Carbon Audit Report YauLee · Carbon Audit Report for Yau Lee Construction Company Limited Business Environment Council Page 2 of 17 C2486 Site visits were carried out on 24 th April

Carbon Audit Report

for

Yau Lee Construction Company Limited

(May 2011–April 2012 and May 2012–April 2013)

(Rev 3)

Prepared by Business Environment Council Limited

8 July 2013

BEC reference: C2486

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1

2 METHODOLOGIES..........................................................................................................1

3 BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND BOUNDARIES......................................................2

3.1 Scope of the Carbon Audit ....................................................................................2

3.2 Description of Premises........................................................................................2

3.3 Physical Boundary ................................................................................................2

3.4 Operational Boundaries ........................................................................................3

4 GHG EMISSIONS AND REMOVALS QUANTIFICATIONS...............................................3

4.1 Scope 1 - Direct Emissions...................................................................................3

4.2 Scope 2 - Energy Indirect Emissions ....................................................................7

4.3 Scope 3 - Other Indirect Emissions.......................................................................8

4.4 Summary and Comparison of GHG Emissions ................................................... 11

5 CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................14

6 DISCUSSION.................................................................................................................15

6.1 GHG Reduction Programmes / Initiatives ............................................................15

6.2 Areas for Improvement .......................................................................................16

Appendix A – Detailed calculation of GHG emissions in May 2011-April 2012

Appendix B – Detailed calculation of GHG emissions in May 2012-April 2013

Carbon Audit Report for Yau Lee Construction Company Limited

Business Environment Council Page 1 of 17 C2486

1 INTRODUCTION

Business Environment Council Limited (BEC), as the Qualified Service Provider (QSP) for

Energy-cum-carbon Audit Projects and Carbon"Less" Certificates Scheme, was

commissioned by Yau Lee Construction Company Limited (the Client) to conduct carbon

audit for the office located at 10/F., Tower 1, Enterprise Square, 9 Sheung Yuet Road,

Kowloon Bay, Kowloon (the premises) for the time period from May 2011 to April 2012 (2011-

2012) and from May 2012 to April 2013 (2012-2013).

The audit aims to quantify the Client’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as arising from

activities within the physical and operational boundaries of the premises from which the

anthropogenic sources were identified.

A series of audit activities were conducted from April to June 2013 including the following

steps for the purpose of quantifying the carbon footprints of the client for 2011-2012 and

2012-2013, respectively:

� Setting up audit strategy and adopting appropriate methodologies by referencing to

relevant guidelines;

� Defining physical and operational boundaries;

� Collection of activities data which contributes to GHG emissions’ total;

� Determinating the scopes of emissions;

� Carrying out on-site audit, meeting, verification and interviews with responsible

personnel to verify the collected data;

� Quantification and calculation of GHG emissions for the Client in terms of carbon

dioxide equivalent (CO2-e );

� Presentation of results and findings.

2 METHODOLOGIES

The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) quantification methodologies as adopted in this report refer to

the following guidelines:

� “Guidelines to Account for and Report on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals

for Buildings (Commercial, Residential or Institutional Purpose) in Hong Kong” issued

by the Environmental Protection Department and the Electrical and Mechanical

Services Department

� ISO 14064-1 Specification with Guidance at the Organization Level for Quantification

and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals



Site visits were carried out on 24th April 2013 and 28th May 2013 in order to identify the

physical, operational boundaries and scopes of GHG emission sources and removals.

Questionnaire was used to collect information as supporting documents from the client. The

returned questionnaire is attached at Appendix A.

Minor discrepancy may be experienced during the quantification of GHG due to rounding of

decimal places.

3 BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND BOUNDARIES

3.1 Scope of Carbon Audit

The reporting entity of audit is Yau Lee Construction Company Limited. The report covers

the Client’s GHG footprints during the time period from 1st May 2011 to 30th April 2012, and

from 1st May 2012 to 30th April 2013, respectively.

3.2 Description of Premises

The premises comprises a total area of 12,300 square feet, accommodating about 100 staff

members during the audit period.

3.3 Physical Boundary

The physical boundary of the premise is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Floor plan of the premise



3.4 Operational Boundaries

The premises serves as the headquarters to provide all necessary logistic and clerical

supports to all employees of the Client. In accordance with on-site observations and relevant

protocols, the eligible emissions and removal sources in the service scope of the premises

are stated in Section 4 of this audit report.

