Carbon and Energy Management

1.0 Introduction

Carbon (greenhouse gas) emissions and management of energy have developed a major precedence in the process of making decision for organisation worldwide, with the firm European legislation framework being a key driving force (Giama and Papadopoulos, 2018, pp. 21-29). As a result, reducing energy demand and selecting solutions that result in low carbon are among the key priorities for most governmental and non-governmental organisations in Oman. These solutions aim at helping the organisation, and the government of Oman, in general, meet its carbon or greenhouse gas emission targets, minimize the extent and the impacts of climate change, and a most significant reduction in the costs of operation. However, many companies and organisations face challenges in estimating their carbon footprint (Giama and Papadopoulos, 2018, pp. 21-29). In addition, it is also challenging to link the results resulting from the process of evaluation of the environment with an integrated management system for energy, which will ultimately lead to a solution that is energy-efficient and cost-efficient.

Carbon management can therefore be described as steps and processes that are advanced to measure and manage the emission of greenhouse gas within an organisation and extend the reduction of these gases beyond the organisation. It involves internal activities within the operation, consumption of products or services of the organisation and, eventually, incorporates issues related to understanding and integrating available carbon data into the strategic organisational decision-making process (Morris and Govier 2021). On the other hand, energy management is the processes and strategies involved in tracking and optimizing energy consumption to conserve its usage in buildings and facilities. A few steps are involved in the energy management process. These include gathering and analyzing constant data identifying optimizations in equipment schedules, setpoints, and flow rates. Therefore, energy and carbon management are critical in identifying the main means and strategies to minimize emissions, cut costs, and ensure compliance with the statutory requirements.

Therefore, this research paper will investigate carbon and energy management in schools within Oman. School buildings, just like many buildings around Oman, are rapidly aging and becoming more and more inefficient, resulting in pointless emissions of carbon and a high cost of utilities. Beyond Oman, buildings and other school facilities can offer some of the most cost-effective energy management and carbon abatement opportunities (Odell, Rauland, and Murcia, 2021, p. 46). However, very few schools focus on quantifiable energy management and carbon reduction. This is disdain to the mounting emphasis on sustainability of schools in Oman, and hence, there is a notable gap in the literature in this area.

Seeb international school is a British Curriculum School catering to approximately 1318 students aged 3 to 18 years from 36 nationalities. The school is located in Al Khoud, Seeb, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, and offers several activities that use energy and emit carbon to the environment. Therefore, this research paper will select Seeb International school as a case study to analyze its energy and carbon management strategies.

Scope of Study

This research paper covers energy and carbon management in Seeb International School and will review the carbon footprint adopted by the school in enhancing its carbon and energy management strategies. The study will review the three scopes; scope 1, 2 and 3 of carbon footprint.

Aim of the Study

This study seeks to establish carbon and energy management adopted by Seeb International School. Therefore, the research paper will evaluate the school’s carbon footprint, taking into account calculations under Scopes 1, 2, and 3.

Terms

• Carbon emission
• Greenhouse gases (GHG)
• Energy management
• Carbon footprint
• Climate change

2.0 Critical Evaluation

This section of the research paper will incorporate a critical evaluation of carbon and energy management of Seeb International School. The section will consider carbon footprint calculations; Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3.

Carbon Footprint

Carbon footprint concept has over the years become a broadly utilized term in the public debate on management and reduction action of carbon and other greenhouse gases against the threat of change in climate in the recent past. It has had an incredible increase in public presence over the last few years with the increase in interest in climate conservation. It is now a buzzword largely used in governments and media. Carbon footprint, therefore, is defined as the measure of the effects human activities, either directly or indirectly, have on the environment, particularly on climate change (Müller et al. 2020, p.29). It relates to measuring or quantifying the entire greenhouse emission in a particular region or institution due to human activities undertaken with the regions or institutions. Quantifying carbon or greenhouse gas emissions is critical in helping understand what key emission sources are available with an area of interest, how an organisation donates to regional and worldwide emissions, and the opportunities are available for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

When undertaking carbon footprint by an organisation, it can be broken down into the various parts of greenhouse gases to indicate the relative significance of the distinct greenhouse gas sources. Below is an example of a breakdown that can be adapted;

