Materials, Consumption and Climate Prepared for the University of Oregon Climate Change Research...

Materials, Consumption and Climate


Prepared for the University of Oregon Climate

Change Research Group

January 17, 2012

David Allaway

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

[email protected]

503-229-5479

mailto:[email protected]


Overview

• Background: materials and climate• West Coast Climate and Materials Management

Forum• Projects specific to Oregon

– Global Warming Commission 2020 Roadmap– DEQ’s 2050 Vision for Materials Management– DEQ’s use of life cycle analysis– Consumption-Based GHG Emissions Inventory– Portland and Eugene communication projects

• West Coast Forums Research Workgroup– Opportunities to collaborate


Background: Materials and Climate


Traditional Sector-Based View of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions (2006)

Electric Power Industry34%

Transportation28%

Industry19%

Agriculture8%

Commercial6%

Source: US EPA (2009)

Residential5%


Materials Matter: Systems-Based Geographic Emissions Inventory (2006)

Building Lighting and HVAC25%

Transportation of People24%

Infrastructure1%

Use of Appliances and Devices8%

Provision of Goods29%

Source: US EPA (2009)

Provision of Food13%

Materials(excluding

use)42%


For Materials, “Upstream” Emissions Dominate

Building Lighting and HVAC25%

Transportation of People24%

Infrastructure1%

Use of Appliances and Devices8%

Provision of Materials42%

Landfills & Wastewater2.2%Freight

7.1%

“Upstream” Processes32.2%


West Coast Climate and Materials Management

Forum


West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum

West Coast (mostly) local, state, and tribal governments working with US EPA Regions

9 and 10 to integrate and share lifecycle materials management policies and practices

to drive climate action.

http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/ECOCOMM.NSF/climate+change/wccmmf




An approach to using & reusing resources most productively and sustainably throughout their life cycles:

minimizing the amount of materials involved,

minimizing associated environmental impacts.

Uses a “life-cycle view”

Can result in GHG reductions at all stages

Includes, but broader than end-of-life management

Materials Management


The importance . . . and limitations . . . of waste recovery (recycling, composting)

42%

6%

2006 U.S. GHG inventorywith 32% recovery

(MSW)

2006 U.S. GHG inventory with very high recovery rate

(~95% MSW + >70% C&D)

provision ofmaterials

provision ofmaterials

36%

“savings”

buildings

transportingpeopleappliances

& devices

buildings

transportingpeopleappliances

& devices


West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum

Objectives

– Provide state, local and tribal governments with tools for evaluating the climate implications of waste and materials management decisions

– Influence national and regional policies on climate change

– Advance priority climate and materials management research


West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum: Workgroups

• Inventory: inventory improvements, informational toolkit, ICLEI protocol

• Consumption: food consumption pilot project, consumption and environment speaker series

• Communication: scripted presentation• Materials Management Strategies: research reports on

recycling/composting potential, product stewardship, specific materials

• Research: research agenda, literature review

http://captoolkit.wikispaces.com/Home

http://www.epa.gov/region10/pdf/climate/wccmmf/Reducing_GHGs_through_Recycling_and_Composting.pdf


Projects Specific to Oregon


Global Warming Commission’s Roadmap to 2020 – Specific to Materials Management

• Vision (2050)• Recommendations

– “Key Actions for 2020” (9)– “Tier Two Recommendations” (29)

• Available (as revised) at http://www.keeporegoncool.org/content/roadmap-2020

http://www.keeporegoncool.org/content/roadmap-2020

http://www.keeporegoncool.org/content/roadmap-2020


Key Actions

1. Advocate for a carbon price signal across the life cycle of materials– Emissions cap and/or carbon tax– Should address imports