4 GHG EMISSIONS AND REMOVALS QUANTIFICATIONS 4.1 Scope 1 - Direct Emissions

The scopes of GHG emission sources and removal for the premises are outlined as follows:

Stationary Combustion Sources

The Client did not own any stationary combustion equipment such as generator sets,

cooking ranges, heaters or ovens which involved combustion of fuel within the stated

physical boundaries in the reporting periods (2011-2012 and 2012-2013). Therefore there

were no relevant GHG emissions from the premise.

Vehicle Use

(A) From May 2011 to April 2012

There were 6 unleaded petroleum (ULP) powered passenger cars (namely BN3233,

CR3293, CS3331, EK1321, EW3133 and NC8082) and 1 unleaded petroleum (ULP)

powered private van (NP8958), consuming 18,301.93 litres and 3,661.04 litres in the

reporting period, respectively.

The equations adopted for CO2-e emissions quantification are shown as follows:

CO2 Emissions (in tonnes of CO2-e)

= Amount of fuel consumed x Emissions Factor of CO2

CH4 /N2O Emissions (in tonnes of CO2-e)

= Amount of fuel consumed x Emissions Factor of (CH4

/N2O) x Relative Global Warming Potential (GWP)

Where:

Emission Factor of (CO2) for ULP powered passenger car and private van is 2.36 kg/ litre.

Emission Factors of (CH4) for ULP powered passenger car and private van are 0.253 g/ litre

and 0.203 g/ litre, respectively.

Emission Factors of (N2O) for ULP powered passenger car and private van are 1.105 g/ litre

and 1.14 g/litre respectively.

Relative Global Warming Potential is 21 for CH4 ; 310 for N2O.



Passenger cars

Total emissions of passenger cars = CO2 Emissions + CH4 Emissions + N2O Emissions

(in tonnes of CO2-e)

CO2 Emissions of passenger cars = Amount of fuel consumed x Emissions Factor of CO2

= 18,301.93 x 2.36 / 1,000

= 43.193 tonnes of CO2-e

CH4 Emissions of passenger cars = Amount of fuel consumed x Emissions Factor of

CH4 x Relative Global Warming Potential (GWP)

of CH4

= 18,301.93 x 0.253 / 1,000,000 x 21


N2O Emissions of passenger cars = Amount of fuel consumed x Emissions Factor of

N2O x Relative Global Warming Potential (GWP)

of N2O

= 18,301.93 x 1.105 / 1,000,000 x 310


Total Emissions of passenger cars = CO2 Emissions + CH4 Emissions + N2O Emissions

= 43.193 + 0.097 + 6.269

= 49.56 tonnes of CO2-e (Corr. to 2 d.p.)

Private van

Total Emissions of private van = CO2 Emissions + CH4 Emissions + N2O Emissions


CO2 Emissions of private van = Amount of fuel consumed x Emissions Factor of CO2

= 3,661.04 x 2.36 / 1,000


CH4 Emissions of private van = Amount of fuel consumed x Emissions Factor of CH4

x Relative Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CH4

= 3,661.04 x 0.203 / 1,000,000 x 21




N2O Emissions of private van = Amount of fuel consumed x Emissions Factor of N2O

x Relative Global Warming Potential (GWP)of N2O

= 3,661.04 x 1.14 / 1,000,000 x 310



= 8.640 + 0.016 + 1.294


Hence, the 6 passenger cars emitted 49.56 tonnes of CO2-e and the private van emitted 9.95

tonnes of CO2-e. The total emission for vehicle use in the baseline year was 59.51 tonnes of

CO2-e.

(B) From May 2012 to April 2013

There were 5 unleaded petroleum (ULP) powered passenger cars (namely BN3233,

CR3293, CS3331, EK1321 and NC8082) and 1 unleaded petroleum (ULP) powered private

van (NP8958), consuming 14,921.78 litres and 3,955.72 litres in the reporting period,

respectively.

