.10
22.10
Total
Distance
Fuel
Consumption
Gallons
(Gasoline)
Faculty - Personal Vehicle / Carpool
- Miles / Trip - Total Distance
% Carpool
Trips / Day Days / Year
%
#
#
#
Miles
#
#
Miles
Fuel Consumption
Gallons (Gasoline)
-
-
Transportation Data
Collection Challenges
• Table 5: University Fleet and Air Travel
– Not all Travel is Purchased by AU
– Not all Travel is Documented
– Calculator Needs Miles Travel, Available
Information is Mainly Financial
• Tables 6 & 7: Student, Faculty and Staff Commuter
Habits
– Two types of commuter data
• Commuters with parking permits
• Non permitted Commuters (Pay by day)
Data Collection Challenges
Commuters with Parking Permits
• Multiple Permits for One Commuter (Multiple Cars) –
Double Counting
• Sharing of Permits
• Privacy Issues
• Data With Transportation Services
• Data Collection is Difficult and Time Consuming
– Multiple Departments
– Multiple Data Sets
– Sorting Through Different Types of Parking Permits
(2,700 Permitted Commuters)
Data Collection Challenges
Non-Permitted Commuters
• Little to No Trends
• Campus Wide Survey Necessary
• Some Commuters Could Not Provide Information
(Did not know)
• Many Assumptions Necessary
• Reliability & Repeatability of Data
Collection of Commuter Data
• Small Class – 15 People Collected Data
• They Surveyed Students, Staff, & Faculty in Different
Parking Lots
• Calculated Miles/Gallon Using Make/Model
• Calculated Miles Driven
Collection of Commuter Data
• Target Non-Permitted, Daily-Fee Commuters
– Nebraska Lot (Completed)
– Katzen Lot (On-Going)
• Survey Methodology – Data Collection Times
–
–
–
–
–
M,T,W
8:00-9:30 AM
11:00 AM-12:30 PM
5:00-6:30 PM
After each survey period, all of the cars in the lot were
counted, noting permit status.
Survey Questions
• What is your status?
– Student, Faculty, Staff, Other
• How many times a week do you commute?
• What distance do you commute each way?
• What is the approximate gas mileage of your car?
– <20, 20-30, 30-40, >40
Types of Commuters (%)
Note: Data for “others” were removed from subsequent analyses
Commuting Frequency
Commuting Distances
Average Fuel Efficiency
Estimate of Total Annual
Commuter Emissions
• Carbon footprint:
– 1,033,023 kg = 1,033 metric tons (mt) of carbon
• Monetary Value
– Carbon savings ($30 per mt) = $30,990
Emissions Comparison
Emitter
CO2eq Contribution
Tons per Year
You (average human)
2 pounds/day
.36
Your Car
1 ton per 100 gallons of gas
5–7
Mother Pig and her Piglets
9.2 tons per year
(primarily Methane from effluent)
9.2
Electricity Consumption
Average U.S. Household of 2
8.1
Waste Generation
Average U.S. Household of 2
1.0
Coal Fueled Power Plant
(500 Megawatt Plant)
3.7 Million Tons of CO2 alone
(not including SOx, NOx, particulates, and
heavy metals)
3.7 Million
Absorber
CO2 Removal
Tons per Year
Tropical Zone Trees
50 pounds/year
.025
or
40 trees/ton
Tips for Data Gathering
• Maintain a detailed journal of every telephone
call, inquiry, and successful information
acquisition throughout the collection process.
• Note data gaps to identify areas were record
keeping may need improvement.
• Establish data reporting system moving
forward.
• Set deadlines and follow-up with contacts
when the deadline is here.
Comments or Questions
Contact
Lindsay Madeira, Manager of Sustainability Programs
American University
[email protected]
Mayra Portalatin, LEED AP, Project Manager
Facility Engineering Associates, PC
[email protected]