ITU Symposium ICTs, the Environment and Climate Change May 2012 - Montreal (Canada) ITU-T Recommendation L.1420 : Is it that difficult to comply with it? Slide 1 What is Recommendation L.1420 ? What is it for? • It is a Recommendation providing guidance on how to assess environmental impacts of ICT in organizations. – It has been built with a large number of representatives from the ICT sector and governments. It deals with energy consumption and GHG emissions. – It is in line with widely used international voluntary measuring and reporting schemes. • It complements ISO 14064-1 and the GHG Protocol. • This Recommendation covers: – The assessment of the life cycle environmental impact of ICT Goods, Networks and Services used by an organization (“Non-ICT organizations”) – The assessment of the environmental impact of an ICT organization (“ICT organizations”) – The reporting of these impacts to ensure fair and transparent communications Slide 2 Agenda General Concepts Recommendation L.1420 For ICT organizations Recommendation L.1420 for Non-ICT organizations Conclusions Back-up information Alcatel Lucent • • • • • On the left-hand side of the slide, this illustrates how Alcatel Lucent applies this Recommendation Slide 3 Agenda • • • • • General Concepts Recommendation L.1420 For ICT organizations Recommendation L.1420 for Non-ICT organizations Conclusions Back-up information Slide 4 Scope • The assessment of the environmental impact of an ICT organization. – An ICT organization is an organization, the core activity of which is directly related to the design, production, promotion, sales or maintenance of ICT goods, networks or services. • The assessment of the life cycle environmental impact of ICT Goods, Networks and Services used by an non-ICT organization . – Other organizations • The interpretation of these impacts and their fair and transparent reporting – Documentation is required • This Recommendation does not address GHG removals or rebound effects – GHG removals for ICTs is not the highest priority – Rebound effects are still under study Slide 5 Scope • The Recommendation covers the 3 scopes: – Scope 1 (Direct emissions): Activities owned or controlled by your organization that release emissions straight into the atmosphere. • Examples of scope 1 emissions include emissions from combustion in owned or controlled boilers, furnaces, vehicles. – Scope 2 (Energy indirect): Emissions being released into the atmosphere associated with your consumption of purchased electricity, heat, steam and cooling. • These are indirect emissions that are a consequence of your organization's activities but which occur at sources you do not own or control. – Scope 3 (Other indirect): Emissions that are a consequence of your actions, which occur at sources which you do not own or control and which are not classed as scope 2 emissions. • Examples of scope 3 emissions are business travel by means not owned or controlled by your organization, waste disposal, or purchased materials or fuels. • • Assessment and reporting for scope 1 and scope 2 emissions are mandatory. Assessment and reporting for scope 3 emissions are optional. Slide 6 Agenda • • • • • General Concepts Recommendation L.1420 For ICT organizations Recommendation L.1420 for Non-ICT organizations Conclusions Back-up information Slide 7 Recommendation L.1420 for ICT organizations • Evaluation of energy consumption and GHG impact • Setting the Organizational boundary • Setting the Operational boundary • Selection of quantification methodology • Annual assessment/Establishment of a base year • Recalculation of energy and GHG inventory (restatements) • Uncertainties • Reporting Slide 8 Evaluation of energy consumption and GHG impact • The guidance sets out broad general principles for how to measure and report GHG emissions and energy consumption. • The organization must calculate emissions from all scopes 1 & 2 sources of emissions that result directly from its business operations. • The evaluation of the life cycle energy consumption and GHG impact should be aggregated to an organizational level according to the principles outlined in this Recommendation. Slide 9 Setting the Organizational boundary • The organizational boundaries should include all operations and subsidiaries used by the organization according to the consolidation approach – The equity share approach – under which a company accounts for GHG emissions from operations according to its interest in the operation. – The control approach – under which a company accounts for 100% of the GHG emissions from operations over which it has control. Control can be defined in either operational or financial terms. • The operational control approach – a company has operational control over an operation if the company or one of its subsidiaries has the full authority to introduce and implement its operating policies at the operation. • The financial control approach – a company has financial control over an operation if the company has the ability to direct the financial and operating policies of the operation with a view to gaining economic benefits from its activities. • The Recommendation does not mandate any particular approach but the chosen approach shall be the only applied approach. Slide 10 