Assignment for Co2 Australia by Team SUstainable Seminar03 group 9

1. Team Sustainable
Adrian Heng
Dave Jong
Gwendolyn Ng
Kwee Yiyang
Mo Hong Rui
1

2. Content
 Carbon footprint
 Stakeholder’s analysis
 Calculation of carbon footprint
 Alternatives
 Decision criteria
 Recommendation
 Executive summary
2

3. Carbon Footprint?
0 “ An estimate of the climate change impact of an activity”
0 Calculated by estimating emissions of greenhouse gases
0 Consequences?
 Increased global temperature
 Weather disasters
 Health hazards
3

4. Carbon Footprint – Why the interest?
0 Various organizations increasingly concerned about carbon emissions
0 Increased pressures from governments
0 Help companies improve their image
0 Cost savings
0 Build on CSR goals
4

5. Nanyang Technological University
Vision
“ A great global university founded on science and technology”
Mission
“ Nurturing creative and entrepreneurial leaders through a broad education in
diverse disciplines”
5

6. Stakeholders’ Analysis
Stakeholders
Interests
NTU
Image/ reputation; R&D; Welfare and performance of
students and staff; Achieving CSR goals
Students
Good learning environment; Reasonable tuition fees;
Quality of learning experience; Convenience
Lecturers/ Professors
Good working environment; Performance of students;
Salary
Government
Quality of graduates; R&D; Image/reputation;
Nurturing leaders of tomorrow
External Organizations (e.g. Toshiba, Singapore
Environment Institute )
Profitability; Image/ reputation; Achieving
organizational goals
Parents
Welfare of child; Reasonable tuition fees; Quality of
education
6

7. Steps to calculating carbon footprint for NTU
(GHGP)
1. Identify Green House Gases (GHG) emissions sources
2. Collect activity data and choose emission factors
3. Apply calculation tools
4. Roll-up GHG emissions data to corporate level
7

8. Main Activities resulting in co2 emissions
0 Campus transport
0 Purchased electricity
0 Air-conditioning
0 Student & employee commuting
0 Paper consumption
0 Water consumption
8

9. Emission sources
Scope
Scope 1 (Emission
sources owned by the
organization)
Scope 2 (Electricityrelated activities)
Scope 3 (Emission
sources not owned by
the company)
Sources
• Campus transport
• Purchased electricity
• Air conditioning
•
•
•
•
Student commuting
Employee commuting
Paper consumption
Water
9

10. Calculating activity data
0 CO2 emissions are calculated by multiplying activity data for each (sub)
0
0
0
0
0
category with the corresponding emission factor
Emission factors – Measure of the average amount of a specific pollutant or
material discharged into the atmosphere by a specific process, fuel, equipment,
or source. It is expressed as number of kilograms or particulate per ton of the
material.
Example: Transport – CO2 from fuel use
Electricity – CO2 from fuel combustion
Water – Emission factor of supplying and treating the water in water companies
Paper – emissions of producing and transporting the paper
10

11. Scope
Campus transport
2,407
14,947,027
Air conditioning
20,803,466
Employees commuting
537,010
Students commuting
26,292,098
Paper usage
186,441
Water usage
Scope 2
Total emissions
(kg, C02-eq)
Purchased electricity
Scope 1
Emissions category
64,020
Scope 3
Total
62,832,469
11

12. Calculation assumptions:
• Distance based on average distance of 35km travelled per student
per day
• 13 weeks per semester, 130 days per year
• Paper usage of 3028 reams per school per year
• Water usage of 4.58m3 per student per year
Source: Singapore Environment Council – School Green Awards
12

13. Alternative environmental strategies
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Transforming a significant proportion of our course delivery
from classroom to an online format
Buying an equivalent amount of carbon offset credits from
CO2 Australia
Energy Management Centre
Data Centre Virtualization
Bicycle Rental Services
13

14. Alternative 1: Transforming a significant proportion of our
course delivery to an online format
0 A platform to deliver lessons to the student population
through online methods, such as e-lecture, social media, etc.
0 Assuming that the school has in place a well-structured online
lesson plan
14

15. Alternative 1: Transforming a significant proportion of our
course delivery to an online format (Con’t)
Benefits
Disadvantages
More flexible learning process, allow
students to learn effectively at their
own pace
Lack of person-to-person interaction,
discussion may not be well-facilitated
online and queries may not be
adequately answered
Reduce carbon emission from
Cause of procrastination, as learners
students/employees commuting, paper with low motivation or bad study habits
usage and the use of classroom
might lag behind
electricity
Train one to be a more active learner
and more independent at the same
time
In the event of emergency (for
instance, SARS outbreak), student
learning is not affected
Slow and unreliable internet
connection might cause one to be
unable to learn effectively
15

