Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. Greening Business: An online teaching resource Session 2 Session 2: Climate, carbon and business Suggested session outline

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Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. Session outline 1)Why are we so concerned about carbon? 2)CO 2 equivalents and Global Warming Potential 3)Carbon and business 4)Carbon-related legislation Clouds are an important part of the Earth’s energy balance, but it’s greenhouse gases that we are most concerned about

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. Why are we so worried about carbon? Nitrogen (78%) Oxygen (21%) Other gases (0.93% argon) Gaseous composition of the lower atmosphere

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. What is global warming? Faster temperature increases at high northern latitudes have implications for snow and ice melt (Photo: SE Iceland, Zoe Robinson)

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. The ‘greenhouse effect’ Incoming solar radiation (short wave length) ~50% of incoming radiation is received by the Earth; the Earth heats up and emits long-wave radiation A proportion of long-wave radiation is ‘absorbed’ by GHG – causing warming A simplified depiction of the greenhouse effect

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. Global Warming Potential (GWP) GasGWP (over 100 years) Carbon dioxide (CO 2 )1 Methane (CH 4 )25 Nitrous oxide (N 2 O)298 Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) ,800 (depending on gas) Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) ,200 (depending on gas) Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF 6 ) 22,800 GWPs for different greenhouse gases (GHG) (Source: IPCC, 2007)

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. Sources of GHG Fridge coolant HFCs are a greenhouse gas (Photo: Stephen Whitfield)

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. CO 2 (ppm) CH 4 (ppb) N 2 O (ppb) Pre-I rev. (1750) % increase Changes in atmospheric concentrations of some GHG (Source: IPCC, 2007) Trends

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. Units of measurement/reporting The wattage on light bulbs is always clearly displayed but not on all electrical appliances (Source: Faith Goble - flickr.com)

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. Communicating carbon data Many people may find it easier to visualise a volume of gas – particularly where this is compared to a well-known object, such as a hot air balloon (Source: ajagendorf25 - flickr.com)

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. The carbon footprint The carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of greenhouse gases released by an individual, organisation, country etc. (Photo: Zoe Robinson)

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. How does this relate to business? Business sector kg/square foot Warehouses4 Schools5.5 Shopping centres9 Offices10 Universities11 Hospitals14 Restaurants26 Supermarkets30 Yearly emissions of greenhouse gases for different businesses (Source: Reay, 2006)

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. The Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme Cap and trade schemes: Cap and trade schemes: Targets met by reducing emissions below cap and selling surplus or buying allowances for higher emissions (Photo: Zoe Robinson)

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. Other schemes for energy intensive industries EU-Emissions Trading Scheme (EU- ETS): EU-Emissions Trading Scheme (EU- ETS): “Cap and trade” scheme. EU Member States set emissions limits for all installations covered by the scheme.

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. Carbon reduction and local authorities (LAs) Car usage contributes towards National Indicator 186: per capita CO 2 emissions (Photo: Paul Trafford – flickr.com)

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. Energy performance certificates Use of electricity in the average office (Source: Reay, 2006)

Dr Zoe Robinson, Keele University, Greening Business: An online teaching resource. References and further resources BERR (2009) EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) Carbon footprint (2009) Home of Carbon Management The Carbon Trust (2009) Carbon Reduction Commitment Defra (2009) Climate Change Agreements European Environment Agency (2008) Greenhouse gas emissions trends and projections in Europe Goodall, C. (2007) How to live a low-carbon life. Earthscan Houghton (2004) Global Warming (3 rd edition). Cambridge. IPCC 2007 Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Available from: report.htmlhttp://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/wg1- report.html Lynas, M. (2007) Carbon Calculator: Easy ways to reduce your carbon footprint. Collins Peake, S. and Smith, J. (2009) Climate Change: From science to sustainability. Open University Reay, D. (2006) Climate Change Begins at Home. Macmillan