Example of Consolidated Approach Alcatel Lucent • In setting organizational boundaries and for corporate reporting of consolidated GHG emissions Alcatel Lucent employs the “operational control” approach in establishing organizational boundaries. – Under this approach, Alcatel Lucent will account for 100 percent of GHG emissions from operations over which it has operational control. – Thus, Alcatel Lucent is not required to account for GHG emissions from facilities in which it owns or leases, yet does not exert operational control. • “Operational control” means that Alcatel Lucent has the full authority to introduce and implement its operating policies at the operation. – For leased facilities, “operational control” means that Alcatel Lucent has the ability to track energy use and/or emissions from the lease (i.e., we pay the utility bills of the leased facility). – facilities which are leased and subleased by Alcatel Lucent to tenants of which we do not have control of or responsibility for utility payments, are not considered to be under the Operational Control of Alcatel Lucent. Slide 11 Setting the Operational boundary • Establishing operational boundaries involves – identifying GHG emissions and energy consumption associated with the organization’s activities – Categorizing them as direct or indirect – Assigning the appropriate scope for accounting and reporting • Not always an easy task!! Slide 12 Setting the Operational boundary Alcatel Lucent has elected to include world-wide Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 activities within its operational boundaries. Alcatel Lucent • Slide 13 Selection of quantification methodology • Selection or development of GHG emission factors • Calculation of GHG emissions as under GWP factors for GHG taken from IPCC Time frame of 100 years Slide 14 Emission factors • According to Recommendation L.1420, the organization shall select or develop emission factors that : – are derived from a recognized origin, – are appropriate for the GHG source concerned, – are valid at the time of quantification, – take into account the quantification uncertainty and are calculated in a manner intended to yield accurate and reproducible results, and – are consistent with the intended use of the GHG inventory. • Except for GWP factors, no strict recommendations are made – A lot of emission factors databases exist • National : ADEME, DEFRA, US EPA • International : IEA (International Energy Agency) – May be a need for improvement, since companies will choose their own emission factors sources, making comparisons relatively difficult and result consistency challengeable Slide 15 Emission factors • Emission Factors employed within the GHG Inventory Management System are: – Alcatel Lucent • • USEPA Climate Leaders Greenhouse Gas Inventory Protocol Core Module Guidance Electricity Emission Factors were obtained from the following sources: – United States Source - eGRID EMISSION FACTORS – Canada: CO2e factors from Canada's "National Inventory Report” – Australia: Australian Greenhouse Office Factors and Methods Workbook – UK: 2009 Guidelines to Defra/DECC's GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting International Sources (unless noted otherwise): – CO2: International Energy Agency, "CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion” – CH4/N2O: International Electricity Emission Factors by Country – International Energy Agency – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) • Alcatel Lucent annually verifies that references and emission factors are kept current • When updated emissions rates become available, the inventory is subsequently be updated to reflect the correct emission rates for each year. Slide 16 Alcatel Lucent Example of calculation • Emissions associated with marine fleet operations are dependent upon the Fuel Type and the volume of Fuel Used. Alcatel Submarine Networks Marine maintains a listing of all owned vessels with associated fuel consumption. All GHG estimation procedures are based on individual vessel assessments. • Vessel: Lodbrog : 4,816 tonnes of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) • Fuel Oil Density (kg/gal) : 3.75 (Residual Fuel Oil) – • Emission factors – – – • 11.27 kg CO2/gallon 0.86 g CH4/gallon 0.30 g N2O/gallon Calculation – – – • 4,816,000 kg HFO/3.75 = 1,284,267 gallons HFO 1,284,267 gallons×11.27 = 14,473,689 kg CO2 1,284,267 gallons×0.86/1000 = 1,104 kg CH4 1,284,267 gallons×0.30/1000 = 385 kg NO2 Total = [14,473,689 +1,104*21 +385*310]/1000 = 14,616 tonnes CO2e – 21 and 310 are the respective GWP for CH4 and NO2 (source : IPCC) Slide 17 Data Collection • Identify the relevant GHG activity data required under chosen GHG quantification methodology. • Extract the data which is further required for GHG emission quantification. – Facility usage rates of electricity, fossil fuels, purchased steam and chilled water are obtained from invoices supplied by the service provider. – Mobile fleet usage is tracked via the corporate fueling card account program – Business travels are tracked by the corporate travel agency – Employee personnel vehicle usage during business travel is tracked via corporate reimbursement activities • Put in place a data collection quality assurance! • Define a document