Carbon Footprints | A Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report

School project on GHG inventory of Daniel Goldner Architects

Supervised by

Prof. Jonathan Dickinson

Conducted a company-wide greenhouse gas inventory on scope 1(direct emissions on site) & scope 2 (indirect emission from purchased energy) emission

Recommended on energy reduction plan

About the project

Completed Writen Report

Slide Show Presentation

Client Description

The selected client is Daniel Goldner Architects, a boutique award-winning architecture firm with a focus on rebranding and repositioning existing properties. The firm was established in 1980 in Manhattan. Its numerous commercial and residential projects are located throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. There are currently 10 full-time employees, including the president of the company and 1 part-time employee in the human resource department. Its office is located in a mixed-use building in Chelsea, and they rent their office space. Their building 152 West 25th Street was built in 1911, which has 12 stories and 21 units. It is a mixed-use building with office spaces and residents. The office space the firm occupied is 1850 square footage. I am a former employee as an interior designer with a focus on residential and healthcare interior space design.

GHG Protocol(s) Used

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard Revised Version is used to guide the data collection to ensure the quality of the data. The reported GHG emission carbon dixon is based on the formula of:

Activity Amount x Essionsion factor = Carbon Dioxide Emission

The reported GHG emission methane and nitrous oxide carbon dioxide equivalent is based on the formula of:

Activity Amount x Essionsion factor x Global Warming Potential = Carbon Dioxide Emission Equivalent

For the calculation of the company's scope 2 emission, it can be computed in two methods. One is the location-based method the other is the market-based method. Those two different methods reflect separate risks and opportunities. Based on the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidelines Executive Summary: An Amendment to The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, the location-based method presents the average emission intensity of the grids on which the energy consumption occurs. In our case, the average emission intensity of the city of New York. The market-based method shows the emission from the utility company (Con Edison New York) our client has chosen. For the location-based method, the emission is calculated based on the eGRID 2018 NYUP (total output emission factors). Yet, since our client has not purchased any renewable energy, the market-based method is the same as the location-based method.

Business Goal Served by GHG Inventory

The construction industry is traditionally a heavy emitter of greenhouse gas. With New York local law 97 as part of the Climate Mobilization Act, emission reduction is on all company’s agenda. As a small business, Daniel Goldner Architects is thriving to increase their energy efficiency during its everyday operations and to create an environmentally-friendly environment to educate their employees and to reflect on their design. This inventory could potentially help to identify the large emitter from their everyday operation and to create an internal policy on incentivizing employees to modify their behavior. As an architecture company, Daniel Goldner Architects are required by their client to create buildings that comply with or below the emission limit because all of their designs are located in the New York Metro area. This GHG inventory assists them to design energy efficiency for their client and the environment.

Results

For scope 1, local combustion contributes to 26.69kg carbon dixon, which contains only a fraction of the overall GHG emission. Its scope 1 carbon dioxide emissions equivalent is only 0.15% to the total emission by the building operation. There is 4.376kg carbon emission from CO2, 6.185kg CO2e from CH4, and 7.373kg CO2e from N2O to total 17.934kg CO2e.

For scope 2 emission, based on the electricity analysis, there is 64274.5 kwh electricity used from 2017 to 2019. Using the Electricity emission factors, eGRID 2018 summary table, there is 7379.109kg carbon emission from CO2, 13.120kg CO2e from CH4, and 17.376kg CO2e from N2O, which come to a total 7436.649kg carbon emission. This result is based on the location-based method by calculating the emission factor from the total output emission. Since Daniel Golder Architects has not purchased renewable energy, the location-based method would be the same as the market-based method.

The total carbon emission for operating the architecture studio in the given 3 year is 17,456.78 kg.

Environmental Impact

A typical tree can absorb around 21 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, the studio’s carbon dioxide equivalent emission (17,456.78 kg) requires 832 full grown trees to absorb. It is the equivalent of an average carbon emission of 3.8 passenger vehicles. 17,456.78 kg is also roughly equivalent to the weight of 3 to 8 grown elephants, and 4 Jeep Wrangler Sports.

Identification of Opportunities

There is a direct correlation between energy consumption and electric charge. During the summer months, the energy usage is usually high, one can assume that the cooling needs contribute to the additional energy consumption. Yet, since there is no energy audit, the client can not pinpoint the energy usage from each device. Further energy audits should be conducted to identify the energy-inefficient area(s). It is also suggested to conduct GHG inventory annually to track the progress being made also to educate the company’s employees to modify their energy usage behavior. Additionally, an annual GHG report could help those architects to identify the energy inefficiencies in their design to help their client reduce their carbon footprint.

Given the increasing price for electricity, Daniel Goldner Architects should seek to purchase renewable energy. With a zip code search on the New York State Department of Public Services’ page to choose power, I received 114 alternative options, some of them are fully renewable with a clear breakdown on their energy resources while others are not. It also shows a comparison of their energy rate to the Con Edison price rate. Based on their historical price diagram in the past 7 quarters, the client could visualize the energy rate trend and choose a power provider catering to their needs.

The client could also choose to offset their carbon by purchasing carbon credits from organizations like Cool Effect, GozAround Green, and Terrapass. The price for offsetting a ton of carbon ranging from $1-10.

Moving Forward

As suggested, energy audit and GHG inventory should be conducted annually to track the progress on carbon emission reduction efforts. The client should identify their capability and set slightly more ambitious goals on their reduction. A 20% emission reduction from the baseline of 2019 by 2023 is proposed, the company could also set up a carbon neutral goal by 2030.

Conclusion

During the process of conducting this GHG inventory, I keep in mind that this report is obligated to tailor to the architect's needs. More visual elements are used for visual learners for better understanding of their environmental footprints. The large proportion of emission from electricity displays the potential for carbon offsetting from renewable energy. It also showcases the importance of energy audit of each equipment on pinpointing the energy intensive equipment(s).