1. CARBON AUDIT REPORT
For: TEKA MEDIA INC.
Prepared by:
Khalid Mahmood
Olufunso Babajide
Kelly Baah
17th April, 2012
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Table of Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................................................3
2.0 SCOPE OF THE AUDIT..........................................................................................................................................................3
3.0 AUDIT METHODOLOGY.......................................................................................................................................................4
3.1 EMISSION FACTORS (EF) USED ......................................................................................................................................4
3.1.1Electricity.................................................................................................................................................................................4
3.1.2 Natural Gas ............................................................................................................................................................................4
3.1.3Vehicle fleet ............................................................................................................................................................................5
3.1.4 Commuting ............................................................................................................................................................................5
4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION...............................................................................................................................................5
5.0 LIMITATIONS AND DATA IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................6
6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS...........................................................................................................................................................7
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
In recent decades, the globe has generally become more aware of the impacts various
anthropogenic activities exert on the natural environment. Through research and increased media
attention on the issue of global warming and climate change, the human race has acknowledged
that its current way of life no longer guarantee’s posterity. Our world today, consists of wholesale
and retail businesses as well as large corporate entities, representing a very significant component
of the modern society. Several aspects of a business’ operation contribute to the release of
greenhouse gases and climate change/global warming. As part of an organization’s corporation
social responsibility policy and the need for regulatory compliance, most companies have realized
the need to assess and document their carbon footprint (total amount of GHG emissions) in order to
improve environmental performance, gain a competitive advantage and saves cost through
increased efficiency in resource use. Carbon audits therefore, provide the means for organizations
can systematically measure and document the total GHG emissions resulting from its activities.
Based on the foregoing, this report outlines the total GHG emissions resulting from TEKA Media’s
business operation, highlighting opportunities for improvement where possible.
Company Background
TEKA Media Inc is a technology-based servicing company located in Manitoba, Canada. The
company provides software and hardware engineering solutions to large corporate institutions
such as banks, hospitals and telecommunications companies. Table 1 below, provides further
details on the company.
Table 1: Company details
2.0 SCOPE OF THE AUDIT
The data sets and emissions scope analyzed for this audit included scope 1 (direct emissions), scope
2 (indirect emissions) and scope 3 (other indirect) emission categories, based on the information
obtained from TEKA Media Inc.
Scope 1/direct emissions: included emission sources owned or directly controlled by the
company. Examples of this category are emissions from combustion in owned or controlled boilers,
furnace, vehicles, etc. and do not include biomass or gases not covered by the Kyoto protocol
Company Name TEKA Media Inc.
Company Location Manitoba
Number of Employees 20
Audit Year 2009
Commuting
Average Commuter lives in community, most walk or bike to
work
Does the company manufacture
products? No
Does the company use contractors No
Availability of waste audit data for
2009 No waste audit data available for 2009
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(carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur
hexafluoride). Only vehicle fleet was analyzed under this category.
Scope 2/indirect emissions: include emissions from purchased electricity. According to the GHG
Protocol standard or guidance document, “emissions associated with the generation of purchased
electricity that is consumed by the reporting company are reported in scope 2. Scope 2 only
accounts for the portion of the direct emissions from generating electricity that is actually
consumed by the company”.
Scope 3/other indirect emissions: includes an optional reporting category under the GHG
Protocol, that accounts for emissions from other indirect sources such as transportation (corporate
travel and commuting), process emissions (production of purchased materials), and fugitive
emissions such as fugitive leaks in product use, CH4 and CO2 from waste landfills. For the purpose
of this audit, only data sets pertaining to employee commuting were analyzed under this category.
3.0 AUDIT METHODOLOGY
The audit methodology employed in order to determine the carbon footprint of TEKA Media Inc.,
was in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Greenhouse Gas protocol initiative
developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development (WBCSD).
3.1 EMISSION FACTORS (EF) USED
3.1.1Electricity
Emission Factor for Electricity consumption in Manitoba = 6gCO2e/KWh
Source: Table A13–8 Electricity Generation and GHG Emission Details for Manitoba, Environment
Canada’s National Inventory Report (1990- 2009), Part III, pg 51; 2009 Consumption Intensity (g
CO2e / kWh).
3.1.2 Natural Gas
Table 2: Emission Factor for Natural Gas:
Greenhouse gas EF(g/m3) GWP g/m3
CO2 1877 1 1877
CH4 0.037 25 0.925
N2O 0.035 298 10.43
Total gCO2e/m3 1888.36
Source: Annex 8, Environment Canada’s National Inventory Report (1990- 2009), Part II, pg 191 –
192
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3.1.3Vehicle fleet
Table 3: Emission Factors for Energy Mobile Combustion Sources
Mode: Road Transport
Emission factor
CO2 CH4 N2O
Light-duty Gasoline Vehicles
Tier 2 2289 0.14 0.022
Light-duty Gasoline Trucks
Tier 2 2289 0.14 0.022
Light-duty diesel Vehicles
Advanced Control 2663 0.051 0.22
Light-duty Diesel Trucks
Advanced control 2663 0.068 0.22
Source: Environment Canada’s Emission Factors for Energy Mobile Combustion Sources (Table 12)
http://www.ec.gc.ca/ges-ghg/default.asp?lang=En&n=AC2B7641-1
3.1.4 Commuting
Emission factor for bus = 14.60gCO2/PersonKm
Emission factor for employee vehicle = 2299.1gCO2e/L
Note: The EF used for vehicles, is based on the assumption that all employees who use a tier 2 light-
duty gasoline vehicle.