Passenger cars



CO2 Emissions of passenger cars = Amount of fuel consumed x Emissions Factor of

CO2

= 14,921.78 x 2.36 / 1,000


CH4 Emissions of passenger cars = Amount of fuel consumed x Emissions Factor of CH4


= 14,921.78 x 0.253 / 1,000,000 x 21


N2O Emissions of passenger cars = Amount of fuel consumed x Emissions Factor of N2 O

x Relative Global Warming Potential (GWP) of N2O

= 14,921.78 x 1.105 / 1,000,000 x 310





= 35.215 + 0.079 + 5.111


Private van



CO2 Emissions of private van = Amount of fuel consumed x Emissions Factor of CO2

= 3,955.72 x 2.36 / 1,000


CH4 Emissions of private van = Amount of fuel consumed x Emissions Factor of CH4


= 3,955.72 x 0.203 / 1,000,000 x 21


N2O Emissions of private van = Amount of fuel consumed x Emissions Factor of N2O

x Relative Global Warming Potential (GWP)of N2O

= 3,955.72 x 1.14 / 1,000,000 x 310



= 9.335 + 0.017 + 1.398


Hence, the 5 passenger cars emitted 40.41 tonnes of CO2-e and the private van emitted

10.75 tonnes of CO2-e. The total emission for vehicle use was summed at 51.16 tonnes of

CO2-e in the audit year.

Release of Refrigerants

The Client did not have any refrigerants refilling actions in the reporting periods (i.e. May

2011 to April 2012 and May 2012 to April 2013). Hence, there were no relevant emissions in

this aspect.

Other GHG Fugitive Releases

There were no records showing any GHG fugitive releases in the reporting periods (i.e. May

2011 to April 2012 and May 2012 to April 2013). Hence, there were no relevant emissions in

this aspect.



Tree Planting

In accordance with available records maintained by the Client, no trees1 were planted or

removed within the physical boundary of the reporting entity.

Total Scope 1 Emission


The total scope 1 emissions in the baseline year were 59.51 tonnes of CO2-e, with no

removals of GHG emissions.


The total scope 1 emissions in the audit year were 51.16 tonnes of CO2-e, with no removals

of GHG emissions.

4.2 Scope 2 - Energy Indirect Emissions

Under this Scope, consumption of purchased electricity2 and Towngas

3 were studied. In this

report, the territory-wide default value emissions would be presented. Their corresponding

consumptions were described as below:

Purchase of Electricity from the CLP

1 Trees are considered to be accountable GHG removal sources due to their capability of assimilating

CO2 into biomass.

2 Electricity is produced when fossil fuels are burned in stationary combustion units. GHGs are

emitted directly through those stationary energy-generating units. These GHG emissions include

carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).

3 Towngas is produced when naphtha, landfill gases and natural gas are burned in stationary

combustion units. GHGs are emitted directly through those stationary energy-generating units.

These GHG emissions include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).

The equation for quantifying the GHG emissions is shown as follows:

CO2 Emissions of electricity purchased (in tonnes of CO2-e )

= Amount of electricity consumed (in kWh) x Emissions Factor of CO2

Where the territory-wide emission factor is 0.7 kg CO2-e/kWh




The electricity consumption in the reporting period was 215,869 kWh, accounting for an

annual emission of 151.11 tonnes of CO2-e.

CO2 Emissions (in tonnes of CO2-e) = Amount of electricity consumed (in kWh) x

Emissions Factor of CO2

= 215,869 x 0.7 / 1,000



The electricity consumption in the reporting period was 223,580 kWh, accounting for an

annual emission of 156.51 tonnes of CO2-e.

CO2 Emissions (in tonnes of CO2-e) = Amount of electricity consumed (in kWh) x

Emissions Factor of CO2

= 223,580 x 0.7 / 1,000


Purchase from Towngas

It was reported that no Towngas4 was consumed during the reporting periods (2011-2012

and 2012-2013).

Total Scope 2 Emission


The total scope 2 emissions in the baseline year were calculated to be 151.11 tonnes of

CO2-e.


The total scope 2 emissions in the audit year were calculated to be 156.51 tonnes of CO2-e.

4.3 Scope 3 - Other Indirect Emissions

GHG emissions from paper waste disposed at landfills

GHGs (particularly methane) generated from organic carbon content of the paper waste

decomposed at landfills are regarded as part of the indirect emission within the site

boundaries.

4 GHGs emitted from the refinery of Towngas are regarded as indirect GHG emissions.




According to the records provided by the Client, the Client purchased 9,333.02 kg of printing

paper and recycled 1,021.5 kg of printing paper in 2011-2012. As there were no available

records of the opening and the closing stock, the amount at stock was set at zero. As a

result, it was calculated that a total of 39.9 tonnes of CO2-e was emitted.

