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Butte College – Instructional Arts Paperless Project Cost Analysis & Environmental Impact Case Study. How Much Energy Is Used in the Pulp and Paper Industry? WWF: Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Energy Use in Pulp and Paper Mils http://assets.panda.org/downloads/briefing_co2.pdf.
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Butte College – Instructional Arts Paperless Project Cost Analysis & Environmental Impact Case Study
How Much Energy Is Used in the Pulp and Paper Industry?WWF: Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Energy Use in Pulp and Paper Mils http://assets.panda.org/downloads/briefing_co2.pdf • The pulp and paper industry is extremely energy intensive; it is in fact the world’s fifth largest industrial consumer of energy. • Worldwatch Institute: Paper cuts, recovering the paper landscape No 149 http://www.worldwatch.org/taxonomy/term/40?page=2 • In the US it represents about 12% of total manufacturing energy use. However, energy costs can represent up to 25% of the total costs, so mills make every effort to reduce consumption. • Energy use US .http://www.aceee.org/pubs/ie962.htm • According to the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), Sustainability report 2005: • “The paper industry has made important strides in reducing total energy use since 1973 and in increasing the fraction of energy provided from self-generated biomass sources. The paper industry is now the biggest user and producer of renewable energy sources.” • Nevertheless, many millions of tons of fossil fuel CO2 contributing to climate change are released by paper mills every year.
Case Study Assumptions • All statistics are reflective of DPR’s role only. They do not account for architects, consultants, owners, or subcontractors. While this may present a significantly large impact upon the case study, gathering accurate information is not feasible. • The data presented is in the form of an ideal paperless project and is compared to a fully conventional project. It should be noted that many jobs incorporate various aspects of a paperless jobsite but accounting for this in a case study is too burdensome. • The time required to perform each activity for a conventional project is taken from input from SAC PE’s. • The time required to perform each activity for a paperless project is based from actual experience on the Butte College jobs. • This case study is reflective of an approximately $20M job with a 16 month schedule. While the impacts of larger or smaller jobs may vary, it is estimated that the variance shall be minimal. • The costs of PM’s, PE’s, and FOC’s include burden to represent the cost to the owner. • The costs for the equipment items that have been purchased, not rented, have been standardized to a monthly rate; life expectancy of each equipment item is assumed to be 4 years
Environmental Impact Assumptions • Energy usage numbers for the paperless project are specific to the equipment used at the Butte College jobsite. The conventional jobsite comparison assumes a typical DPR jobsite setup • Environmental impact analysis does not include affects from transportation of materials due to insufficient information • 1.45 lbs CO2 / kW • Instruction for Forms EIA-1605, Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases, Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy • 14 lbs CO2 / ream of paper • Environmental impact estimates were made using the Environmental Defense Fund Paper Calculator. For more information visit http://www.papercalculator.org. • 1 car emits 11,450 lbs CO2 per year • Emission Facts EPA420-F-00-013 http://www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/f00013.htm • 1 tree can produce 173 reams of paper
Conclusions • The direct and indirect costs of running a paperless jobsite has a significant cost savings to DPR. • This cost savings can easily be had by architects, consultants, owners, and subcontractors • There are a number of immeasurable cost savings from a paperless project; i.e.: the ability for multiple consultants to review a document simultaneously, instant package delivery, etc. • While additional equipment will add cost to the project, the return from a significant increase in efficiency results in a net savings • Use of additional equipment on the jobsite has a minimal impact on the environment. • A reduction of the amount of paper used results in a net decrease of the jobsite’s CO2 footprint. However, the amount of CO2 reduced is minimal.