NRG 173: Carbon Footprints for Climate Action in Complex Organizations Spring Term 2011 Class 1 of 20 March 29, 2011

1. NRG 173: Carbon Footprints for Climate Action in Complex OrganizationsSpring Term 2011Class 1 of 20March 29, 2011 Kelly Hoell Good Company Eugene, OR

2. overview • introductions • overview of the course • syllabus • expectations • content for the day • sustainability context • introduction to climate change • discussion

3. introductions • name • why did you take the RCM option? • what do you want to learn in this class?

4. Good Company • sustainability research and consulting firm • mission-driven, for-profit • clients: government, higher ed, private sector • Kelly: Environmental Science background, consultant (5+ years), LEED™ AP

5. Good Company climate services work • examples of public sector and higher ed clients • Oregon University System • University of Texas • City of Vancouver, WA • City of Portland Parks and Recreation Department • examples of private sector clients • regional quick-service restaurant chain • high-efficiency roofing company • engineering/consulting firm • small and medium-sized insurance firms • additional projects • alternatives analysis for infrastructure and development • life-cycle analysis for renewable energy development

6. objectives • understand the connections between energy, climate change and sustainability • learn basic concepts of carbon accounting • build quantitative intuition for business activities that result in greenhouse gas emissions • apply life-cycle thinking to greenhouse gas emissions calculations for organizations and products; review several greenhouse gas inventories, climate action plans, and life-cycle carbon analyses

7. in other words… source: Sightline Institute

8. What is the right question? Sense of scale? source: Sightline Institute

9. syllabus review • course materials • goodcompany.com/hoell/NRG173/lcc/ • communicate clearly; often by e-mail • all materials submitted electronically • NRG 173 in subject heading of all e-mail • use descriptive subject headings and document titles • do your work; submit it on time; do it well • 25% spelling/grammar; 25% structure; 50% content • rewrites allowed • don’t cheat; show up and participate • bottom line: I am tough, but fair. I want you to learn. Let me know how I can help.

10. let’s dive in… • sustainability overview • climate terminology • overview of US and global emissions • climate science • short version: science has told us enough that we can get working on the details. • a warning: Beware of carbon goggles!

12. What matters most? Typical answers: • Health, well being • Quality of life, fun • Children, family, friends, pets • Job security and quality • Learning/growing/knowledge/personal development • Sense of purpose; doing a good job at work • Sense of community/participation/belonging • The well being of the planet/people/other species • Beauty, art • Freedom, justice, dignity • Faith

13. sustainability Meeting the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. source: Brundtland Commission, Brundtland Report, 1987

14. Sustainability is: “...improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems.” Caring for the Earth “...A community is unsustainable if it consumes resources faster than they can be renewed, produces more wastes than natural systems can process or relies upon distant sources for its basic needs.” Sustainable Community Roundtable “Sustainable development can only be pursued if population size and growth are in harmony with the changing productive potential of the ecosystem.” World Commission on the Environment and Development definitions, 2 – limits

15. A Sustainable Society is: “...characterized by an emphasis on preserving the environment, developing strong peaceful relationships between people and nations, and an emphasis on equitable distribution of wealth.” Co-op America “Sustainable global development requires that those who are more affluent adopt lifestyles within the planet’s ecological means.” World Commission on the Environment and Development Sustainable development is: “…the process of building equitable, productive and participatory structures to increase the economic empowerment of communities and their surrounding regions.” Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility definitions, 3 – fairness and needs

16. understanding the Sustainable Brain The Sustainable Brain The Typical Brain

17. a look inside the Typical Brain enlarged view The Typical Brain big houses in the suburbs air pollution my car my beautiful lawn my daughter’s asthma cancer reality TV local farmers electricity the food I eat pesticides

18. a look inside the Sustainable Brain enlarged view The Sustainable Brain big houses in the suburbs electricity my daughter’s asthma my car air pollution local farmers? cancer pesticides the food I eat my beautiful lawn reality TV?!?