Fig 1: Chart indicating an example of the organisational breakdown of carbon footprint

The chart above shows the percentages of each human activity contributing to the carbon footprint. From the chart, electricity, being mostly used, contributes a bigger percentage (37%) of the greenhouse emission of the environment followed by consumption of gas. With such information emanating from the computation of carbon footprint, an organisation can easily and effectively achieve control and management of carbon footprint. Therefore, carbon footprints are essential in the following manner;

• To categorize which human activities donate the most towards carbon footprint. This is critical in identifying the most significance areas for emission decrease efforts. For instance, from figure 1, electricity contributes the highest percentage of carbon footprint hence being a priority area.
• For setting a target for the process of emission reduction.
• The carbon footprint computation can be done over time; hence, it is important to quantify changes in carbon emissions over the period and screen the effectiveness of lessening activities for effective decision-making.

An organisation can then come up with a carbon minimization plan, recognizing ways to minimize its footprint and bound emissions from possible future human activities and quantify the what progress the organisation.

Once the organisation’s carbon footprint is calculated, it can be reported internally or externally. There are unlike kind of carbon footprint, e.g., for organisations, individuals, products, among others. These distinct types of footprints have dissimilar methods of computation and boundaries of computation. They include organisational assessment, product assessment, and other types of carbon footprints. This research paper will focus on the organisational assessment of carbon footprint as it involves the calculation of carbon footprint with a school.

Organisational assessment

The Organisational assessments of carbon footprint involve quantifying or measuring the direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions related with a particular organisation, for instance, a school. In this case, Seeb International School is a particular organisation in which the research paper seeks to establish its carbon footprint. Under organisational assessment, direct emissions results from the burning of fossil fuels in organisational-owned vehicles or equipment and greenhouse gases that escape from the organisation’s facilities, such as refrigerant gas. On the other hand, indirect emissions are all due to the activities of an organisation but which result from amenities, equipment, or vehicles owned and controlled by other. For instance, the consumption of electricity by an organisation causes carbon emissions at the generating plant indirectly, which is owned and controlled by another organisation other than the organisation in question. According to convention greenhouse gas reporting (Greenhouse Gas Protocol Standard), Organisational assessment categorizes emissions into three distinct categories, i.e.,

• Scope 1: Emissions under this category are direct emissions
• Scope 2: Emissions under this category are regarded as indirect emissions.
• Scope 3: Emissions under this category incorporate all the other indirect emissions associated with the activities and operations of the organisation, such as business travel (Guillermo, Rocío and Sebastián, 2019).

In the computation of Seeb International school, all the three mentioned scopes will be considered as the activities of the schools can be distributed in all the scopes. For instance, the school owns vehicles used in day-to-day activities, thus necessitating scope 1. The school uses electricity purchased from electricity suppliers in Oman, which can result in emissions; hence scope two and lastly, business travel activities of the school fall under scope 3.

Scope 1

Direct emissions that result from the activities and operations of an organisation and which can be controlled by the organisation. Examples of emissions under this scope include on-site fuel burning, refrigerant losses, and institution owned equipment and vehicles. For Seen International School, Scope 1 will include company-owned vehicles and refrigerant gas losses. For the school-owned vehicles, over one year, the vehicle travels a distance of about 100000km consuming 7.5 liters for every 100km. Therefore, the carbon footprint will be computed as follows;

Figure 2: CO₂ emitted per unit of energy consumed by the school

100km = 7.5 litres

1000km =?

= 7500litres

The school-owned vehicles consume diesel. From figure 2, CO₂ emitted per 1 liter of diesel unit is 2.7 kg; therefore, the carbon footprint from school-owned vehicles will be;

Figure 3: Refrigerants gas loss for the year

From the table, the refrigerants gas loss results in a total greenhouse gas emission of 3456.40125 kg hence the scope one calculation of Seeb International school will be as follows;

Scope 2

Scope 2 accounts for Indirect emissions from any electricity among others the school purchase and utilize in its operations. Although it might not control the emissions directly, it is indirectly accountable for the release of CO₂ to the environment by consuming such energy.

Figure 3; Indirect loss of CO₂ consumed by the school

Since the emission emanating from consumption of electricity purchased by the school accounts for scope 2 of the school, the total scope two emissions for the school will therefore be;

7939.62kg of CO₂ for the years.