16. Alternative 2: Buying an equivalent amount of Carbon Offset
credits from CO2 Australia
0 A permit which allows a country or organization to produce a
certain amount of carbon emissions and which can be traded if
the full allowance is not used (Google Definition)
0 This form of credit allow a company to ensure that they keep
within their target for carbon emission, at the same time, sell
off any excess carbon credit to reward them.
0 This is in line with the Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted
initially in 1997 by various countries
16

17. Alternative 2: Buying an equivalent amount of Carbon Offset
credits from CO2 Australia (Con’t)
Benefits
Cons
In cases where carbon emissions are
inevitable, this carbon offset scheme
provide a way to remediate the effects
Does not solve the root problem; No
incentive for companies to reduce
emissions, merely offset
Does not require any additional
implementations for the organization
purchasing the carbon credit
Concentration of emissions in specific
regions of the globe which can potentially
be harmful for those regions
Difficult to estimate amount of emission
absorbed by trees
Difficult to guarantee permanence of
forests. Carbon trees are temporary and
can “easily release carbon.... Through fires,
disease, climatic changes, natural decay”
17

18. Alternative 3: Energy Management Centre
0
0
0
0
0
Automated sensor system implemented throughout NTU
All electricity is switched off automatically when the venue is not in use
Ability of Management Centre to remotely control all electricity usage
Electricity resumes when user steps into the venue
Saves about 75% (~ 123 Million kWh) of idle electricity
Source: Princeton University; Low power Wake-on-LAN Challenges&Solutions
0
0
0
0
Replace all existing old fluorescent and incandescent bulbs with LED
LED lighting lasts up to 10 times longer
LED uses 67% lesser amount of electricity
Ability to save up to 10.7Million kWh amount of electricity in NTU
Source: EarthEasy; NTU 2013 ISCN-GULF Sustainable Campus Charter Report
18

19. Alternative 4: Data Centre Virtualization
0 Approximately, only ¼ of electricity is utilized for core functions of data centres
0 About 50% was wasted due to cooling purpose and other peripheral function
0 Web virtualization for data storage could reduce energy wastage by more than
50%
0 Ability to save up to 33% of electricity in NTU
0 Further extended through collaboration with Toshiba to implement Infocommunications Technology (ICT)
Source: Host Europe: Advancing CSR and Sustainability In a Medium-Sized IT Company; Cool Idea-Potential One-Third Cut in Data Centre’s Bills
19

20. Alternative 5: Bicycle Rental Services
0 Provide bike rental services at nearby MRT Stations and within campus
0 Students can rent the bikes using their EZ-link cards
0 Reduces carbon emission from shuttle buses and provides an alternative
means of transport for students
0 Also encourages a healthy lifestyle
20

21. Decision Criteria
Affordability
0 Within financial capabilities of NTU
0 Initial cost < overall benefit
Receptivity to change & ease of implementation
0 Drastic changes may result in backlash
Impact on the environment
0 Extent of reduction of emissions
0 Effect on net environmental impact
Availability of resources
0 Technical & monetary resources
21

22. Matrix
Decision Criteria/
Alternatives
Impact on the
environment (30%)
Ease of
implementation
(25%)
Affordability
(25%)
Availability of
resources (20%)
Total
Online
Classroom
Carbon Credit
Energy
Management
Centre (LED
Lighting)
Data Centre
Virtualization
Bicycle Rental
Services
4
2.5
3
3
3.5
3.5
4.5
3.5
3
4
4
2.5
3
3
4
4
4
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.9
3.3
3.2
3.1
3.8
22

23. Recommendation
0 For a start, we will increase the number of online classes to replace
existing seminars in a bid to reduce paper wastage and travelling needs.
0 At the same time, we will gradually implement the bicycle rental system
at Boon Lay and Pioneer MRT Stations.
0 This will help us achieve our goal of reducing our carbon footprint.
23

24. Executive Summary
0 Carbon emissions have been increasing rapidly, leading to global warming. Each of us has
a role to play in reducing these emissions. An organization like NTU will need to take up
measures and various initiatives in order to reduce their carbon footprint, and play a part
in corporate social responsibility to lead by example.
0 We have come up with several alternatives to achieve these objectives. Firstly, we aim to
transform our normal seminar class into an online one, which enables us to reduce carbon
emissions in many ways. Paper usage, the use of electricity classrooms, student
commuting all cause substantial carbon emissions. Hence, online classes help to decrease
our carbon footprint.
0 Another alternative would to be purchase carbon credits from companies like CO2
Australia. Purchasing such credits allows us to offset our carbon emissions and is hassle
free. Other alternatives include using Energy Management Center , Data Center
Virtualization and implementation of bicycle rental service.
0 When evaluating these alternatives, our decision criteria are based on ease of
implementation, affordability, availability of resources and the impact on environment.
0 Taking up such measures bring in financial benefits, improves the reputation of the
organization and most importantly, helps to alleviate the effects of our carbon footprint
on the environment.
24