Corporate Carbon Emission Inventories Workshop

Thursday, January 29, 2009

8:30am - 5:00pm

Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

This workshop is intended for upper-level managers tasked with evaluating the impact of carbon emissions on business operations, including risk to production processes, future cost of energy, and marketing and labeling of products. The workshop objective is to provide participants with a detailed knowledge of the options for estimating carbon emissions inventories, accounting for the potential differences in terminology and recognizing the high uncertainty in estimating emissions throughout the supply chain.

Session One: Decoding the Carbon World

Carbon – Carbon Dioxide – Carbon Footprint – Embodied Carbon – First Tier Carbon – Global Warming Potential – CO2 equivalents. The workshop begins with a session identifying the terminology and definitions of corporate carbon emissions and defining the scope for estimating carbon emissions within an organization and in the supply chain. We will introduce the concepts of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and other corporate accounting standards.

Session Two: Setting the Boundary and Measuring Carbon Emissions

Once we have defined what we mean by carbon emissions, the next steps in determining carbon emissions are setting the boundary and measuring. This session will investigate various means of measuring carbon emissions, including estimation from direct energy consumption, and estimating emissions of suppliers. We will also consider potential carbon emission sources such as employee commuting and business travel (eg “Scope 3” emissions) and whether and how to include these in carbon emission inventories.

Session Three: Regulations, Registration and Disclosure of Carbon

Companies are increasingly being asked to disclose estimates of carbon emissions or register carbon emission reductions projects with independent third-party verifiers. Regulation of carbon emissions is looming internationally. This session will examine various trends in mandatory and voluntary carbon emissions inventory activities, such as the WRI Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the Carbon Disclosure Project, the U.S. EPA Carbon Emissions Disclosure, among others. We will discuss implications of participating (and not participating).

Session Four: Case Studies in Estimating Corporate Carbon Emissions

The Green Design Institute has worked with several corporate partners on projects to estimate carbon emissions. We will share our experiences, including approaches to quantifying emissions, seeking data sources within a company, and the uncertainty inherent in the results.

Networking Reception, 5:00pm - 6:30pm

Following the Corporate Carbon Emissions Inventory workshop, particpants will have the opportunity to network and talk informally with Green Design and corporate colleagues at a networking reception.

Green Design Institute Consortium Members can participate in the workshop at no charge. Cost for non-members is $1,000, or $1,600 for both this workshop and the Carbon Footprinting and Life Cycle Assessment workshop.

Overview of the Carbon Footprinting and Life Cycle Assessment for Corporate Decision-Making Workshop