CO2 Emissions due to Paper Waste Disposal at Landfill

= (Initial amount of paper at stock in kg + Amount of additional paper purchased in kg – Amount of paper recycled in kg – Final amount of paper at stock in kg) x Emissions Factor of CO2

= (0 + 9,333.02 – 1,021.50 – 0) x 4.8 / 1,000



According to the records provided by the Client, the Client purchased 9,431.98 kg printing

paper and recycled 3,541.50 kg printing paper in 2012-2013. As there were no available

records of the opening and the closing stock, the amount at stock was set at zero. As a

result, it was calculated that GHG emissions summed at 28.27 tonnes of CO2-e.

CO2 Emissions due to Paper Waste Disposal at Landfill

= (Initial amount of paper at stock in kg + Amount of additional paper purchased in kg – Amount of paper recycled in kg – Final amount of paper at stock in kg) x Emissions Factor

= (0 + 9,431.98 – 3,541.50 – 0) x 4.8 / 1,000


GHG emissions due to freshwater consumption and sewage treatment

Although the indirect emissions from electricity used for fresh water processing by the Water

Services Department and electricity used for sewage processing by the Drainage Services

Department are listed as mandatory elements for Type II applicants of the Carbon”Less”

Certificates Scheme, the Client has proposed to exclude both elements from its carbon

inventory as: (1) the property management of the building was unable to provide a


Emissions due to Paper Waste Disposal at Landfill

= (Initial amount of paper at stock in kg + Amount of additional paper purchased in kg – Amount of paper recycled in kg – Final amount of paper at stock in kg) x Emissions Factor of CO2

Where the emission factor is 4.8 kg CO2-e/kg



breakdown of water usage for the Client; and (2) freshwater consumption and sewage

treatment from the Client’s office operations5 only made insignificant contributions to the

Client’s overall GHG footprint. From this point of view, it was revealed that such exclusion

should be justified and accepted.

Total Scope 3 Emissions


The total scope 3 emissions in the baseline year were calculated to be 39.90 tonnes of CO2-e.


The total scope 3 emissions in the audit year were calculated to be 28.27 tonnes of CO2-e.

5 Major source of water consumption within the office is pantries and washrooms.


CO2 Emissions due to Fresh Water Consumption

= Amount of fresh water consumed in m3

x Emissions Factor

Where the emission factor adopted in this report is 0.415 kg CO2-e/m3


CO2 Emissions due to Sewage Processing

= Amount of fresh water consumed in m3

x Emissions Factor

Where the emission factor adopted in this report is 0.17 kg CO2-e/m3



Summary and Comparison of GHG Emissions

Summing up the net emissions from each Scope, the net total GHG emissions for the two

periods of April 2011-May 2012 and April 2012-May 2013 are represented in Table 1 and 2,

respectively:

Table 1: Summary of GHG emissions from April 2011 to May 2012 (baseline year)

Sources of Emissions Emissions in tonnes

of CO2-e Percentage of

CO2-e Emission

Scope 1 Direct Emissions

Stationary Combustion Sources 0.00 0.00%

Mobile Combustion Sources 59.51 23.76%

Refrigerant Emissions 0.00 0.00%

Other Fugitive Release 0.00 0.00%

Scope 1 Emissions Total 59.51 23.76%

Scope 1 Direct Removals

Planting of additional trees 0.00 0.00%

Scope 1 Removal Total 0.00 0.00%

Scope 2 Energy Indirect Emissions Total

Electricity Purchased (Territory-wide emission factor is applied)

151.11 60.32%

Towngas Purchased 0.000 0.00%


Scope 3 Other Indirect Emissions

Electricity for Processing Fresh Water 0.000 0.00%

Electricity for Processing Sewage 0.000 0.00%

Methane Generation at Landfill due to Disposal of Paper Waste

39.90 15.93%


Total Scope 1 Emissions: 59.51



Total GHG Removals: 0.00

Gross Emissions 250.52

Net Emissions (subtract removals by trees) 250.52

*All figures in the above table are rounded to 2 decimal places



Figure 2: Percentage distribution of GHG emissions amongst the various scopes

from May 2011 to April 2012 (baseline year)

Percentage distribution of GHG emissions amongst the various scopes

from May 2011 to April 2012 (baseline year)

Total Scope 1 Emissions:

23.76%


60.32%


15.93%

Total GHG Removals:

0.00%

Total Scope 1 Emissions: Total Scope 2 Emissions:

Total Scope 3 Emissions: Total GHG Removals:



Table 2: Summary of GHG emissions from April 2012 to May 2013 (audit year)