Scope 3

Any other indirect emissions of greenhouse gas from sources not within the direct control of the institution. Examples of Scope 3 emissions include outsourced transportation, particularly air transport of the school staff and heavy-duty trucks. Therefore, scope three computation will be as follows;

Figure 4: Carbon footprint resulting from heavy trucks hired by the school

Scope 3 calculation of carbon footprint of heavy vehicles will be 8888.8 CO₂ kg/year

Table 5: CO₂ emission resulting from air travel for the one year

The scope three calculation of the carbon footprint of the school will therefore be as follows;

3.0 Issues Related to Carbon and Energy Management

Carbon and energy management is key stewardship towards attaining sustainable development and natural resources since it aims at enhancing better climate and availability of natural resources for both todays and future generations. Under carbon and energy management, green space, technology, and renewable resources are key. For instance, solar as a source of energy will ensure minimal depletion of natural non-renewable energy sources facilitating sustainable development and natural resources (Hannan et al. 2018). However, in balancing the needs of the generation today and that of the future, several issues and challenges tend to come up. These issues range from the consumption of energy and improving energy efficiency. In managing energy and carbon emissions, Seeb International School experiences several issues, including;

• Energy Consumption and efficient energy use

Energy such as electricity and energy generated from the consumption of fuel fossils are heavily utilized by the school. Over the years, the school has invested in using non-renewable energy sources in driving its activities and operations. However, the school has advanced the use of clean energy by implementing green spaces to facilitate the efficient use of energy over the recent past. The cost of implementing the use of green energy by the school poses a great challenge to today’s generation as it has to incur all the expenses in attaining efficient consumption and use of energy. Sustainable development tends to balance the needs of today’s generation and future generation, but enhancing sustainability tends to undermine the needs of the school today’s generation.

• Manually processed systems used by the school

Modern technology is critical in facilitating carbon and energy management. For instance, storage and dissemination of carbon footprint data are critical in enhancing all carbon and energy management levels. The school uses manual spreadsheets to store relevant information regarding its carbon footprint, which can either be lost or distorted in the event (Hannan et al., 2018). Carbon footprint information is critical in facilitating energy and caron management and once distorted, the needs of both today’s generation and that of the future hang in the balance.

4.0 Evaluate The Issues Associated with The Implementation of Natural Policy Related to Climate Change

Climate changes affect the needs of both today and future generations. The change in climate being experienced today with the increase in the levels of global warming and adverse shifts in weather and temperature patterns is a threat to sustainable development. As a result, Seeb International School, like most institutions, has advanced several policies to minimize climate change and its impacts. One of the policies advanced is the natural policy related to climate change. This policy touches on the utilization of natural resources and procedures in limiting the extent of climate change (Seddon et al. 2020). For instance, green spaces and renewable environmentally friendly energy sources are incorporated as natural policies related to climate change.

As part of natural policy related to climate change, Seeb International School has implemented green spaces and solar energy as an environmentally friendly energy source. However, with the high initial costs involved in implementing such policies, the schools’ efforts are greatly undermined. For instance, the cost of buying solar panels to generate enough energy to run the school’s operation will require high initial capital, which can greatly limit the implementation process. In addition, natural policies are also affected by natural events. E.g., solar energy utilization is greatly dependent on the amount of solar power generated by the sun (Seddon et al. 2020). On some days and can run up to weeks, the amount of sunlight can be limited, thus limiting the amount of energy that will be available for use by the school, further limiting the extent of implementation of natural policy related to climate change by the school.

5.0 Energy Audit Based on The Perspective of Environmental Protection

The energy audit can be regarded as comprehensive supervision and review of energy production, conversion, and consumption of institutions (Kluczek and Olszewski, 2017, p.34). As a new kind of scientific control and management method for energy, an energy audit is a significant manner of improving energy management benefits and conducive to consolidation management of energy and transforming it into a more standardized and scientific approach. It is also valuable in promoting energy management and conservation within an institution. Carrying out an organisation’s energy audit needs to undertake inspection and analysis of the energy consumption process of the institution. This section will therefore analyze the consumption of energy within Seeb International School based on the institutions’ land size, building, and vehicle fleet size.