retention and control policy – What do you do with data in electronic form? – Disclosure policy to be set up Slide 18 Data Collection • Throughout the year each authorized Contributor will input applicable data into the web-based tool Alcatel Lucent – Applicable data is either manually entered into applicable cells contained within the data input screen or batch loaded into the system employing CSV files, whereby associated GHG emissions are calculated. – After data input, GHG emissions are calculated and can be viewed on the Overview dashboard or downloaded in a report file. • • • • • Facility usage rates of electricity, fossil fuels, purchased steam and chilled water are obtained from invoices and/or bills of lading. Refrigerant loss records are determined from maintenance reports provided by equipment service providers. Mobile fleet usage is tracked via the corporate fueling card account program. Employee personnel vehicle usage during business travel is tracked via corporate reimbursement activities. Records are to be retained on-site or stored at a designated location. At least annually, the Climate Change Department will request copies of the facility usage data. Slide 19 Annual assessment / Base year • Assessments shall be carried out on an annual basis with the date of publication of the ITU-T Recommendation L.1420 as a reference. • However, a different base year could be chosen when: – The organization estimates that the quantity and/or quality of available verifiable data for this particular different year would guarantee a more accurate evaluation of its GHG emissions and energy consumption. – The organization has already put in place an assessment and reporting process based on a different base year, compliant with this Recommendation. – The activities carried out by the organization generate unusual fluctuations of GHG emissions and/or energy consumption in such a way that the base year might not be significant. • Any choice of a different base year shall be documented Slide 20 Annual assessment / Base year • Base Year Alcatel Lucent – The base year is 2008. Slide 21 Recalculation of energy and GHG inventory • Applies under 2 circumstances: – Structural changes which include mergers, acquisitions and divestments and/or outsourcing or in-sourcing of GHG emitting activities. – Discovery of significant errors contained within the base year emission calculations which can necessitate a change in the emissions inventory. • L.1420 makes no recommendations as to what constitutes a “significant” change and thus the need to adjust base year emissions Slide 22 Recalculation of energy and GHG inventory • Structural changes include mergers, acquisitions, and divestments and/or outsource or in-sourcing of GHG emitting activities. – • • Methodology changes include changes in activity data accuracy, changes in emission factors, and/or changes in the methodology used to calculate GHG emissions. Changes due to New Emission Factors: Alcatel Lucent – • Should errors be identified during subsequent year inventory reporting that trigger the Significance Threshold, corrections to the “base year” emissions will be made. Changes due to Data Accuracy and Availability: – – • In the event that there is a change in a published emission factor that does not reflect a real change in actual emissions from the source, the emission factors will be changed for each of the previous years as well as the current one and the “base year”. Changes due to Errors: – • Changes in the status of leased assets are considered structural changes. Should new data become available on source emissions that was not previously available (refrigerant loss records etc.) or if new methodology results in obtaining more accurate data on source emissions, an adjustment to the “base year” emissions may be required. In such cases the Significance Threshold will be evaluated to determine whether adjustments to past year’s inventories are warranted. Alcatel Lucent defines a “Significance Threshold” requiring a change in the “base year” emissions as a significant structural or methodology change or discovery of errors resulting in a 5% change in total GHG emissions that would result if a correction was not made. Slide 23 Uncertainties • An uncertainty assessment for GHG emissions and energy consumption shall be performed in accordance with ISO 14064-1 clause 5.4 to the extent needed to understand the inventory results. – It is part of a broader learning and quality process • There are several type of uncertainties associated with GHG inventories (scientific, estimation, parameter, model, statistical, systematic). • Analyzing and quantifying some uncertainty aspects are extremely difficult and likely beyond the scope of most organization’s inventory efforts • At present, there is no precise guidance on how to address all uncertainty related issues Slide 24 Uncertainties • We are in the take-off phase of assessing the impact of uncertainties by: – Estimating level of errors in calculating usage rates and CO2e. • Errors occur during unit conversion, Alcatel Lucent • intermediate calculation activities (i.e.; rounding-off before the final calculation), • and not employing the correct “significant figures”. – Evaluating the cumulative effects on