Beyond the Kyoto Protocol

International protocols have taken great strides to summon the world to arms regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the adverse effects of our rapidly increasing global carbon footprint. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted as an amendment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This framework set an ultimate objective of stabilizing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous human-induced interference with the climate system.

For example, by its ratification, Canada committed to an approximate 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2012. The 25 percent reduction is represented by a 6 percent reduction below 1990 levels combined with an approximate 19 percent reduction to reflect increased emissions since 1990. Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol in December 2002, making it the fifty-third country to do so. It is important to note that for the protocol to be binding on all signatories, it must be ratified by at least fifty-five countries representing at least fifty-five percent of total emissions.

The standard and guidance outlined in the Kyoto Protocol were designed with several complementary objectives in mind. In summary, this was to:

1. Help companies prepare a GHG inventory that represented a true and fair account of their emissions, through the use of standardized approaches and principles;
2. Simplify and reduce the costs of compiling a GHGinventory;
3. Provide business with information to be used for building an effective strategy to manage and reduce GHGemissions;
4. Present information that facilitated participation in voluntary and mandatory GHGprograms; and
5. Increase consistency and transparency in GHGaccounting and reporting among various companies and GHGprograms.

In addition to environmental regulations and policies designed to reduce GHG emissions, the GHG exposure from a company's assets is becoming a management issue because of heightened scrutiny by the insurance industry and by shareholders.Companies are now beginning to realize the significant business value of addressing GHG issues. They are managing GHG risks and identifying reduction opportunities by considering:

1. Risks associated with GHG constraints in
2. the future
3. Cost-effective reduction opportunities
4. GHG targets
5. Continuous measuring and progress reporting

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), investors, and other stakeholders are increasingly calling for greater corporate disclosure of GHG information. They are interested in the actions companies are taking and how the companies are positioned relative to their competitors in the face of emerging regulations. By leveraging the guidance provided by many GHG programs to assist companies in setting voluntary GHG targets, they are expecting to see greater public reporting and voluntary participation with:

1. Voluntary stakeholder reporting of GHG emissions and progress toward targets
2. Reporting to government and NGO reporting programs, including GHGregistries
3. Eco-labeling and GHG certification
4. Because they offer recognition for companies participating in voluntary GHG programs, public reporting strategies strengthen relationships with stakeholders and help improve companies' standings with customers and the general public.

As the years go by, it is becoming very clear that business and other stakeholders, including the general public, are benefiting from the adoption of environmental sustainability initiatives. For business, it reduces costs if their GHG inventory is capable of meeting different internal and external information requirements. For others, it improves the consistency, transparency, and understandability of reported information, making it easier to track and compare progress over time.

Understanding the challenges before us in the management and mitigation of GHGs has caused us to reach out for enterprise technologies and converging technical platforms that can make the goals of managing energy usage and reducing GHG emissions a reality. To date, each of the categories of asset management technology solutions listed below are quite mature and have comprehensive hardware platforms, software applications, and implementation methodologies that have benefited from years of lessons learned. These include:

While each can be applied to address the issue of monitoring and tracking GHGs, the challenge now is to integrate and funnel these tools into a unified solution that can provide all stakeholders of the asset life-cycle management, including the general public, with quantifiable results and defensible case studies dealing with the reduction of GHGs.

Toward this end, the goal should be leveraging EAM and IWMS systems such as MAXIM and TRIRIGA to increase climate-related opportunities and reduce risks. The basis for this premise is fairly straightforward. We currently use these EAM systems to manage mission-critical assets in most GHG-producing industry sectors; utilities, manufacturing, mining, transportation, construction, etc. They can be configured to direct most of the tactical elements needed for energy management and for either voluntary or regulatory GHG compliance. This, like many things, is best done proactively, rather than reactively.

Integrated with a BMS and EEMS, we can track elements of the carbon footprint, as well as energy costs for actual usage, maintenance and operations, and resources.

For example, by rationalizing MAXIMO applications and work processes, companies can mitigate environmental risk and operate virtually incident-free, while leveraging asset reliability programs, and improving resource and asset reliability.

At a more granular level, for instance, we can configure the MAXIMO Instrument Calibration Manager (one of many application modules) to uniquely identify instruments, measurement and test equipment, and calibration standards - all through a single user interface. Also, based on user-defined calibration periods for each asset, users can automatically generate calibration work orders for the 'next due date'. This approach helps ensure that asset calibrations are performed regularly and within established intervals. The ability to create emissions inventory-related applications and reports can assist in risk mitigation by specifically reducing the risk of effluent discharges and air emissions, and generally the risk of non-compliance.

A complete and accurate inventory of assets, locations, and their emissions is critical to creating a comprehensive preventive maintenance program. This is a best practice that will assist asset managers to minimize emissions and to ensure optimum performance of assets.

Much of the world is now looking beyond the Kyoto Protocol. Leaders at the thirty-third G8 summit agreed the G8 nations should aim to halve global CO2 emissions by 2050. The resulting negotiation process will also include developing countries and the major emerging economies. More recently, a round of 2007 climate change talks in Vienna concluded with agreement on key elements for an effective international response to climate change, which included a strong focus on energy efficiency.

Any job is made easier with the right tools.

*Footnotes