Preparing For Decarbonization

WHAT IS DECARBONIZATION?

We are all familiar with the technical definition of decarbonization: it is the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions using low carbon power sources, achieving a lower output of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.

But what does decarbonization actually mean? Generally speaking, it tends to refer to the process of reducing ‘carbon intensity’, lowering the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the burning of fossil fuels. This involves decreasing CO2 output per unit of electricity generated. Reducing the amount of carbon dioxide occurring as a result of transport and power generation is essential in order to meet global temperature standards set by the Paris Agreement and Biden’s Federal Sustainability Plan.

HISTORY

The expected investment in decarbonization over the next ten years is $2.3T. Dating back to 1974, researchers discovered CFCs that were harmful to the Ozone Layer ultimately resulting in the creation of the Montreal Protocol. You may recall the Time Magazine issue in January of 1989. The magazine devoted the entire issue to climate change. They convened a group of 33 scientists of political leaders from five continents to discuss the threat. This resulted in one of the best-known issues Time has ever published.

FEDERAL SUSTAINABILITY PLAN

President Biden’s Executive Order 14057 on catalyzing American clean energy industries and jobs through Federal sustainability and accompanying Federal Sustainability Plan sets out a range of rather ambitious goals in order to deliver an emissions reduction pathway consistent with the President’s goal of reducing US greenhouse gas emission by 51% from 2005 levels by 2030 and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In Massachusetts, Governor Baker signed into law an Act Creating “A Next Generation Roadmap for MA Climate Policy”. The Act requires 50% emissions reduction by 2030, at least 75% emissions reduction by 2040 and at least net zero GHG emissions by 2050.

BERDO 2.0

Boston’s updated Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) sets requirements for large buildings to reduce their energy and water use data. The goal is to reduce their emissions gradually to net zero by 2050. Buildings account for nearly 70% of greenhouse gas emissions in Boston. The 2021 amendment to BERDO gives the City authority to set emissions standards for large existing buildings. The emissions standards will decrease over time, with all buildings achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

BERDO applies to the following buildings:

• Non-residential buildings that are 20,000 sf or larger.
• Residential buildings that have 15 or more units.
• Any parcel with multiple buildings that sum to at least 20,000 sf or 15 units

To prepare for reporting to BERDO you will need the following:

• Property address for each property required to report
• A list of all energy utilities that served the building in 2021
• Fuel delivery bills for the entire calendar year 2021
• Basic property information including number of units and accurate square footage of the total property and of all building uses (e.g., square footage of ground floor retail and square footage of residential area)
• Number of meters serving the building
• A third-party data verifier

HAVE YOU PLEDGED THE HHS HEALTHCARE STAKEHOLDER VOLUNTARY PLEDGE?

The HHS HC Stakeholder Voluntary Pledge initiative asks organizations (hospitals, health systems, suppliers, pharma companies and other industry stakeholders to sign by June 3 a pledge to half their emissions by 2030, among other actions. Within your organization, decision-makers behind this pledge must include roles such as: CFO, Energy and Sustainability Manager, Director of Facilities, Operators, etc.

You pledge to do the following:

• At minimum, reduce organizational emissions by 50% by 2030 (from a baseline no earlier than 2008) and achieve net-zero by 2050, publicly accounting for progress on this goal every year
  • Share publicly our strategies for reducing on-site emissions (where relevant addressing sources related to on-site energy usage, waste anesthetic gases, vehicle fleets and refrigerants).
• Designate an executive-level lead for our work on reducing emissions by 2023 and conduct an inventory of Scope 3 (supply chain) emissions by the end of 2024.
• Develop and release a climate resilience plan for continuous operations by the end of 2023, anticipating the needs of groups in our community that experience disproportionate risk of climate-related harm.

CREATING A DECARB PLAN

So, how do you get started with all of this? To begin, you need to align your organizational goals and commitments with your organization’s key stakeholders. It will be extremely important for you to partner with qualified consultants in order to identify opportunities that exist for your organization and the impact (cost and carbon reduction) within 5 key levers.  The five key levers are listed below with some examples:

• Energy Efficiency improvements – Baseline Emissions assessment
• Electrification – HVAC Systems, Charging Stations
• Renewable Power Generation and Energy Storage – Solar, Wind
• Low Carbon Fuels – renewable natural gas
• Renewable Fuels – Hydrogen, Biomass

Again, there are various industry consultants who have the expertise (ie engineering consultants, ESCOs, energy/sustainability consultants, etc) who can help you to not only develop organizational goals, but also assist you with understanding the magnitude of opportunity, financial impact, carbon footprint and required planning to execute a decarbonization plan.

Once you begin, you will need to regularly forecast and assess financial impact and carbon impacts against the plan. It is a good idea to have a committee or group of stakeholders with different perspectives to continuously assess your progress.  The steps to be taken are listed below and in order!

1. Analysis and planning
2. Reduce consumption
3. Produce energy onsite
4. Transition to electrification
5. Procure clean energy
6. Fill the gaps – credit sourcing!

TAKEAWAYS

If you have not yet completed an infrastructure master plan, you must act on doing so immediately! Understanding your systems’ capabilities, limitations and opportunities, etc. is the very first and an essential step when beginning a decarbonization plan for your campus. Just as equally important is ensuring you have buy-in from key stakeholders and an organization-wide commitment to decarbonization.

Remember to engage qualified consultants. They will be integral in guiding you through the entire process.

Know that there is not one solution for everyone! All institutions are different, have different goals, have varying current situations, etc. Be sure you fully understand your stakeholders’ goals within the context of decarbonization. Additionally, be sure you take advantage of and know how to best utilize the programs and incentives that are available to you. And, lastly, take action. Make climate action real!