the final result Slide 25 Reporting • The energy and GHG report content should contain: – A description of the reporting organization and the person responsible the reporting period or periods covered – Documentation of organizational boundaries and operational boundaries – A description of the quantification methodologies used within the framework of the study – The principles for collection of energy data, GHG activity data and emission factors – The results of the uncertainty assessment for GHG emissions and energy consumption performed according to ISO 14064-1 – The results of energy consumption assessment and GHG emissions assessment – Any recalculations including corrections of the corresponding clauses of the previous report(s). – A statement that the energy report and the GHG inventory report has been prepared in accordance with the principles outlined in the Recommendation. Slide 26 Alcatel Lucent Reporting and other management tools • Alcatel Lucent provides a report in line with the ITU-T Recommendation L.1420 • All documents will be retained indefinitely in electronic form. Hardcopy versions of documents will be retained until goal year reporting is complete. • The GHG Inventory reporting mechanism will be audited for compliance with current protocols and guidance annually. • A third-party validation/verification organizations to audit our inventory management plan and greenhouse gas inventory program, annually. • Training sessions are conducted annually to discuss program objectives and requirements, including the goal and current progression towards the goal year Slide 27 Agenda • • • • • General Concepts Recommendation L.1420 For ICT organizations Recommendation L.1420 for Non-ICT organizations Conclusions Back-up information Slide 28 Recommendation L.1420 for Non-ICT organizations • Evaluation of energy consumption and GHG impact • Setting the Organizational boundary • Setting the Operational boundary • Selection of quantification methodology • Annual assessment/Establishment of a base year • Recalculation of energy and GHG inventory (restatements) • Uncertainties • Reporting Slide 29 Evaluation of energy consumption and GHG impact • For Non-ICT organizations, the methodology covers the use of ICT in any kind of organization, including but not limited to organizations such as banks, insurance companies and public administrations. • The evaluation of the life cycle energy consumption and GHG impact when using ICT in organizations should be based – on the Recommendation ITU-T L.1410 Part I and – aggregated to an organizational level according to the principles outlined in this Recommendation. • In a nutshell, you isolate your ICT-related activities from the rest of your business! Slide 30 Main differences with ICT organizations’ requirements • Setting the Organizational boundary • Setting the Operational boundary – Isolate the ICT-related part of the organization from the rest – A list of equipment to be taken into account is given • Selection of quantification methodology • Annual assessment/Establishment of a base year • Recalculation of energy and GHG inventory • Uncertainties • Reporting The other parts are common to both types of organizations Slide 31 Agenda • • • • • General Concepts Recommendation L.1420 For ICT organizations Recommendation L.1420 for Non-ICT organizations Conclusions Back-up information Slide 32 Conclusions • This Recommendation is intending to help organizations to assess their GHG emissions and energy consumption • The ITU-T Recommendation L.1420 is the unique standard (e.g. provided by an official SDO) in this domain. • Nothing incredibly original – looks a lot like the GHG Protocol – Main objective is to unify the various assessment methods, not to re-create the wheel – Several companies are in the act of checking the delta with their current processes • First feedbacks show that L.1420 is easily applicable • Recommendation L.1420 will certainly need improvements – Nobody is perfect – Sources of Emission factors – Too complicated? Too flexible? Too rigid? – …. • Any feedbacks from other ITU Members and/or other stakeholders are welcome and will improve the Recommendation L.1420. Slide 33 Thanks for your attention Slide 34 Agenda • • • • • General Concepts L 1420 For ICT organizations L-1420 for Non-ICT organizations Conclusions Back-up information Slide 35 Presentation of scopes 1, 2 and 3 Slide 36 Scope 1 • It relates to the direct GHG emissions generated by facilities within its organizational boundaries. • Direct GHG emissions are principally the result of the following types of activities undertaken by the company: – Physical or chemical processing. Most of these emissions result from manufacture or processing of chemicals. It should be noted that this is applicable to ICT to a limited extent. – Transportation of materials, products, waste and employees. These emissions result from the combustion of fuels in company owned/controlled mobile combustion sources. – Fugitive emissions. These emissions result from intentional or unintentional releases such as SF6, equipment leaks from joints, seals, packing, and gaskets during the use of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, e.g. air conditioning for data centers and making wafers. – Combustion