C02 AustraliaChanging our World: do we plant trees or create online courses? 

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Group members: CHNG Si Lin Jocelyn CHUA Jun Xiang LEE Josiah LIM Jia Min Cheryl WONG Yik James

AB0401 Seminar 04

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Agenda1. Calculations of Carbon

Footprints2. Stakeholder Analysis3. Alternative

Environmental Initiatives

4. Executive Summary

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Carbon FootprintWhat constitutes to the carbon footprint calculations?

Wiedmann & Minx (2007): “a measure of the exclusive total amount of carbon dioxide emissions that is directly and indirectly caused by an activity or is accumulated over the life stages of a product”.

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Steps to carbon

footprint calculations

Inputs Processes Outputs

1. Create a process map2. Defining the

boundaries of the analysis

3. Collecting the necessary data

4. Calculation of the footprint.

More information : http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/faculty/hall/publications/PAS2050_Guide.pdf

The process map will include all stages and potential emission sources from any activity that contributes to the delivery or use of the service.

The system boundary defines the scope for the product carbon footprint, i.e. which life cycle stages, inputs and outputs should be included in the assessment.

Begin collecting more specific data following the requirements and recommendations of PAS 2050, which will enable assessment of the carbon footprint in more detail. Two necessary data types: activity data & emission factors

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Activity DataActivities that lead to emissionsE.g.amount of gasoline used in a certain time frame (in litres), or the amount of paper consumed (in kilograms).

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/faculty/hall/publications/PAS2050_Guide.pdf

Mandatory activities to include in the CO2 calculations

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Mandatory activities to include in the CO2

calculation:Electricity consumed, Heat generated, Employee commuting, Paper usage,Employee travel, Emissions of student commuting (waste, water,

electricity T&D losses, other on-campus stationary sources, water and direct transportation )

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Carbon Footprint Calculations

Two basic types of data are necessary to calculate the CO2 emissions : Activity data & Emission FactorsEmission factor (CO2 per unit)

Emissions can be expressed into CO2 emitted per unit of measurement (kg / km / l / etc).

For example, an emission factor could state the amount of CO2 that is emitted per kilogram of paper.

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Carbon Footprint Calculations

The total CO2 emission of the university should be calculated by multiplying emission factors and activity data for all the (sub)categories; taking the sum of these multiplications gives the total CO2 emission of the university.

CO2 emission = Activity data (kg / km / litres / etc) * Emission factor (CO2 per unit).

The degree of uncertainty of the calculations can be assessed by doing a sensitivity analysis.

(Stefan Sprangers)

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Carbon Footprint Estimate

Scope Source Total emissions (kg), C02

Scope 1 Campus-generated electricity Negligable  Campus-owned transport 2,155.40Scope 2 Purchased electricity 25,484,680.00  Heat/Air-conditioning 18,723,120.00Scope 3 Faculty Commuting 2,697,869.20  Student Commuting 6,343,091.30  Financed Travel 488,023.90  Paper consumption 145,003.95  Waste 175,100.90Total 54,059,044.65

 Students 32,862Employees 4,214Total per student (kg) 1407.23Total per employee (kg) 1854.43

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Estimation Notes

A significant portion of NTU’s carbon footprint comes from air-conditioning expenses

Student commuting is relatively minimal due to large amount of on-campus accommodation

NTU students are still relatively paper-reliant

Overall emissions are high No significant on-campus energy generation, and little/no use of alternative “green” energy sources such as solar or hydraulics

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STAKEHOLDERS

By integrating and matching their interests with our value proposition, we will be able to effectively convince our stakeholders to buy-in to our initiatives

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StakeholdersThe table provides information of our primary stakeholders and their

interests, who will benefit from our initiatives.

Stakeholder Interests Value Proposition

NTU Admin cost, reputation in terms of ranking, CSR goals, good learning and working environment

Eco-efficiency Guenster et al. (2006)

Students Cost of education, convenience, effective learning, quality of learning

Employees Pay, working conditions, promotions

Government Budget variances, sustainability initiatives, CSR

Environmen-talists

CSR, carbon footprint, green efforts

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A vicious cycle De Vries (2011) and Guenster et

al. (2006)

How well an organization manages its carbon footprint will in return provide good service to its financial and non financial goals and vice versa

An organization that fails to assess and manage its carbon footprint will inadvertently be producing excess carbon which means more dollar values are being disposed to unnecessary carbon emissions which otherwise could have been better invested for higher returns

