Carbon footprints and net zero concepts

BY DR SHELLEY ZHOU, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

This article is a summary of a lecture given by Dr Zhou to the Global Women in Logistics and Transport (WiLAT) Sustainability Leadership Programme for 2022. WiLAT is a subsidiary group within the wider CILT International family and runs an annual global training programme for members of WiLAT and CILT. The article is presented to provide some challenges for our members as they assess their own businesses for carbon footprints, carbon reduction and carbon offsetting.

Setting the scene

A greenhouse gas (GHG) is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, halocarbons, and other industrial gases. These may be natural or anthropogenic (caused by humans). Anthropogenic climate change is defined by the human impact on Earth’s climate while natural climate change is the natural climate cycle that has been and continues to occur throughout Earth’s history.

Data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows that the average global sea surface temperature – the temperature of the upper few metres of the ocean – has increased by approximately 0.13°C per decade over the past 100 years. As a result of this seemingly minute change, glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world – Including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska and Africa. Satellite observations reveal that the amount of spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased over the past five decades and that the snow is melting earlier.

The world has recently demonstrated extreme weather as the number of cold days and nights has decreased and the number of warm days and nights has increased on a global scale, with more droughts, heavier rainfalls, heat waves, intense tropical cyclones, more powerful storms and hotter, longer dry periods. from 1850-1900 to 2010-2019 is 0.8°C to 1.3°C, with a best estimate of 1.07°C.

• Global mean sea level has risen faster since 1900 than over any preceding century in at least the last 3,000 years (high confidence).

• It is likely that the global proportion of major (Category 3–5) tropical cyclone occurrence has increased over the last four decades, and the latitude where tropical cyclones in the western North

Pacific reach their peak intensity has shifted northward.

• Event attribution studies and physical understanding indicate that humaninduced climate change increases heavy precipitation associated with tropical cyclones (high confidence).

• Many changes due to past and future greenhouse gas emissions are irreversible for centuries to millennia, especially changes in the ocean, ice sheets and global sea level.

We all know about the impact of the use of fossil fuels and deforestation. But did you know about cement production? Coal and petroleum coke to fuel the kilns for clinker production provides approximately 3.4 per cent of global CO2 emissions. This occurs during the calcination of limestone. Or from waste management? Or the impact of industry which produced chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and perfluorochemicals with the use of SF6-electric insulators, heat conductors or freezing agents?

So, the question is: Do you know which GHG comes from your business? Directly? Indirectly? Or how climate change will affect your business? Take a break to take stock.

Agriculture Canada undertook an analysis for Canada, which is relevant to New Zealand:

Carbon foot print and carbon offsetting

Carbon footprint is a parameter that measures the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e). The World Resources Institute has developed a chart to illustrate the impacts of different levels of global warming.

As we know, the latest science warns that we must reduce net emissions by 45 per cent by

2030 and reach net zero by 2050 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels. Net zero will be achieved when all GHG released by humans are counterbalanced by being removed from the atmosphere in a process known as carbon removal.

Carbon offsetting, if done properly, can contribute to net zero strategies, especially in hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as aviation and agriculture. However, offsetting, if not done well, can result in greenwashing and create negative unintended impacts for people and the environment. There are four key elements to credible net zero aligned offsetting, according to the multidisciplinary team from the University of Oxford:

1. Prioritise reducing your own emissions first, ensure the environmental integrity of any offsets used, and disclose how offsets are used;

2. Shift offsetting towards carbon removal, where offsets directly remove carbon from the atmosphere; 3. Shift offsetting towards long-lived storage, which removes carbon from the atmosphere permanently or almost permanently; and 4. Support for the development of a market for net zero aligned offsets. In the meantime, what can you do? Here is a useful analysis for you to start reviewing your business:

1. What are you doing? › Measure it 2. Set objectives › What do you want to achieve?

3. Avoid › Can you avoid generating emissions, and how?

4. Reduce › How can you change your activities to reduce emissions?

5. Switch › Can you switch energy resources so they are less GHG intensive? 6. Sequester › What options are available to sequester emissions? 7. Assess › What are your residual GHG emissions?

8. Offset › Can you offset your residual emissions?

There are lots of good websites with advice on how businesses can start to reduce their emissions. One example from the UK is

www.herts-iq.co.uk/10-tips-to-help-your-

business-reach-carbon-net-zero/.

10 tips to help your business reach net zero carbon

1. Switch to a green energy supplier 2. Focus on reducing all types of waste 3. Switch to electric vehicles

4. Reduce business travel and enable home working to reduce staff commuting 5. Calculate your business carbon footprint. 6. Re-invest cost savings to further improve sustainability 7. Install solar panels on your roof 8. Tell your staff, customers and supply chain about your actions 9. Only buy from businesses that are taking action on climate change.

10. Switch to financial service providers with strong policies on green investments.

THE CILT NZ ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER

2022 At Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre on Friday 14 of October 2022

This is the highlight on the calendar for the industry – an opportunity to acknowledge successes and celebrate outstanding achievements.

We request CILT members to mark their diaries now and plan to attend the annual Awards Dinner, as we haven’t had a national Awards Dinner for three years due to Covid-19.

WHEN: Friday 14th October 2022 VENUE: Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre 6:00pm: Cocktail Hour at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre 188 Oxford Terrace 7:00pm: Awards Dinner commences 11:00pm: Awards Dinner to conclude

PRICING:

Individual $200 +GST Table of 10 $2000 + GST DRESS CODE: Business attire Bookings can be made on the website:

https://cilt.co.nz/2022-awards-dinner

Discounted accommodation is available through Novotel/Ibis Christchurch and bookings can be made at

https://accorevents.com/offers/cilt-national-awards-dinner

This event would not be possible without the generous support from LPC and our other support partners.