of fuels e.g. for power supply back-up of ICT goods and cooling of ICT goods. Slide 37 Scope 2 • Scope 2 accounts for GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by the company. • Purchased electricity is defined as electricity that is purchased or otherwise brought into the organizational boundary of the company. – For many companies, this represents one of the largest sources of GHG emissions – If the organization does not own the electricity lines, TD losses are not part of scope 2 – Purchase of electricity for sale to end-user are not in scope 2. Slide 38 Scope 3 • Scope 3 emissions are all of the indirect emissions that result from a company’s activities that are not Scope 2 emissions. • They represent emissions that occur in the life-cycle steps of a product or process that occur before the company’s activities, such as those resulting from the production and transport of raw materials. • They also represent emissions that occur in the life-cycle steps of a product after a company’s activities, such as from the transportation and use of products, as well as the disposal of waste materials. • Trends in product use emissions must be interpreted carefully – It could be hard to figure out a realistic way of accounting for the product use – Not necessarily reflects the efforts made by the organization in reducing its footprint • If an organization chooses to assess scope 3 GHG emissions, Appendix I in the Recommendation lists categories that should be taken into account by the organization when claiming compliance with this Recommendation. Slide 39 Presentation of ISO principles Slide 40 Principles • Relevance – Select GHG sources, data and methods appropriate to the assessment of the GHG emissions of ICT activities and organizations. • Completeness – Include all specified GHG emissions that provide a material contribution to the assessment of GHG emissions arising from products. • Consistency – Enable meaningful comparisons in GHG-related information. • Accuracy – Reduce bias and uncertainties as far as practicable. • Transparency – The organization shall disclose the information sufficiently to allow a third party to make decisions with confidence. Slide 41 Relevance • This means that it contains the information that report users—both external and internal to the organization—consider significant and need for their decision-making. • The selection of reporting boundaries for GHG emissions is an important aspect of relevance. – The accounting and reporting boundaries should appropriately reflect the GHG emissions of the organization. – The choice of appropriate boundaries depends on the characteristics of the organization, the intended purpose of the GHG information, and the needs of the users. • organizational structures and operational boundaries • The business context • Specific exclusions or inclusions, which should be transparently identified and the rationale provided. • The boundaries should represent the substance and economic reality of the business, and not merely its legal form. Slide 42 Completeness • All emissions within the chosen organizational and operational boundaries that are material to users should be reported to allow the reporting organization’s emissions to be assessed. • In practice, a lack of data or the cost of gathering data may be a limiting factor in the completeness of the inventory. – When emissions have not been estimated, or have been estimated at an insufficient level of quality to be included, the potential impacts and relevancy of the exclusion should be transparently documented and explained. • The principle of completeness is not contradicting the possible exclusion of negligible emissions. – ITU-T Recommendation L.1420 allows their exclusion if an explanation is given as to why they are excluded. – if the totals of emissions that are excluded are not considered significant by the users of the reported information, this should not be considered to be in violation of the principle of completeness. Slide 43 Consistency • Users of the report (and the organization itself!) may want to track and compare GHG emissions information over time in order to identify trends and to assess the performance of the reporting organization. – The consistent application of boundary definitions, accounting practices and calculation methodologies over time is essential for the production of comparable GHG emissions data. – The GHG information for all facilities within an organization’s reporting boundary must be compiled in a manner that ensures that the aggregate information is internally consistent and consistent over time. – If there are changes in the scope, methods, data or any other factors affecting emission estimates, they should be transparently documented and justified. Slide 44 Accuracy • As a means of promoting credibility in their reported emissions, organizations should ensure accuracy in their emissions estimation process. • Data should be sufficiently accurate and precise to enable intended users to make decisions with confidence. – Because the intended uses of inventory data vary, the necessary level of accuracy will also vary. – Organizations should ensure that GHG measurements, estimates or calculations are systemically neither over nor