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M+R Carbon
Footprint
The firm
recently launched THE GREEN TEAMwho are
responsible for initiating concepts to do our small bit for the
environment.
The firm
has received its first Carbon Reduction
Certificate.
As part
of our on-going commitment to this project, the firm has now joined
the CitySwitch Green Office program. This program has
the potential to reduce Australia's energy consumption by
approximately 162,000 tonnes of CO2, saving nearly $17.5
million in energy costs every year. That's the equivalent of
taking 36,000 cars off the road annually. cityswitch.net.au
Terms such as ‘carbon neutral’ and ‘carbon
emissions’ are now being used in everyday language, but have you
ever wondered exactly what they mean?
Carbon: the chemical basis of all
organic life. In the context of climate change, the term “carbon”
is short-hand for carbon emissions and generally refers to the six
main greenhouse gases indentified in the Kyoto
Protocol.
Carbon
dioxide (CO2): the most abundant of the greenhouse
gases, contributing to approximately 75 per cent of Australia’s
greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide is a by-product of oil and
gas production, and is produced by burning fossil fuels or plant
matter used for fuel (biomass). All animals, plants, fungi and
microorganisms also produce carbon dioxide. It has a global warming
potential of 1, because it is the reference from which the values
of all other greenhouses gases are
calculated.
Carbon
neutral: indicates that something has net zero emissions
(for example, an organisation, service, event or product). Various
strategies are used to achieve carbon neutral
status:
The first step is to determine ways of
reducing overall carbon footprint as much as possible through
improved efficiency and conservation.
The next step is the purchase of accredited
Green Power (preferably wind and solar) or micro-generation of
sufficient energy for the organisation’s demands (and, potentially,
surplus to offset other emissions).
The final step is to offset the
organisation’s carbon emissions by purchasing carbon offsets. This
option should be used last, when carbon emissions are unavoidable
(e.g. for necessary air travel).
Emissions
intensity (also termed carbon intensity): the ratio of
emissions per unit of production output or other performance
indicator. For example: emissions per dollar of revenue, full-time
equivalent staff member, square metre of office space or unit of
production.
Carbon
abatement: actions that produce a reduction in the
amount or intensity of greenhouse gas
emissions.
Carbon
sequestration: a geoengineering technique involving the
capturing carbon dioxide produced by industrial processes and long
term storage of it, by injecting it underground or under the ocean.
It has been proposed as a way to mitigate accumulation of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which are released by burning
fossil fuels.
Interesting Facts:
ATMs – don’t get a receipt
if you don’t need it. Annually, these receipts use enough
paper to stretch two billion feet long ! … and then get thrown away
(the same goes for petrol pump receipts !).
Books – borrow from the
library or buy second hand. Almost 400,000 trees are needed
to print books annually.
Candy &
Ingredients – buy the loose bulk
kind instead of the wrapped and packaged versions. The
majority of the wraps and papers are not recyclable and can be
heavily treated with chemicals.
Matches – choose paper matches
over wood matches or lighters. They are often made of
recycled paper, whereas wooden matches require 5.5 million trees
per year and lighters create harmful and toxic landfill
waste.
Music – consider music
downloads instead of buying CDs … every month 45 tons of unwanted
CDs wind up in landfills.
Napkins – take only what you
need instead of grabbing a whole stack and then throwing them away,
unused. If everyone took just one less napkin, it would keep
a billion tons out of landfill annually.
Pens – buy the refillable
kind. The US discards 1.6 billion disposable pens each year
and a refill is no more expensive than a disposable pen.
Q-tips – when buying note
pads, but the kind with the paper spindle instead of plastic … they
will actually biodegrade but the plastic will not.
Watch
this space for more “green” tips.
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