2015 GHG Emissions Report

Transcription

1 INTREN, Inc GHG Emissions Report Kiwanda Evans September 1, 2016

2 Table of Contents Abstract... 2 Program Overview... 3 GHG Emission Charts Greenhouse Gas Emissions Results & Summary... 2 Fuel Use Scope 1 Emission... 2 Purchased Electricity Scope 2 Emission... 3 Employee Commuting Scope 3 Emission... 3 Purchased Natural Gas Scope 1 Emission... 4 Business Travel Scope 3 Emission... 4 GHG Emission Results Summary Added Measurements... 6 Water Consumption... 6 Waste Generation... 6 ADDENDUM... 7 Data Collection Analysis... 7 Fuel Use... 7 Purchased Electricity... 7 Employee Commuting... 7 Purchased Natural Gas... 8 Business Travel... 8 Water Consumption... 8 Waste Generation

3 Abstract The data collection and GHG calculations for 2015 was the fifth year INTREN participated in the EUISSCA (aka The Alliance) survey. The first four years of the program, INTREN utilized a consultant to review and calculate the GHG emissions reported. In 2013, the following general goals were proposed to maintain the momentum of the program: 1. Maintain data Collection Improvements 2. Maintain Single Point of Contact 3. Create, Test, and Use Data Collection Tool 4. Maintain Energy Efficiency and Environmental Initiatives 5. Industry Comparison In 2016, INTREN created an environmental & program administrator position within the company. The transition from consultant to in-house support, along with the newly added supplier scorecard provided by the EUISSCA survey, INTREN was able to successfully complete the goals established in The groundwork has been placed to develop, communicate, and implement an environmental sustainable plan that is more mature; allowing for accurate data and clear initiatives to continue on course to maintain goals established in 2013 and successfully complete the following goals for 2016 and beyond. 1. Reduce GHG emissions annually by 10% through Purchase 10% clean renewable electric energy for offices nationwide 3. Open 3 new local offices to reduce office employee commute time 4. Reduce potable water usage in boring operations Keywords: GHG emissions, fuel usage, purchased electricity, employee commuting, natural gas, business travel, water consumption, waste generation, added measurements, SGEC calculation tool, data collection analysis, EUISSCA, environmental, economical, social sustainability, carbon footprint, MTCO 2 e. 2

4 Program Overview INTREN is committed to environmental, economical, and social sustainability throughout its organization. Since 2011 INTREN has participated in the Electric Utility Industry Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance s (EUISSCA) program for carbon footprint reduction and in the fall of 2015 Loretta Rosenmayer, Founder and CEO participated in the White House roundtable summit on climate change with President Obama and 5 other companies. At that meeting Loretta pledged to continue INTREN s efforts to reduce their carbon footprint. The information provided in the following report will outline a summary of INTREN s measured and trended GHG emissions over five years and an individual data collection analysis for: Fuel usage Business travel Purchased electricity Water consumption Employee commuting Waste generation Natural gas usage The charts below summarize each category by total emissions for baseline year 2011 through GHG emission results for each category are analyzed in greater detail in the report. GHG Emissions [MTCO 2 e] Reporting Year Fuel Use Purchased Electricity Employee Commuting Business Travel Natural Gas Total GHG Emissions ,684 1, , ,945 1, , ,916 1, , ,900 1, , ,061 1, ,149 3

5 GHG Emission Charts 1

6 2015 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Results & Summary The following data was either collected or estimated for the GHG calculations: Fuel usage Purchased electricity Employee commuting Natural gas usage Business travel Fuel Use Scope 1 Emission The largest contributor of GHG emissions at INTREN in 2015 was fuel use, the same as 2011 through Fuel use saw an approximate 1% increase in 2015 from 2014 which is down 96% from INTREN uses fuel for company-owned on-road vehicles and off-road equipment. Fuel use for company owned vehicles and equipment is categorized as a Scope 1 emission. Below is a breakdown of the past five years fuel use and associated GHG emissions. While calculations are made based on the fuel types (regular gasoline, diesel, etc.), for simplicity the table below only shows the total gallons of fuel used and the associated GHG emissions. Reporting Year Fuel Use Gallons GHG Emissions [MTCO 2 e] ,103 8, ,141,277 10, ,136,190 10, ,447,568 13, ,484,158 14,061 2

