CARBON AUDIT AS A CATALYST FOR SUSTAINABILITY

CARBON AUDIT is often interrelated to ENERGY AUDIT, why? It is because carbon emission is a product of energy consumption. Various sources of energy have some level of contribution to atmospheric greenhouse gases which are mainly Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Nitrous oxide (N2O) and Methane (NH4) as these gasses accumulates in the atmosphere to form a shiel of gasses called Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). There is more emphasis on carbon dioxide as it is the largest contributor of greenhouse gases. Major energy sources in use today include – petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear, geothermal, biomass, hydropower, wind, solar and other. Other energy forms that are fossil fuels like petroleum, natural gas, coal emits carbon dioxide as products of combustion, unlike clean energy sources. Carbon audit starts from energy audit, then the carbon contribution of energy consumption per year is evaluated to know the level of carbon emission. Renewable energy sources, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency are – solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, biomass and hydropower. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) carbon assessment strategy has to do with measurement of Heat content mmBTu per ton of energy consumption, CO2 factor (kgCO2 per mmBtu), CH4 factor (kg NH4 per mmBTu) and N2O factor (kg N2O per mmBTu). Whether fossil fuel or not. The KWh energy consumption sources has some level of CO2 or NH4 or N2O factor due to composite materials are associated with manufacturing and use of electrical materials and non-electrical items. GHG Emission Hub of the United States Environmental Protection Agency provides various emission factors by fuel type, by region and by country for various categories and generations of vehicles and equipment to guide carbon and energy assessors.

Table C-1 to Subpart C of Part 98 – Default CO2 Emission Factors and High Heat Values for Various Types of Fuel

Electrically powered equipment has kg CO2 factor / KWh or kg NH4 factor / KWh emission factor in the EPA sources likewise other countries based on standards, records and research databases similar to fossil fuels above. The energy star carbon credit is useful in classifying the magnitude of carbon emissions by various energy sources.

CARBON AUDIT METHODOLOGIES

Methods adopted in carbon audits all generally comply to processes of ISO 14001 – Environmental Management Systems, and ISO 550001 – Energy Management Systems upon which other guides and standards like the following: 

• Carbon Footprint Standard, Lifecycle Assessment (LCA), formulated by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
• Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Assessment, Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) Assessment.
• Building Research Establishment Assessment Method (BREEAM).
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Strategy.
• Public Availability Specification (PAS 2050) Specification for the Assessment of the Life cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Goods and Services.
• Public Availability Specification (PAS 2060) Carbon Neutrality
• Other international assessment methods.

CARBON ASSESSMENT

The calculation formulae and tables below illustrate a typical carbon assessment procedure.

Hours per day appliance is on (hrs x days per year) x power (KW) = (Hrs x Days x Watts)/1000 = KWH

Kilowatts Hour x Emissions Factor (EF) for the given region = KWH X EF = GHG (kg CO2)

TABLE: ENERGY USE BY APPLIANCES, ESTIMATED USAGE BASED ON A SINGLE PERSON

Green Stars Project researched this energy and carbon assessment results below.

The outcome of carbon audit will help in save energy cost, environment management (especially in greenhouse gas emissions and climate change), guide researchers and educators, sustainable supply chain management, energy budgeting or planning, carbon cutting, formulation of laws and policies, guide consumers in making choices, and guide engineers, specifiers and constructors in products and projects development and implementation.

Carbon audit should be carried out periodically to ensure the benchmarks for efficient energy, clean energy, carbon reduction and carbon offsetting are met in the private and public sectors of all economies.

Author: William Nwaogu (Technical Advisor) 

SAFETY CONSULTANTS & SOLUTION PROVIDERS LIMITED

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. International Standards Organization (2018) ISO 50001 – Energy Management Systems. Geneva. International Standards Organization

1. International Standards Organization (2015) ISO 14001 – Environmental Management Systems. Geneva. International Standards Organization

1. US Environmental Protection Agency (2019) Energy Star Guidelines for Energy Management. Washington D.C., Natural Resources Canada.

1. JKayBay (2016) Green Stars Project; User-generated Ratings for Ethical Consumerism – Daily Footprint, #7 –Home Appliances – How to calculate your carbon footprint. (December 30, 2016) https://greenstarsproject.org/2016/12/30/how-to-calculate-carbon-footprint-home-appliances/

1. Carbon Footprint (2022) Household Energy Consumption (Assessed on November 4, 2022) https://www.carbonfootprint.com/energyconsumption.html

1. Federal Register, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2022) Code of Federal Regulations, A Point in Time in eCFR System. Table C-1 to Subpart C of Part 98 – Default CO2 Emission Factors and High Heat Values for Various Types of Fuel (Updated on: 11-02-2022) https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=ae265d7d6f98ec86fcd8640b9793a3f6&mc=true&node=pt40.23.98&rgn=div5#ap40.23.98_19.1

1. Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (2022). List of Grid Emission Factors version 11.0. Available at: https://pub.iges.or.jp/pub/iges-list-grid-emission-factors

1. International Energy Agency (2021) Net Zero by 2050 Scenario – Figures and data along with projections at global level for the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-product/net-zero-by-2050-scenario

1. United States Environmental Protection Agency- EPA Center for Corporate Climate Leadership (2022) GHG Inventory Development Process & Guidance; GHG Emission Factors Hub. https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/ghg-emission-factors-hub

1. Carbon Footprint (2020) Grid Electricity Emission Factors v 1.3, July 2020.

1. Carbon Footprint (2022) Calculate. https://www.carbonfootprint.com/measure.html

1. PointCentral – An Alarm.com Company (2019) Average Cost Saving from Smart Home Technology. Published on 25-02-2019. Assessed on November 2-11 – 2022 at – https://www.pointcentral.com/2019/02/25/average-cost-saving-from-smart-home-technology