Step 3: reduce Your Carbon Emissions
Reduction is where your commitment is translated into action. Read the strategy criteria below and then look to implement the most cost and carbon effective actions to reduce your carbon footprint.
What are the criteria for selecting a strategy?
The steps to reducing carbon emissions in a cost-effective way depend on the uses of energy and materials in your organisation. Having produced your carbon footprint, you are looking for strategies that:
1. Are directed at the major sources of emissions (those examined on the Measure page were electricity consumption, natural gas, other heating fuels and travel in company-owned vehicles).
2. Are cost-effective, with short pay-back periods. How short the pay-back period will be depends on your business practices, but many of the strategies available have pay-backs on the order of a year or two, which is in the standard planning horizon of most business.
3. Take a realistic approach to the time and resources you will be willing to dedicate to this. You want to focus on strategies that only require technical expertise available at your firm or in your supply chain and that have a relatively easy learning curve.
4. Make reasonable demands on your asset management programme. An ideal strategy fits within your repair and replacement cycles for facilities management or manufacturing equipment. It also is one that recognises you may have limited control over the energy envelope or power plant of a building if you are leasing space.
5. Fit into your operating budget or capital improvement cycle. You want to focus on strategies that can be slotted into the repair, replacement and capital investment cycles of your properties and equipment. Remember that carbon reduction can be a long process so plan for the future at the same time as looking for the quick wins now.
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