7 Purchased Electricity Scope 2 Emission The second largest contributor of GHG emissions at INTREN in 2015 was purchased electricity, the same as 2011 through Purchased electricity decreased approximately 17% in 2015 from 2014 which is down by 161% from Purchased electricity is categorized as a Scope 2 emission. The data for electricity usage was collected from utility bills and covers the company headquarters, all satellite offices, and most jobsite trailers. Below is a breakdown of the past five years electricity use and associated GHG emissions. Reporting Year Purchased Electricity kwh GHG Emissions [MTCO 2 e] ,523,858 1, ,565,811 1, ,573,453 1, ,981,087 1, ,699,188 1,106 Employee Commuting Scope 3 Emission The third largest contributor of GHG emissions at INTREN in 2015 was employees commute to and from work, the same as in 2011 through Employee commuting decreased approximately 8% in 2015 from 2014 which is down by 156% from Employee commuting is categorized as a Scope 3 emission. Below is a breakdown of the past four year s GHG emissions resulting from employee commute. Employee Commuting GHG Reporting Emissions Year [MTCO 2 e]

8 Purchased Natural Gas Scope 1 Emission The fourth largest contributor of GHG emissions at INTREN in 2015 was natural gas, the same as in 2011 through Natural gas is used to heat the company s buildings. The GHG emissions from natural gas usage increased by approximately 15% from which is down by 33% from Natural gas emissions are categorized as Scope 1 emissions. The breakdown of natural gas usage over the past five years and associated GHG emissions are below. Business Travel Scope 3 Emission Purchased Natural Gas GHG Therms Emissions [MTCO 2 e] , , , , , The fifth largest contributor of GHG emissions at INTREN in 2015 was employee business travel, the same as in 2011 through This category includes travel for employees outside of their normal commute to and from their regular reporting location, which was captured in the Employee Commuting category. This category primarily captures air travel to INTREN s various locations across the country. This category saw a decrease in GHG emissions by approximately 44% which is down by 15% from Business Travel emissions are categorized as a Scope 3 emission. The breakdown of total air miles and the associated GHG emissions is below. Business Travel Miles GHG Emissions [MTCO 2 e] , , , , ,

9 GHG Emission Results Summary The following summary will list the largest contributor of GHG emissions at INTREN to the smallest contributor. Two of the five categories measured seen an increase, however, the increase seen in those categories did decrease from the reported totals in 2013 to With the number of full time employees increasing from 2014 to 2015 by 119, INTREN was able to see an Overall decrease in total GHG emissions during that time frame of approximately 0.7% which is down 103% from Fuel use 1% increase from Purchased electricity 17% decrease from Employee commuting 8% decrease from Purchased Natural gas 15% increase from Business travel 44% decrease from GHG Emissions [MTCO 2 e] Reporting Year Fuel Use Purchased Electricity Employee Commuting Business Travel Natural Gas Total GHG Emissions ,684 1, , ,945 1, , ,916 1, , ,900 1, , ,061 1, ,149 5

10 2015 Added Measurements In 2015, INTREN began measuring water consumption and waste generation will be the baseline year for water consumption and waste generation moving forward. Recommendations for improving the data collection process for each newly added measurement will included in the text below. Establishing goals for each is strongly recommended as well. Water Consumption Water consumption is the portion of water use that is not returned to the original water source after being withdrawn and is no longer available for reuse. This category includes water used for directional drilling operations at INTREN in The total estimated water usage associated with directional drilling was derived by taking the total number of bore rigs with their tank sizes and multiplying it by an estimated weekly fill-up rate, and then by total number of work weeks within the year. The total estimated gallons of water usage in 2015 are listed below. Water Consumption Recycled or Potable Gallons Reused Gallons ,132, Waste Generation Waste generation is the weight or volume of materials and products that enter the waste stream before recycling, composting, landfilling, or combustion takes place. This category includes waste generated from INTREN in The total tons of waste to landfills and recycled were obtained from the three waste disposal vendors associated with INTREN. Below is the combined total including percentage recycled. Waste Generation Waste Tonnage Recycled Tonnage Percentage Recycled , % 6

