DDi - June 2010 - (Page 14)

14 | Greentailing Carbon preparedness s discussions around the impact of climate change continue to deepen, many retailers, suppliers and designers have begun preparation to manage the emissions that result from their enterprises. With carbon as the resounding metric, there’s no better time than now to put some policies and basic measures in place. Despite what many may suggest, jumping right into a carbon inventory is not always the most productive first step. Why? Because carbon accounting is built from the International Standards Organization (ISO 14064)—the WRI/WBCSD’s Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol)—and this requires data, real data, not assumptions. It is here, in the mining of real data, where the biggest challenges emerge for retailers and their partners. For example, a retailer may know how much it spends on electricity in a given year, but does it have store-by-store kilowatt-hour (kWh) use organized and ready for reporting at the drop of a dime? Most do not. To set the stage, this column is intended to provide a snapshot on what I’ll refer to as “carbon preparedness,” and offer a brief overview of what you’ll need to start considering per-carbon accounting guidelines set forth in GHG Protocol. A To be prepared, your energy procurement and facility teams need to require the organization of kWh use in an accessible network that can be easily accessed for emission modeling. Without having a basic framework in place, ongoing carbon footprints will be expensive and require much more time. Scope 3: Preparedness for others’ emissions The final scope of GHG Protocol covers the resulting emissions that arise from sources that are owned or controlled by others. Every retailer has its own unique real estate, product and operational footprint; and therefore, each will measure a different set of emission activities, making this scope one of the most challenging to prepare for and manage. Perhaps begin tracking emissions for your top five or 10 cost centers first. Scope three carbon emission assessments often include employee commute, business travel, product on your shelves, fixtures and POP, marketing, logistics and off-site waste disposal. But again, it depends on your business model. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Wal-Mart Sustainability Index—essentially what this does is hold their suppliers accountable for measuring and reducing their carbon footprint. Many retailers are beginning to do this via surveys or green procurement policies, and hence, why many suppliers have begun to be asked about their carbon-management efforts. Essentially, carbon data provides a means to benchmark and understand a retailer’s largest environmental impact areas in a neutral, non-prescriptive way, and allows a retailer to develop reduction plans that align with its unique brand. Suppliers and designers are both a large part of the picture, not just in impact, but in helping retailers design and plan around a low-carbon diet. The best part is that you can’t cut carbon without cutting costs—so there is no better time to figure out how carbon can serve as a tool for you. Cheers, Scope 1: Preparedness for direct emissions This scope requires companies to track emissions that result from activities that are owned or leased (controlled) by your company. In the majority of cases, this includes emissions that result from the combustion of natural gas from heating, refrigerant leakage in cooling systems and fossil fuels combusted in company-owned vehicles. The global warming potential behind refrigerants is bad, so we’ll start there. Getting accurate data will require you to track refrigerant type and pounds that have leaked per unit, per site. If HVAC systems are managed internally, suppliers should build data tracking into company policy, as well as create a database and systems to capture the results. If services are contracted out, suppliers should make sure that the maintenance partner is able—and willing—to track the refrigerant type and leakage by pound, per system. Natural gas and transport fuel use is no different—details are needed. A company needs to track thermal units used per month, per location for natural gas, and miles traveled and fuel type vehicle for transport fuel. Scope 2: Preparedness for indirect emissions Scope two requires companies to track all energy purchased for running facilities, equipment, stores, warehouses, etc. Essentially, energy used for all owned and leased space within your control. Again, this comes down to tracking hard data—and for this scope the metric is kWh. What you’ll need and want is as much granular data around energy use as you can get—including the detailed energy use for all major loads that might be sub-metered within your operations. Why sub-meter? Because you’ll quickly understand where your biggest liabilities are in regards to emissions resulting from electricity use. Some energy grids are dirtier than others, so tracking utility sources is equally as critical. Justin Doak Founder, Ecoxera – Green Business Strategy for Retail Send green retail questions to justindoak@ecoxera.com. www.ddionline.com | June 2010 http://www.ddionline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DDi - June 2010

DDi - June 2010
From the Editor
Newsworthy
Quick Tips
Greentailing
Editor’s Choice
Design Snapshot
Channel Focus: Home Furnishings
Levi’s London
Berlin
Put the “StoreFirst”
Branding in 2010
Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands 2010
POP Products
Right Light
In-Store Technology
Product Spotlight
Calendar
Advertisers
Classifieds
Shopping with Paco

DDi - June 2010