4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
From the data made available TEKA Media Inc, generated 6,860.55tCO2e in 2009 from electricity
consumption, natural gas consumption, vehicle fleet and employee commuting. This is equivalent to
the amount of annual greenhouse gas emissions from 1,345 passenger vehicles and CO2 emissions
from electricity use from 855 homes for one year.
Figure 1: % Contribution of the various GHG Emission sources to TEKA Media’s carbon footprint
(2009)
Electricity
consumption
2.67%
Natural Gas
consumption
89.86%
Vehicle fleet
7.29%
Employee
Commuting
0.18%
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From figure 1, it is seen that the majority of GHG emissions generated by TEKA Media in 2009,
originated from natural gas consumption which emitted 6164.85 tCO2e , making up 89.86% of the
total emissions. Vehicle fleet was the next significant contributor to GHG emissions at 7.29% and
500tCO2e while employee commuting contributed the least at 12.04tCO2e and 0.18%. Employee
commuting contributed very GHG emissions because the average commuter/TEKA Media
employee, lives within the community and either bikes or walks to work. The table below provides
a breakdown of the total tCO2e emissions from each emission source.
Table 4: breakdown of total GHG emissions from each emission source within the facility
GHG Emission Source tCO2e
Percentage
(%) Equivalence
Electricity
consumption 183.26 2.67
Equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered
by 4,699 tree seedlings grown for 10years
Natural Gas
consumption 6164.85 89.86
Equivalent to the CO2 emissions from electricity
use from 769 homes in one year
Vehicle fleet 500.40 7.29
Annual greenhouse gas emissions from 98.1
passenger vehicles
Employee Commuting 12.04 0.18
Annual greenhouse gas emissions from 2.4
passenger vehicles
Total tCO2e for 2009
= 6860.55 100.00
Annual greenhouse gas emissions from 1,345
passenger vehicles
5.0 LIMITATIONS AND DATA IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
As a result of insufficient details on the nature of the TEKA Media’s business, some assumptions
were made to enable the auditors estimate the 2009 carbon footprint for the company. Going
forward, adequate information on the nature of business, number of working days for each
employee etc should be made available to eliminate the need for assumptions which introduces a
level bias to the results. We recommend that the following information be made available for future
audits;
Annual number of working days for every employee
Type of employee vehicle used by each commuters who drives to work
I f an employee carpools, the number persons he/she carpools with should be provided
There were a total of 20 employees for TEKA Media however the data provided only
accounted for 19employees. Adequate commuting data should be provided for all
employees for future audits
A detailed breakdown of the number of days each employee, drives, walks, bikes, or
takes the bus should be made available, to improve the quality of the GHG emissions
made for employee commuting should be provided on the number of days
Furthermore, the following data improvement recommendations should be noted for the various
emissions sources/scopes.
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Scope 1/direct emissions
The data set analyzed under this category only included vehicle fleet. This scope can be expanded
to include:
• Stationary combustion (production of electricity, heat or steam) if applicable
• Mobile combustion (transportation of raw materials/waste)
• Fugitive emissions (mainly HFC emissions during use of refrigeration and air-conditioning
equipment)
Scope 2/indirect emissions
The data set analyzed for this scope was adequate. No recommendation/improvement is required.
Scope 3/other indirect emissions
In addition to employee commuting, data on corporate or business travel and waste should be
made available for future audits in order to expand this scope.
6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
Base on the result of the audit, we can see that the natural gas consumption emitted 82.86% of the
total emission. In this regards, an alternative means of water heating using natural gas is highly
recommended. TEKA Media Inc. should consider the option of investing in solar panels for water
heating purpose. Effective pipe insulation can also be done through the facility to reduce heat losses
during transfer of water through the pipes especially during winter. Furthermore, alternative gases
that have less impacts on the environment can be used for heating in place of natural gas. Below are
a list of alternative gas that can be used;
- Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): compressed natural gas vehicles have been found to
produce less greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline vehicles.
- Biodiesel: they are clean burn fuels that are produced from vegetable oils and animal fats
- Ethanol: is a renewable biofuel made from different plant materials
- Propane: a by-product of natural gas and crude oil refining, which is less toxic and has a
high octane rating
- Hydrogen: pure hydrogen as fuel for transportation would only emit water vapour,
hydrogen can be an emission-free transportation fuel
Regular maintenance should so be done to increase the efficiency of the equipments that consume
natural gas within the facility. In addition to natural gas consumption, to reduce emissions from
vehicle fleet, more of carpooling and strategic scheduling of appointments and errands should be
encourage.
The lowest hanging fruit is however considered to be taking urgent steps to reducing the total
amount of natural gas consumed as this would remarkably diminish the total GHG emissions
generated by TEKA Media Inc. annually.
