Going… Going Green
Nowadays, going green goes beyond the traditional definition of recycling goods; the term ‘to go green’ means much more than just recycling.
It is truly GO time with the whole world turning to green. Changes in the way we conduct our daily lives is about as ever-changing as seasons, and it is becoming more like seasons in the sense that trend shifts happen every 3 to 4 months.
Mind Shift. Any green personal change starts with a mental shift and focus change from what is good for me, to what is good for us. Being more conscious of our effect on environments around us and globally. This consciousness and a change of our old routines when making decisions, may enable us to make automatic green choices in the future. Education forms a big part of how to make these decisions; unfortunately, many people are heavily influenced by social media and latch onto truths that may not be as green as advertised.
To ensure a successful transition from grey to green (grey seems like the appropriate opposite in this instance) an organisation or person needs to take a measured approach to reduce their carbon footprint.
What is a carbon footprint? A carbon footprint is the calculation of the total greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and indirectly by you, your organisation or company. This is typically calculated and reported over a period of 12 months. For your company, measuring and reporting your carbon emissions is for many a daunting and complex process. It requires the right skills, expertise and time, all of which come at significant cost if sourced internationally. Furthermore, interpreting your business data and applying the correct emissions factors to calculate your footprint requires a thorough understanding of carbon footprint accounting, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, ISO 14064-1 or other carbon reporting standard.
Direct emissions of a carbon footprint Greenhouse gas emissions are ‘direct’ when they are generated from company owned or controlled sources and activities. These are called Scope 1 emissions and are accounted for as such. Scope 1 emissions largely include fuel burned in company owned assets and air conditioning and refrigerant use.
Indirect emissions of a carbon footprint ‘Indirect’ greenhouse gas emissions sources are those emissions related to the company’s activities, but that are emitted from sources owned or controlled by a third party.
Environmental awareness training. Not only will this provide much needed impetus for your ‘greening’ initiatives, but if conducted correctly and with staff commitment, can yield significant bottom line savings. Emission awareness education provides short, sharp presentations on global warming, climate change and the impact of our activities, with the aim of imparting the required knowledge to spur behavioural change.
Carbon Strategy. In the modern business landscape, significant emphasis is being placed on sustainability, specifically a business’ environmental impact through its operations. Add to this, pending carbon tax legislation and predicted water shortages. A tremendous burden will be placed on many companies in the future. A carbon strategy is required to mitigate future risks and facilitate long term sustainability.
Carbon offsets and becoming carbon neutral Carbon offsets will always form part of a holistic carbon management strategy and can be used to mitigate your carbon footprint. It is generally accepted that the long-term solution to climate change and global warming lie in switching to clean and renewable energy. Relying totally on this approach will take far too long, resulting in the disastrous climate change predicted by science. Unless businesses have access to renewable energy sources, mitigating the impacts of global warming through energy efficiency and process optimisation alone will not achieve a goal of becoming carbon neutral.
In the short-term carbon offsets can be used to compensate for business emissions. This is achieved by purchasing an equivalent carbon dioxide emission saving certificate to offset the business emission. As climate change is a global issue, a carbon offset purchased from any verifiable source, regardless of location, can be used to render an organisation’s emissions carbon neutral.
The process involves calculating the total amount of carbon emissions produced in kilograms or tons of carbon dioxide (Co2e), namely your carbon footprint. You then purchase the equivalent measure of carbon offset credits from recognised emission reduction projects to offset these emissions.
Energy Efficiency, Management and Reduction. As energy consumption forms the lion’s share of most carbon footprints, energy management and reducing energy is an integral part of any organisation’s carbon reduction strategy. Understanding one’s energy consumption is just one piece of the puzzle. Actively deploying technologies based on sound business cases achieve real financial benefits.
Carbon Protocol of South Africa. Completing all the transformation and submitting your business to the auditing process to determine the amount of credits to be purchased (if you are not in the position to make significant enough changes to energy supply) will earn you a trust seal certificate from The Carbon Protocol.
The Carbon Protocol was established as a collaboration of concerned and interested parties in South Africa to provide a platform to publicly report greenhouse gas emissions into a single registry which supports both the voluntary and mandatory reporting programmes.
The Carbon Protocol also hosts a greenhouse gas assessor database and maintains the development of the Carbon Neutral logo. They are also the registrar of carbon offset providers and supply training courses for accreditation in:
· Carbon Training courses · Water Efficiency · Energy · Solar · Facilities Management · Environmental Strategy · Residential (Eco)
Eco Label. This Eco-Label platform would allow for informative Self-declared Environmental Claims (Type II Environmental Labelling). Various standards or agreements can be used for self-declared environmental claims. Self-declared Environmental Claims are made by manufacturers, importers, distributors or implementers relating to goods or services produced.
These claims are made without independent third-party certification and do not use predetermined/ accepted criteria for reference. For this reason, they are arguably the least informative of the three types of environmental labels. However, Type II environmental labels support positive environmental action and create awareness regarding smaller niche environmental initiatives while informing the general public on environmentally responsible alternatives.
Carbon Offsetting. Through Carbon Protocol of South Africa you can register as a project or get more information on how to squash your carbon footprint bill:
- Credible Carbon – A Voluntary Carbon Registry
- Climate neutral Group – A Social Venture
- Envirotrade – Issues Verified Emission Reduction Certificates
- Food & Trees for Africa – Join their Social and Environmental Enterprises
- Earth Patrol – Environmental/Social Governance Consultancy
Go Green! It is time for all corporations to make a focussed mind shift to go green. Even if it seems out of reach. Connecting and contracting the right partner, will strengthen their, already existing projects and make a difference to the carbon footprint globally. Until we can honestly say carbon has been neutralised.
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