The tools for the job
While scientists debate climate change and governments impose greater regulation around carbon emissions, businesses are left trying to measure the impact their work is having on the environment. But do they have the right tools?
Under the terms of recent and forthcoming legislation, governments across Europe will have to account for all of their carbon emissions. This is putting pressure on the business community to live up to these standards. But as yet there is no universally agreed method for the comprehensive measurement of carbon emissions. This is prompting serious concern among businesses within the public and private sector.
“Some companies, such as those in the power sector, burn fossil fuels directly and their carbon measurement processes are therefore fairly straightforward,” says David Nancarrow, managing director of environmental management and remediation with Atkins. “But other businesses emit carbon in a more indirect manner with a significant proportion of their carbon emissions being embedded within their products and services. As a result, these are more difficult to reliably measure and hence control.”
Notwithstanding, carbon tools are poised to become a vital ingredient for any business that needs to track its emissions and this includes most large commercial and public sector organisations.
Looking forward
In response, Atkins is continuing to invest in the development of carbon measurement tools.
For example, some businesses are keen to extend carbon savings over and beyond the manufacturing stage right through the entire product’s life-cycle.
Atkins developed a bespoke carbon measurement tool for Pace plc that helps the Set Top Box manufacturer monitor the carbon emissions associated with its supply chain. The tool applies to supplier companies, which represent over 50 per cent of all components used in Pace’s STB products, providing a commendable start in tackling its product-related carbon emissions.
There is no reason why, eventually, this approach could not be applied to virtually all goods and services in circulation, in much the same way that society accounts for the flow of money.
Meanwhile, for any business looking to produce new infrastructure, Atkins’ web-based Remediation Options Carbon Calculator (ROCC) calculates the CO2 emissions of individual brownfield sites and works out which remediation technique is the most environmentally friendly option.
Water under the bridge
UK water companies need to act quickly to reduce their emissions for Phase One of the Carbon Reduction Commitment, beginning in January 2010. The water sector accounts for three per cent of total energy use in the UK.
For Southern Water, Atkins developed a carbon calculator to estimate the CO2 emissions associated with both infrastructure and processes. Similar work has also been carried out for Sutton & East Surrey Water and South East Water.
Atkins’ carbon accounting tools can even help companies make more informed financial decisions based on capital cost efficiency. The Carbon Calculator enabled both Southern Water and Pace to compare both the environmental cost of future activities and their financial cost. It uses a mechanism that works out the price of emissions based on the Shadow Price of Carbon, published by the UK’s Department for Environment, Rural and Food Affairs (Defra).
Carbon emissions: now and tomorrow
Reliable carbon measurement and accounting tools will help companies get their environmental and financial balance sheets in good standing for the future. And companies that apply these tools now will be in better shape even beyond the current recession.
Moreover, the recent “carbon budget” of 2009 indicates that the UK is to adopt carbon budgeting as one way to reach the country’s overall target for carbon reduction, namely 80 per cent by 2050. As climate change accelerates, the need for carbon measurement and accounting methods will be more sought after than ever before.