The table below indicates the land size underutilization by Seeb International school.

The total land size underutilization by the school is 7400m². Buildings and classrooms account for the highest percentage of electricity consumption and gasoline through the heating and air-conditioning needs of the school. The swimming pool area consumes water, while storage facilitates associated with school waste.

The school has a vehicle fleet size of 15 vehicles, all owned by the institutions and were used over one year. The energy consumption for the year is therefore indicated below;

Over the period, the school consumed 12.8 kWh of electricity amounting to OMR 800, the cost of fuel consumption summed up to 7500litres amounting to OMR 2100, and gasoline amounted to 8cylinders amounting to OMR 1000.

6.0 Conclusion

Carbon (greenhouse gas) emissions and energy management have become a major priority in the process of making decision for governments and companies worldwide, with the firm European legislation framework being a key driving force. With the growing interest in carbon and energy management worldwide, a different school in Oman has since advanced carbon and energy management strategies. Therefore, this research paper looks at the carbon and energy management of Seeb International School. The school is located in Seeb, Muscat, Oman, and has about 1300 students seating in approximately 7200m³ pieces of land. The school has a different operation that consumes energy and emits greenhouse gases to the environment.

Carbon footprint is defined as the measure of the effects human activities, either directly or indirectly, have on the environment, particularly on climate change. It relates to measuring or quantifying the entire greenhouse emission in a particular region or institution due to human activities undertaken with the regions or institutions. It can be calculated based on three categories as per the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Standard. These categories are scope 1, scope two, and scope 3. Scope one incorporates direct activities of the school, which the school itself can control. In contrast, scope 2 and 3 accommodate indirect activities of the school that are beyond the control of the school itself.

Carbon and energy management is key stewardship towards attaining sustainable development and natural resources since it aims at enhancing better climate and availability of natural resources for both todays and future generations. Under carbon and energy management, the use of green space, technology, and renewable resources is key. Therefore, energy consumption, efficient energy use, and manual process are key issues related to the case of Seeb International School.

Climate changes affect the needs of both today and future generations. The change in climate being experienced today with the increase in the levels of global warming and adverse shifts in weather and temperature patterns is a threat to sustainable development. As a result, Seeb International School, like most institutions, has advanced several policies to minimize climate change and its impacts. The utilization of green spaces and environmentally friendly energy sources are among the key natural policy related to climate change advanced by the school.

Lastly, as a new kind of scientific control and management method for energy, an energy audit is a significant manner of improving energy management benefits and conducive to consolidation management of energy and transforming it into a more standardized and scientific approach. The energy audit can be regarded as comprehensive supervision and review of energy production, conversion, and consumption of institutions.

7.0 References

Books and Journal

Giama, E. and Papadopoulos, A. (2018) Carbon footprint analysis as a tool for energy and environmental management in small and medium-sized enterprises. International Journal of Sustainable Energy. 37(1). pp.21-29.

Guillermo, F. Rocío, S. and Sebastián, L. (2019) Determining the 2019 Carbon Footprint of a School of Design, Innovation and Technology. Ed. 2nd. Oxford University Press. London.

Kluczek, A. and Olszewski, P. (2017) Energy audits in industrial processes. Journal of cleaner production. 142(2) pp.34.

Müller, L. Kätelhön, A. Bringezu, S. McCoy, S. Suh, S. Edwards, R. Sick, V. Kaiser, S. Cuéllar-Franca, R. El Khamlichi, A. and Lee, J. (2020) The carbon footprint of the carbon feedstock CO 2. Energy & Environmental Science Journal. 13(9). p.29.

Odell, P. Rauland, V. and Murcia, K. (2021) Schools: An untapped opportunity for a carbon neutral future. International Journal of Sustainability.13(1). p.46.

Seddon, N. Chausson, A. Berry, P. Girardin, C. Smith, A. and Turner, B. (2020) Understanding the value and limits of nature-based solutions to climate change and other global challenges. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 37(10). p.20.

Websites

Morris, S. and Govier, C. (2021) Operational efficiency through effective energy and carbon management [Online] Available at: https://ee.ricardo.com/sustainability/energy-and-carbon-management [Accessed: 26th Feb 2022]