Environmental performance reporting

Sustainability Report 2005-2006

Department of the Environment and Water Resources, 2007

Canberra environmental performance

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

EN8: Greenhouse gas emissions

Goals 2005-06
Performance 2005-06 and trends

The department’s direct attributable emissions of CO2-e were 771 tonnes. On a per-person basis, this represents a 24% increase on the previous year, which correlates closely with increases in gas usage and tenant light and power at the EBB tenancy, discussed elsewhere in this report. Both are beyond the direct control of the department due to existing tenancy arrangements. Greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets, such as Greenfleet subscriptions, increased 16% on last year and reduced our emissions by 167.7 tonnes.

Figure 1: Net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by source

Figure 1: Net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by source

Net emissions directly under the control of the department, being those associated with vehicle use and waste to landfill, both demonstrated progressive improvements over 2004-05, decreasing 53% and 41% respectively.

71% of our potential emissions (1,468 tonnes) were offset by the 100% green-power contract for the JGB tenant light and power supply and the 39 Greenfleet subscriptions purchased for the vehicle fleet.

Figure 2: Net GHG emissions (tonnes)

Figure 2: Net GHG emissions (tonnes)

The department formalised its participation in the Global Choice programme, nominating to offset 100% of associated emissions. So far, the entire DEH portfolio, including the Bureau of Meteorology, has offset 83.74 tonnes of CO2.

The department is pursuing a unified Greenhouse Challenge Plus Agreement that would bring together the central and field operations of DEH, including Canberra office operations, the Australian Government Antarctic Division and the Supervising Scientist Division, under one agreement. The logistics of doing this have delayed the formalisation of a new agreement. The pursuit of a carbon-neutral policy for DEH would be dependent upon the conclusion of this agreement and would, as with all government spending, be subject to value-for-money and other policy considerations.

Commentary

GHGs are widely acknowledged as an influence on global warming and climate change. Reducing emissions, including CO2 from cars, aeroplanes, gas use and electricity generated from fossil fuels, is one of DEH’s biggest challenges. The trend indicates that we are emitting more than previous years, as our operations and environmental performance changes.

When analysing the data for this report, it was discovered that the full-cycle emission factor was used to calculate last year’s CO2-e emissions, rather than the direct emission factor, resulting in significant over-reporting. The graph has been corrected to redress this error. Despite this over-reporting, gas usage (and associated emissions) has still increased since 2003-04. As the major contributor to our GHG emission footprint, it is something we must attempt to address.

Goals 2006-07

Related Indicators

Canberra Indicators

Other Indicators

Contents

  • TBL Report 04-05
  • TBL Report 03-04

    • Key

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