Eco-efficiency

Cost savings

Reduce carbonValue add

Reputation

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BENEFITS of measuring carbon footprints

1. Financial benefitsProvide a strong incentive to reduce the

carbon emissions and hence save a substantial amount of costs from being eco-friendly

Able to provide more services at lower prices to students and othersGain competitive advantage against other universities (Porter & van der Linde, 1996)

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BENEFITS of measuring carbon footprints

2. Reduce carbon emissionNTU, as one of the fastest growing

universities, should move in pace with this development and start measuring and reporting about their carbon emissions

Be socially responsible in mitigating effects of climate change and environmental pollution created by their operations

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BENEFITS of measuring carbon footprints

3. Value add and support to other stakeholders’ interestsReducing costs means higher profits (ceteris

paribus)Cost savings can be used to meet other

stakeholders’ needs like reducing tuition fees for students, providing better pay and improving working conditions to employees etc

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BENEFITS of measuring carbon footprints

4. Reputation benefitsWorks positively on stakeholders like the

media, governmental institutions, employees, investors and potential partners in improving reputation

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ALTERNATIVE environment initiatives

Think Green, Choose Wisely, Create, Deliver, Less Usage, Use Wisely and Recycle & Reuse

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ALTERNATIVE environmental initiatives

1. Transforming a significant proportion of our course delivery from classroom to an online format

2. Buying an equivalent amount of carbon offset credits from CO2 Limited Group

3. Other viable alternatives leading to a carbon-neutral future

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1. Transforming a significant proportion of course delivery from classroom to an online formatNTU can use social media or online platforms to

conduct lessonsBenefits of using online platforms to conduct

lessons Reduce carbon emissions from commuting, printing

of papers and electricity Able to transcend time and space across

international borders More interactive with videos, sounds and images

(meet interest of students’ learning experience) Students able to learn at their own pace, more

effective learning

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2. Buying equivalent amount of carbon offset credits from CO2 Group Limited

A carbon credit is an offset that can be exchanged on a market

For example, company A may have established an emission reduction of 200 tons CO2 this year. However, company A does not need this emission reduction to meet Kyoto Protocol targets. Thus, company A goes to the Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism to get a Certified Emission Reduction (CER), which is a credit that can be sold on the market

This credit enables organizations to reach their overall ‘green’ target while signaling organizations to be mindful of their carbon emissions

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PROSHassle-free (Do not have to modify current

practices)CONSNTU would spend money (lower profits) by

buying carbon offset creditsMay not be a long-term solution (only short-

term compensatory solution)

2. Buying equivalent amount of carbon offset credits from CO2 Group Limited

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Mete out punishments and rewards according to Vroom’s expectancy theory Punish employees for unfavorable variances from utilities

(electricity, water) and stationery expenses (e.g. paper) Reduce year-end bonuses Impose penalties

Reward employees for favorable variances from utilities and stationery expenses Increase year-end bonus Allow them to use cost savings for towards department’s

welfare (e.g. cohesion day)

3. Other viable alternatives leading to a carbon-neutral future.

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Optimized green and privacy solar absorbing glasses that can reduce the heat entering classrooms and staffrooms

Pre-set air conditioning to 24 degree Celsius (no option to lower temperature)

Electrical saving day (similar to e-learning week where students will not be required to come to school but lessons be conducted through e learning)

Have outdoor learning

3. Other viable alternatives leading to a carbon-neutral future.

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Partner recycling companies to help recycle waste created by schools

Use gas instead of electricity as resourcePartnering industry to develop and adopt

greener technologiesSeek governmental aid and support required

to develop greener technologies (Lee and Win, 2004)

3. Other viable alternatives leading to a carbon-neutral future.

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Proposed recommendationsfor action by NTU

• Popular usage and ease of accessibility to information technology today Transform a few chapters of module to be taught in class to online format first

• Concurrently, phase out implementations of our viable alternatives our team proposed over a period of 2 years

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Executive Summary We all know the damaging effects of C02 to the environment

such as its potent contribution to greenhouse effects. But how many of us know how much are we contributing to the environment from our daily activities?

NTU teaches us corporate social responsibility and the significance of giving back to society. But first and foremost, how can the university be at the forefront of carbon reduction?

This keynote suggests viable alternatives the university can partake in, how they can calculate the carbon footprint to identify major contributors that need to be cut down and the stakeholders directly affecting and affected by carbon emissions.

It also attempts to persuade NTU to join forces in “going green” for a more sustainable world.