2. Develop a consumption-based GHG inventory– Consider including consumption-based

accounting in future State inventories– Additional research as needed into product

categories identified as having high emissions, emissions intensity


More Key Actions

3. Develop easy-to-use life cycle metrics for different food types

4. Carbon footprinting, labeling of products– Standards, incentives, and/or mandates

5. Focus product stewardship “upstream”– Upstream emissions and/or design choices

6. Higher standards for new buildings: “net zero” plus offset for materials


And More Key Actions

7. Consumer information, outreach, education

8. Reduce waste of food

9. Conduct research on three issues involving discards:– Highest/best use for organic wastes– GHG footprint of conversion technologies (e.g.,

pyrolysis)– Guidelines, recommendations for waste-to-

energy


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Roadmap to 2020:“Discards Management” and “Upstream Actions”

Proj

ecte

d N

ew G

HG

Red

ucti

ons,

20

20 (

MM

TC

O2e

)*

Discards Management(11 recommendations)**

Upstream Actions(16 recommendations)

*Additive; cumulative reductions will be smaller**2010 recovery benefits: ~3.0 MMTCO2e


DEQ’s 2050 Vision for Materials Management in Oregon• Intended to inform update to Oregon’s (statutorily-

required) solid waste management plan – and future work by DEQ and others

• How are materials made, used, and managed at end-of-life in 2050?

• Vision and key actions– Climate is one of several critical issues

• Consultation with stakeholders ongoing; complete this summer

http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/sw/materialsmgmtplan.htm

http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/sw/materialsmgmtplan.htm


Life Cycle Analysis in DEQ’s Solid Waste Program

• Life cycle analysis (LCA): A technique for analyzing the environmental performance over the entire life cycle of a product or service.

• Includes but isn’t necessarily limited to GHGs.• Recent applications:

– E-commerce packaging (2004)– Water delivery systems (2009)– Waste prevention/material selection in

residential construction (2010)– Consumption-based GHG emissions inventory

(2011)

http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/pubs/docs/sw/packaging/lifecycleinventoryshort.pdf

http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/sw/wasteprevention/drinkingwater.htm

http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/sw/wasteprevention/greenbuilding.htm

http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/consumptionbasedghg.htm


Common Uses of Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventories

• Identify how the community contributes to emissions

• Support GHG reduction planning (scenario analysis)

• Establish a baseline and reduction goals• Measure change relative to the baseline• Communicate all of the above to policy-makers

and the general public


GHG inventories: the “snow globe” approach


Common adjustments to the “snow globe” approach

• Imported electricity– Emissions at the point of electricity generation– Transmission and distribution losses

• Motor vehicles (and airline travel)– “Trip origination” vs. in-region vehicle miles

• Exported solid waste– Emissions at landfills, incinerators


Limitations of the (modified) “snow globe”

• Provides an incomplete perspective of how communities contribute to emissions . . . – . . . and by extension, opportunities to reduce

emissions• Appears to penalize local production, reward

outsourcing (“leakage”)• May lead to sub-optimal decisions (e.g.,

discontinue recycling)• May provide misleading signals of change over

time


United Kingdom Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Conventional Accounting

•

Source: DEFRA, 2008


United Kingdom Greenhouse Gas Emissions – A More Complete Picture

•

Source: DEFRA, 2008


Oregon’s Consumption-Based GHG Emissions Inventory (CBEI): What Is It?

• An inventory of the GHG emissions associated with consumption– “Consumption” is defined in economic terms (e.g.,

“final demand” . . . not “intermediate demand”)– Consumption = a “root cause” of environmental

impacts– Includes materials but not limited to materials– Emissions are life-cycle emissions and globally

distributed• Not all in-state emissions are included

• Consumption supplements traditional measurement frameworks (production; territorial boundaries)


Methodology• Developed by Stockholm Environment Institute, US

Center• Not derived from (traditional) process LCAs• Rather, “multi-regional input-output life cycle

analysis”– Consumption (in dollars) of 509 commodities– Traces $ through supply chains for 3 regions (Oregon,

other US, other nations) to estimate total economic activity required to satisfy that consumption

– Relates that economic activity to emissions via industry- and region-specific emissions intensities (emissions/$)