under the true emissions value, as far as practicable. • Need to balance the cost-effectiveness of obtaining accurate emissions estimates with the intended use for the emissions information. Slide 45 Transparency • Transparency relates to the degree to which information on the processes, procedures, assumptions and limitations of the GHG inventory are disclosed. • A transparent report will provide a clear understanding of the issues in the context of the reporting company, and a meaningful assessment of performance. – Information should be reported in a clear, understandable, factual, neutral and coherent manner. – Any changes to the data, methods or other factors affecting a time series of reported emissions should be transparently documented. – Information on internal audits or external third-party reviews should be included with the report. – Information should be recorded, compiled and analyzed in a way that enables internal reviewers and external verifiers to attest to its credibility. Slide 46 Presentation of main Consolidation approaches Slide 47 Equity Share Approach • Accounting for GHG emissions based on equity share is appropriate for: – Liability and risk management. • GHG emissions accounting and reporting based on equity share provides a more representative and complete picture. • Therefore, it provides a realistic picture of liabilities and risks to management, employees, shareholders. – Situations where greater resources are available for conducting the inventory. • Reporting on the basis of equity share requires companies to obtain information from other parties for operations they do not control. – If this is not possible, they may need to estimate emissions from similar operations for which they have data. • In either case, costs may be expected to be greater than for calculating emissions from sources under their operational control. Slide 48 Operational Control Approach • Reporting based on the operational control approach is appropriate for: – Performance tracking. Having operational control suggests a greater degree of influence than merely holding a share of the equity. – Situations where resources for inventorying emissions are limited. • Reporting on the basis of operational control can be expected to be less costly than reporting on the basis of equity share because the reporting company will, by definition, have ready access to the data needed to estimate emissions. Slide 49 Financial Control Approach • Reporting based on the financial control approach is appropriate for alignment with financial accounting. – Similarly to the equity share approach, the financial control approach results in closer alignment between GHG accounting and financial accounting. – It should be noted that the financial control boundary does not include some arrangements that can be common in some industrial sectors. • Petroleum sector Slide 50 Detailed description of L.1420 For non-ICT organizations Slide 51 Setting the Organizational boundary • The organizational boundaries should include all operations and subsidiaries used by the organization according to the consolidation approach – The equity share approach – under which a company accounts for GHG emissions from operations according to its interest in the operation. – The control approach – under which a company accounts for 100% of the GHG emissions from operations over which it has control. Control can be defined in either operational or financial terms. • The operational control approach – a company has operational control over an operation if the company or one of its subsidiaries has the full authority to introduce and implement its operating policies at the operation. • The financial control approach – a company has financial control over an operation if the company has the ability to direct the financial and operating policies of the operation with a view to gaining economic benefits from its activities. • The Recommendation does not mandate any particular approach BUT the chosen approach shall be the only applied approach. Slide 52 Setting the Operational boundary • Identify emissions related to… – design, production and use of ICT goods and associated support equipment present in the organization. – design and production of ICT associated consumables present in the organization. – software and ICT services purchased by the organization concerned. – disposal of all ICT goods present in the organization, disposal of consumables (e.g. worn cartridges or waste paper) and end of life associated with software and ICT services purchased by the organization. • A list of ICTs is given in the Recommendation Slide 53 List of ICTs to be considered • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Desktops; Laptops; Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) screens; Flat screens; Individual printers; Cables; Network printers and copiers; Servers, switches and routers; Fax machines; Scanners; Fixed phones; Mobile phones; Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) and tablets; Projectors; Videoconference installations; Televisions; Cooling systems for ICT goods; Other small ICT goods; Outsourced ICT goods, in particular outsourced datacenters; ICT-Dedicated Power supply back-up generators. Slide 54 Setting the Operational