Sources of Emissions Emissions in tonnes

of CO2-e Percentage of

CO2-e Emission

Scope 1 Direct Emissions

Stationary Combustion Sources 0.00 0.00%

Mobile Combustion Sources 51.16 21.68%

Refrigerant Emissions 0.00 0.00%

Other Fugitive Release 0.00 0.00%


Scope 1 Direct Removals

Planting of additional trees 0.00 0.00%

Scope 1 Removal Total 0.00 0.00%

Scope 2 Energy Indirect Emissions Total

Electricity Purchased (Territory-wide emission factor is applied)

156.51 66.33%

Towngas Purchased 0.00 0.00%


Scope 3 Other Indirect Emissions

Electricity for Processing Fresh Water 0.00 0.00%

Electricity for Processing Sewage 0.00 0.00%

Methane Generation at Landfill due to Disposal of Paper Waste

28.27 11.98%





Total GHG Removals: 0.00

Gross Emissions 235.94

Net Emissions (subtract removals by trees) 235.94

*All figures in the above table are rounded to 2 decimal places



Figure 3: Percentage distribution of GHG emissions amongst the various scopes

from May 2011 to April 2012 (audit year)

Percentage distribution of GHG emissions amongst the various scopes

from May 2011 to April 2012 (audit year)

Total GHG Removals:

0.00%


11.98%


66.33%


21.68%

Total Scope 1 Emissions: Total Scope 2 Emissions: Total Scope 3 Emissions: Total GHG Removals:

5 CONCLUSION

Based on the audit findings and the information provided by the Client, it is concluded that

the Client’s GHG emissions have been decreased by 5.82%, from 250.512 tonnes of CO2-e

during May 2011- April 2012 to 235.9 tonnes of CO2-e during May 2012- April 2013.

Table 3: Comparison of GHG emissions between the baseline and audit years

Baseline Year Audit Year Scope

(May 2011-April 2012) (May 2012- April 2013)

Percentage Change

Scope 1 Emissions (Net) (unit: tonnes of CO2-e)

59.51 51.16 -14.04%

Scope 2 Emissions (unit: tonnes of CO2-e)

151.11 156.51 +3.57%

Scope 3 Emissions (unit: tonnes of CO2-e)

39.90 28.27 -29.13%

Net Total GHG Emissions (unit: tonnes of CO2-e)

250.52 235.94 -5.82%



6 DISCUSSION

6.1 GHG Reduction Programmes / Initiatives

(i) The Client had reduced 1 company vehicle, leading to a 14.04% reduction

regarding scope 1 emissions.

(ii) The Client had appointed a paper recycling service provider to collect and

recycle their paper waste. By doing this, they had significantly decreased the

scope 3 emissions.

(iii) The Client had put reminder labels to remind staff members to turn off

electrical appliances after use.

(iv) The Client had deployed light zoning and delamping (i.e. removal of

excessive fluorescence tubes in certain areas).

(v) The Client had purchased electrical appliances (e.g. photocopying machines,

refrigerator, and water boiler) with EMSD Energy Labels.

(vi) The Client had installed thermometers in the office as a reference. This is

intended to keep the optimum room temperature between 24°C to 26oC.

Label reminders Delamping

Printer with EMSD energy label Refrigerator with EMSD grade 1 energy label



Thermometer in office

6.2 Areas for Improvement

(i) The Client could consider replacing T8 fluorescent tubes, incandescent bulbs

and halogen spotlights by other energy saving alternatives (e.g. T5

fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), LED spotlights, etc.).

(ii) The Client could consider to extend the level of delamping (e.g. some corridor

areas still have the potential to further reduce the numbers of lighting source).

(iii) The Client could consider to enhance paper recycling by increasing the

number of recycling bins or reducing the number of trash bins in office.

(iv) The Client could consider using cloud computing technology to reduce

server's space occupancy, which in turns reduced electricity consumption.

Use of tungsten light bulb in meeting room Suggested areas for delamping



Paper waste found in trash bin Extensive use of halogen spotlights in reception area

Extensive use of T8 fluorescent tubes Server room (potential for hardware virtualisation)

Appendix A – Detailed calculation of GHG emissions in May 2011-April 2012 (Baseline Year)

Appendix B – Detailed calculation of GHG emissions in May 2012-April 2013 (Audit Year)

Documents

Carbon Audit Report YauLee · Carbon Audit Report for Yau Lee Construction Company Limited Business Environment Council Page 2 of 17 C2486 Site visits were carried out on 24 th April