Kelly Hoell Good Company Eugene, OR

1. NRG 173: Carbon Footprints for Climate Action in Complex OrganizationsSpring Term 2011Class 6 of 20April 14, 2011 Kelly Hoell Good Company Eugene, OR

2. overview • review of learning objectives • review iconic graphs from course so far • this session’s readings • music delivery • food-miles (“meat vs. miles”) • homework and extra credit opportunity review

3. learning objectives • this session (Session 6) • Remember main lessons from iconic graphs. • Finish discussion of LCA examples. • Hone our understanding of the largest impacts for the various contexts studied. • Decide if the examples hold insights for other contexts. • for next time (Session 7) • Learn how to calculate GHG emissions. • Evaluate pros and cons of publicly available tools. (Beware black boxes) • Become familiar with available resources to find emissions factors.

4. GHG Accounting 101 Source: World Resources Institute

5. home LCA

7. two views of US emissions Source: EPA’s Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials and Land Management Practices

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

9. music delivery, 1 • individual activity: for each of the following, write 1-2 summary sentences • Introduction and Purposes • Who commissioned / paid for the study? Possible areas of bias? Actions taken to limit bias? • Functional Unit (what is it and why?) • What is being studied here? What are the impact categories? • What was not included in the study? Is that reasonable? • review conclusions • implications • Personal behavior? • Corporate behavior?

10. music delivery, 2 • why I love this analysis • presentation of results • sensitivity analysis • clear(ish) implications for behavior, policy • potential problems with the analysis • fast-changing parameters might make it difficult to draw conclusions that have much shelf life -- examples? • key LCA point: carbon and energy only • Note: one data source used was EIOLCA… another was CBECS…

11. music delivery summary graph

12. another way to say it

13. another way to say it

15. music delivery, 2 • carbon/energy focus • What else might matter? • Are carbon and energy good proxies for each other? For other types of impacts? • Business strategy implications? And/or take-aways for other contexts? • dematerialization • transport mode • consumer behavior (vs. delivered product)

16. carbon vs. energy impacts

17. Meat vs. Miles • actual title (not my short-hand): Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States • analysis based on EIOLCA model • punchline(s)? • Big Question: What does the graph mean?

18. sense of scale: food miles Meat vs. Miles

19. sense of scale: food miles a less horrible presentation of data?

20. Meat vs. Miles • to start • make a list of the key points from Weber/Matthews • consider both detailed technical points and high-level talking points for friends and family • I’ll present my set piece, then you add to it or critique it, then I’ll show you some equations

21. sense of scale: food miles smart people saying not-so-smart things

22. sense of scale: food miles miles, yes…but big GHGs or not?

23. sense of scale: food miles meat vs. miles

24. sense of scale: food miles lessons from the food miles frenzy • an indicator may seize attention for a while • truth will, ultimately, be victorious • our intuition might not always guide us well • seek a sense of scale • (eat less meat) • caveats: • miles may matter (even if food-miles don’t) • these comparisons all take the average American diet as the reference point

25. sense of scale: food miles lessons from Weber and Matthews • for CO2e, agricultural production is a bigger deal than the transport of agricultural goods • highest-leverage actions (for CO2e reduction) is reduce meat servings (and, to a lesser extent, dairy) • caveats • all of this is focused on life-cycle CO2e (seeing the world through “carbon goggles”) • based on average American diet • Take your carbon goggles off. What other sustainability concerns are related to food? What other sustainability concerns are addressed by “local” food?

26. sense of scale: food miles Meat vs. Miles • How do these numbers relate to each other? • How might these equations differ for different categories? Or for particular products inside a single category? • How do the final two sets of columns relate to each other?

27. energy vs. GHG emissions from food What does this sentence mean? • “…Many of the analyses have used life-cycle energy use as the relevant measure of sustainability and thus have not included the substantial non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions associated with agriculture.” (page 1)

28. energy vs. GHG emissions from food What does this sentence mean? • “…Many of the analyses have used life-cycle energy use as the relevant measure of sustainability and thus have not included the substantial non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions associated with agriculture.” (page 1)

29. Meat vs. Miles • best part: sets individual decisions in appropriate context • another way to say it: Not paper or plastic, but what you put in the bag • other context that would be helpful for the relevant “decision maker”? Source: http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2007/09/19/it-s-in-the-bag

30. homework, 1 • Seattle Climate Partnership calculator • Clean Air-Cool Planet calculator • TCR GRP – how to do calculations section • University of Texas, GHG Inventory • Person carbon footprint and climate action plan – DUE TUESDAY!

31. homework, 2 • Extra Credit / Absence make-up opportunity: • April 22, Eugene City Club: “Curbing Climate Change, One Bite at a Time”. • Write a one-page (500 words maximum) reaction to any discussion item based on your understanding of Meat vs. Miles, other readings, and carbon goggles. • Recording will be available on klcc.org. • Due Thursday April 28 (before class begins). • Must be well written! 

32. Have a good weekend! Feel free to contact me: Kelly Hoell kelly.hoell@goodcompany.com (541) 341-GOOD (4663), ext. 217