11 ADDENDUM Data Collection Analysis Below is an analysis of each category GHG data was collected for calendar year Future data collection points are suggested where needed within each individual category. To assist with estimating GHG emissions the first five categories listed, the SGEC calculation tool, provided for free by the United States EPA was utilized. Fuel Use The fuel data was supplied by INTREN s Fleet Department and is retrieved from the company responsible for maintaining the fuel cards employees use to purchase fuel. The data was provided by INTREN in the same manner as 2014, which includes a monthly summary by fuel type, and is suitable for this exercise. Fuel usage increased by approximately 1% from 2014 to This increase can be due to a number of reasons including increased work activity, increased fleet, or decreased fuel efficiency. Purchased Electricity The data collection for purchased electricity for 2015 improved from The percentage of electricity data based on actuals in 2015 increased from 71% to 78%, that is most likely due to a decrease in the number of locations that require an estimated amount of electricity because utility cost is included in the monthly rental agreement. As has been done in previous years, for all locations that used estimated data, a square foot average was determined based on the locations for which actual data was retrieved. Since the square footage of all facilities was available, the square foot average was applied to produce an estimated electricity usage. Employee Commuting INTREN reported 2015 employee commuting data different from previous years. A report was run to obtain all employees working during 2015 which included their home address and reporting office. Google maps was used to determine the travel distance for each office employee from their home to their reporting office. The actual work days for each employee were also calculated to assist with obtaining the total miles driven for each individual employee working at INTREN in This method most likely resulted in the most accurate results to date. It is recommended that this same method be used for future data collections to maintain consistency and 7

12 accuracy. The GHG emissions as a result of employee commuting decreased about 8% in 2015 from Purchased Natural Gas Similar to maintaining the data collection improvements made with electricity, the 2015 GHG emission calculations are based on 87% actual data. Also similar to electricity trends from 2014, the amount of actual data represented increased. As has been done in previous years, for all locations that used estimated data, a square foot average was determined based on the locations for which actual data was retrieved. Since the square footage of all facilities was available, the square foot average was applied to produce an estimated electricity usage. Business Travel The data collected for 2015 business travel was not done in the same manner as previous years due to a change in the company that provides INTREN credit cards. In 2015 air mileage was calculated using the average miles traveled in 2014 multiplied by the total flights taken in Departure and destination data was no longer available using the source previously used in prior years. States traveled in 2015 are similar to those traveled in Based on 2014 data approximately 97.5 % of flights traveled were considered medium haul (>=300 miles, <2300) with 2.5 % consisting of Short Haul (<300 miles) and none consisting of Long Haul (>=2300 miles). The recommended improvements to the data collection process would be to manually keep track of travel miles or speak with the new credit card company and request air travel purchases are logged to include departure and destination locations. The GHG emissions as a result of business travel in 2015 decreased by approximately 44% from This is likely due to a strategic shift in where company personnel are located, a company decision to reduce travel costs, and or the estimated value used to determine business travel. Water Consumption INTREN used approximately 5 million gallons of potable water in their boring operations in To obtain this estimate of water use the total number of bore rigs, their tank size, and estimated fill-ups per week were utilized. Due to the inability to determine if any non-potable water was used, it is assumed all water usage for 2015 was potable water. It is recommended purchased water be documented with specific cost codes through finance and reports generated to track water usage monthly. Another recommendation would be using INTREN own water meters to determine the amount of water entering bore rigs during weekly water fill-ups. A combination of both would provide an accurate account of total water usage as well as cost to the company. 8

13 Waste Generation In 2015 approximately 2,500 tons of waste was sent to landfills from all INTREN s locations combined. 27 tons of waste were recycled which is about 1.08% of the total waste generated. The method used to obtain data for this category is sufficient due to waste disposal vendors having the ability to record tonnage during pickups and provide reports detailing amounts of waste generation across INTREN s organization. 9