19. common sustainability action areas common focus areas: • energy, climate, water, waste/recycling/composting • landscape maintenance and custodial services • purchasing (paper, computers, equipment, etc.) • transportation • green or high-performance buildings (LEED) • performance indicators, assessment areas of integration and coordination: • land use planning and transportation • endangered species preservation • education, training and organizational change

20. So, sustainability is… • “what matters most” (consensus) • the ability to make connections • common focus/action areas • main points common to many/most definitions: • individual and collective health • economic vitality • current and intergenerational equity • some sort of triple bottom line or three-legged stool

21. environment society economy another view…

22. climate change: environmental impacts

23. climate change: societal impacts New Orleans population 2000: 484,674 New Orleans population 2009: 354,850

24. climate change: economic impacts $109 billion: Cost of Natural Disasters in 2010 – January 26, 2011 “Natural disasters caused $109 billion in economic damage last year, three times more than in 2009, with Chile and China bearing most of the cost, the United Nations said on Monday,” Laura MacInnis of Reuters reports. While a decent portion of that was from earthquakes, climate change was a huge potential culprit for the rest. “Landslides and floods last summer in China caused $18 billion in losses, data compiled by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) showed….The July-August floods in Pakistan cost $9.5 billion.” source: http://planetsave.com/2011/01/26/109-billion-cost-of-natural-disasters-in-2010/

25. climate change: economic impacts $109 billion: Cost of Natural Disasters in 2010 – January 26, 2011 “Natural disasters caused $109 billion in economic damage last year, three times more than in 2009, with Chile and China bearing most of the cost, the United Nations said on Monday,” Laura MacInnis of Reuters reports. While a decent portion of that was from earthquakes, climate change was a huge potential culprit for the rest. “Landslides and floods last summer in China caused $18 billion in losses, data compiled by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) showed….The July-August floods in Pakistan cost $9.5 billion.” source: http://planetsave.com/2011/01/26/109-billion-cost-of-natural-disasters-in-2010/

26. your job as a sustainability professional • help people understand how people, the planet and our ability to make a living are connected • take actions that protect these three components simultaneously

27. WARNING: Beware of carbon goggles! • course focus: GHG emissions • however, GHG-generating activities often have other environmental, financial, health or other concerns: • air pollution • habitat degradation/destruction • fossil-fuel and other natural resource extraction • pollution and depletion of freshwater supplies • loss of topsoil • financial constraints • more

28. terminology for now • global warming vs. climate change • carbon (or climate) footprint, GHG inventory • greenhouse gases, GHG emissions, GHGs, global warming pollution, carbon • “carbon” is inaccurate • we really mean carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions of all kinds • life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions • carbon footprint ≠ Ecological Footprint

29. terminology for later • climate risk, carbon risk • carbon disclosure, emissions disclosure • mitigation, abatement, GHG reduction • adaptation • climate action, climate action planning

30. think high school: biological carbon cycle

31. biological vs. fossil carbon cycle Land Use Changes

32. please memorize this for a test at 11:45 Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and EIA

33. please memorize this for test at 2 PM

34. overview of US emissions • nomenclature

35. overview of global emissions Source: Vattenfall

36. major take-away(s)?

37. An issue of fairness? source: Union of Concerned Scientists

38. CO2 Emissions in 2002, in tons per capita An issue of fairness? source: World Bank online database, 2004

39. IPCC summary climate science (2007) • observable climate changes • artic temperatures and ice, precipitation amounts, ocean salinity and warming, extreme weather and temperatures • anthropogenic warming • fossil fuel use, land-use change, agriculture all increase greenhouse gas concentration and global warming • future changes in climate • global models used in climate change simulations predict larger changes for future unless something is done IPCC AR4 Working Group 2, http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg2.htm

40. consensus on (un)certainty From the IPCC in 2007:

41. closing optimism Is it even possible? • Can we reduce GHG emissions as needed? • Yes, because: • We’ve done it before. • We’re actually doing it now (just too slowly). • The first wave of work will save money.

42. closing optimism Is it even possible? Yes, Part 1. • We’ve done it before.

43. closing optimism Is it even possible? Yes, Part 2. • We’re actually doing it now (just too slowly).

44. equations to inform our thinking squeezing value from energy (and carbon) Carbon Intensity of Energy Energy Intensity of Economy The Economy Emissions

45. equations to inform our thinking squeezing value from energy (and carbon) Source: US EPA. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks 1990-2008

46. equations to inform our thinking squeezing value from energy (and carbon) Carbon Intensity of Energy Energy Intensity of Economy The Economy Emissions ~Stable

47. closing optimism Is it even possible? Yes, Part 3. • The first wave will save money.

48. Will it Scale? • The big question is Source: Pathways to a Low-Carbon Economy, McKinsey & Company (2009)

49. Thank you! Contact me with questions: Kelly Hoell kelly.hoell@goodcompany.com (541) 341-GOOD (4663), ext. 217