boundary • Emission sources including the following activities (in scope 3) may also be considered: – daily commute to work and business travel of Information Technology (IT) department staff. – freight of purchased ICT goods entering the organization. – freight of ICT goods within the organization premises. – and freight of ICT goods leaving the organization’s premises when decommissioned. • Data ordinarily comes from invoices, reports for corporate reimbursement activities, estimated energy usage and applied emission factors… • For each of the three scopes (if all covered) the selected emission sources shall be clearly described and documented. Slide 55 Selection of quantification methodology • Selection or development of GHG emission factors • Calculation of GHG emissions as under GWP factors for GHG taken from IPCC Time frame of 100 years Slide 56 Emission factors • According to Recommendation L.1420, the organization shall select or develop emission factors that : – are derived from a recognized origin, – are appropriate for the GHG source concerned, – are valid at the time of quantification, – take into account the quantification uncertainty and are calculated in a manner intended to yield accurate and reproducible results, and – are consistent with the intended use of the GHG inventory. • Except for GWP factors, no strict recommendations are made – A lot of emission factors databases exist • National : ADEME, DEFRA, US EPA • International : IEA (International Energy Agency) – May be a need for improvement, since companies will choose their own emission factors sources, making comparisons relatively difficult and result consistency challengeable Slide 57 Data Collection • Identify the relevant GHG activity data required under chosen GHG quantification methodology. • Extract the data which is further required for GHG emission quantification. – Facility usage rates of electricity, fossil fuels, purchased steam and chilled water are obtained from invoices supplied by the service provider. – Mobile fleet usage is tracked via the corporate fueling card account program – Business travels are tracked by the corporate travel agency – Employee personnel vehicle usage during business travel is tracked via corporate reimbursement activities • Put in place a data collection quality assurance! • Define a document retention and control policy – What do you do with data in electronic form? – Disclosure policy to be set up Slide 58 Annual assessment / Base year • Assessments shall be carried out on an annual basis with the date of publication of L.1420 as a reference. • However, a different base year could be chosen when: – The organization estimates that the quantity and/or quality of available verifiable data for this particular different year would guarantee a more accurate evaluation of its GHG emissions and energy consumption. – The organization has already put in place an assessment and reporting process based on a different base year, compliant with this Recommendation. – The activities carried out by the organization generate unusual fluctuations of GHG emissions and/or energy consumption in such a way that the base year might not be significant. • Any choice of a different base year shall be documented Slide 59 Recalculation of energy and GHG inventory • Applies under 2 circumstances: – Structural changes which include mergers, acquisitions and divestments and/or outsourcing or in-sourcing of GHG emitting activities. – Discovery of significant errors contained within the base year emission calculations which can necessitate a change in the emissions inventory. • L.1420 makes no recommendations as to what constitutes a “significant” change and thus the need to adjust base year emissions Slide 60 Uncertainties • An uncertainty assessment for GHG emissions and energy consumption should be performed in accordance with ISO 14064-1 clause 5.4 to the extent needed to understand the inventory results. – It is part of a broader learning and quality process • There are several type of uncertainties associated with GHG inventories (scientific, estimation, parameter, model, statistical, systematic). • Analyzing and quantifying some uncertainty aspects are extremely difficult and likely beyond the scope of most organization’s inventory efforts • At present, there is no precise guidance on how to address all uncertainty related issues Slide 61 Reporting • The energy and GHG report content should contain: – A description of the reporting organization and the person responsible the reporting period or periods covered – Documentation of organizational boundaries and operational boundaries – A description of the quantification methodologies used within the framework of the study – The principles for collection of energy data, GHG activity data and emission factors – The results of the uncertainty assessment for GHG emissions and energy consumption performed according to ISO 14064-1 – The results of energy consumption assessment and GHG emissions assessment – Any recalculations including corrections of the corresponding clauses of the previous report(s). – A statement that the energy report and the GHG inventory report has been prepared in accordance with the principles outlined in the Recommendation. Slide 62