FEATURE
THE CHANGING ROLE OF FAC REDUCING CARBON AND THE
The measurement and ongoing management of carbon emissions is becoming a fundamental part of environmental and corporate social responsibility
management. Lisa Wood, Carbon Analyst at Greenstone Carbon Management, explains why Facilities
Management is critical to the process of managing carbon, and details the opportunities and
challenges that can bring.
THE CHANGING ORGANISATION The measuring and management of carbon emissions is a relatively new concept for organisations. The drivers behind a company’s decisions to take responsibility for its effect on the wider environment can range from reputational benefits, cost and efficiency savings, to pressure from investors and consumers. Legislation addressing carbon emissions had traditionally been limited to heavy industry and high emitters with most other organisations left to participate in voluntary schemes, primarily for social responsibility and marketing purposes. However, new legislation, such as the mandatory UK Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC), now introduces a financial cost to carbon emissions. With this and other national schemes under development around the world, companies are becoming more aware of their carbon obligations and the need to change the way they operate.
IMPORTANCE OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
The measurement of carbon emissions in an organisation or business involves applying conversion factors to consumption sources from business
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activities across its operations. Typically such consumption includes: electricity use, combustible fuels, liquid coolant from air conditioning systems, waste disposal, consumption and disposal of water, courier or product transport, and staff business travel.
Depending on the size and type of business, organisations may manage their emissions through a dedicated sustainability team or it could be added to the existing obligations of a facilities management team. In either case, facilities managers are fundamental to the process.
They will often already have
responsibility for managing many of the relevant sources of consumption, and have access to the raw data from those processes. Indeed, much of this information will already be used to comply with existing regulatory and reporting requirements specific to those sources, for example the EU F-Gas regulations which apply to fluorinated gases used in air conditioning systems. However, a clear advantage is that facilities management know the reality behind the data. A separate sustainability team analysing spreadsheets sent from facilities cannot know the age of a boiler, when it was last replaced, the type of
lighting or insulation, or how feasible it is to build improvements into the current buildings. With this practical knowledge, facilities can target the simplest and most cost effective methods for reducing carbon emissions.
They can also notice when there is something wrong with the meter readings themselves. If a small office is emitting more than a larger office of similar build, the relevant billing, estimated or otherwise, may need to be looked at closer. Accuracy has never been more relevant with the advent of regulatory reporting requirements surrounding carbon emissions. Aside from the direct financial cost for each tonne of carbon calculated in error, the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme provides for penalties for incorrect reporting. With such data being assessed by external parties, such as the Carbon Trust Standard, the responsibility on facilities management is significant.
THE CHALLENGE AND VALUE-ADDED BENEFITS
The core role of facilities management is to ensure the physical assets of an organisation work effectively and external utilities are supplied without disruption. As energy, gas and water rates have
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