– Emissions = $ (economic activity) x emissions/$– Adjustments to account for direct (in-state) energy

consumption (“final demand”) and waste disposal


The Big Picture: Oregon’s Consumption-Based GHG Emissions (2005)


Emissions by Life-Cycle Phase (MMTCO2e)


Emissions by Major Category of Consumption (“Final Demand”)

Electricity (15%)

Fuels (26%)Materials (35 -

48%)

Services (11 -24%)


Emissions by Product Category (MMTCO2e)


Emissions Intensities and Rebound Effects

• Emissions intensity: emissions per dollar spent.• Rebound effect: response to financial savings

resulting from resource conservation . . . money is still spent, albeit it possibly someplace else.

• Understanding emissions intensities leads to better understanding potential rebound effects.


Emissions Intensities

Final Demand LCA Emissions Intensities (kg CO2e/2005$)

Materials (average) 0.5 – 0.6

Electricity (average) 6.9

Fuel (average) 5.8

Services (average) 0.1 - 0.2


More Emissions Intensities

Categories LCA Pre-purchase Emissions Intensities (kg CO2e/2006$)

Transportation services 1.6

Clothing 1.1

Food and beverages 0.9

Appliances 0.7

Electronics 0.6

Furnishings and supplies 0.5

Construction 0.4

Services 0.2


0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

0.01 0.10 1.00 10.00 100.00 1000.00 10000.00

3-Ph

ase

Emis

sion

s Int

ensi

ty (k

gCO

2e/$

) av

erag

e =

0.89

3-Phase Household Consumption Emissions (kMTCO2e, Log Scale) average = 100.27

Emissions vs. Emissions Intensities, Selected Household Commodities


Local Production = Lower Emissions?

• Transportation is a minor share of emissions for most products.

• Some Oregon sectors have significantly lower emissions intensities than production elsewhere– See next slide– Caveat: additional research into marginal

emissions rates needed


Comparison of Emissions Intensities by Location

Categories Ratio of OR-at-US to OR

Ratio of OR&US-at-Foreign to OR

Media and furnishings 1.1 1.9

Foundries, metal processing 1.0 1.7

Food and beverages 1.0 1.6

Electronics 1.0 1.3

Appliances 1.0 1.3

Clothing 1.0 1.2


Possible Applications of the Consumption-Based Emissions Inventory

• Continue in parallel with traditional inventory– Provide more accurate/complete story of how Oregon

contributes to emissions– Track changes over time

• Inform climate action planning– Oregon Global Warming Commission’s Interim

Roadmap to 2020


Other Possible Applications of the Consumption-Based Emissions Inventory

• Support and inform additional research, voluntary actions– Identify high impact/high priority categories

• But not a “consumer’s guide”• No specific actions for individuals recommended

– Screening tool for state purchasing– Use by local governments and businesses

• Improvement over the EIO-LCA tool– Use in research projects


Outreach on Consumption

Babe O’Sullivan, Sustainability LiaisonCity of Eugene(541) [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Outreach on Consumption

• Awareness → Attitude → Behavior• Thoughtful consumption: consuming differently

– Want vs. need– Sharing, trading, renting, borrowing– Durable, repairable, reusable– Less stuff, more memories

• Best practices– Positive, value based– Trusted sources: local sources, existing networks– Go beyond the media buy


Portland Campaigns

Be Resourceful• Genesis: waste

prevention• Web-based• Testimonials• Community events• Focus: food

purchases


Portland Campaigns

Climate Action Now• Genesis: climate

action• Web-based• “Your Stuff”• Call to action• Tips, resources


Eugene

Climate Communication Strategy• 1st installment: consumption• Phase 1: research and design• Measure attitudes: survey and focus groups• Test messaging• Recommendations: March 2012• Political considerations


West Coast Forum: Research Workgroup

Materials, Consumption and Climate Prepared for the University of Oregon Climate Change Research...

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