Carbon Accounting in the Tourism Sector

Chaired by:Rachel Dunk

Crichton Carbon CentreSteven Gillespie

University of Glasgow

Outline/Objective of workshop

Welcome and introductions Scene setting presentations

– Tourism & CO2: The global context

– Targets, standards and methodologies

Key questions Wrap up and Close

About ICARB

ICARB: The Initiative for Carbon Accounting Sponsored by the Scottish Government A group of stakeholders (industry representatives,

politicians, academics, consultants, public, private and third sector) working together to create a set of transparent, consistent and accurate rules for carbon accounting across the Scottish economy

Resource base at www.icarb.org

Objectives...

Form and shape a Tourism Stakeholder Group Make the first steps in developing the Tourism

carbon accounting rule book– Tourism sector sub-categories

– Which scope 3 emission sources?

Identify next steps/points for future discussion

Introductions

Tourism & CO2: the Global picture

Tourism & Climate Change

Tourism

Creates

Impacts

Affect

Tourism Growth

UNWTO (2011)

Erxleben and Sallwey (2007)

Global Tourism and Climate Change

Tourism (including day-trips) is responsible for 4.95% of global CO2 emissions – Up to 14% if measured as radiative forcing (The warming

caused by CO2 and other GHGs).

If tourism was a country it would be the 5th biggest polluter worldwide (similar to Japan).

Global tourism emissions projected to grow by 152% by 2035.

Sources: Peeters and Dubois (2010); UNWTO-UNEP-WMO (2008)

Air transport

40%

Car32%

Other transport

3%

Accommoda-tion21%

Other activities4%

Breakdown of tourism emissions

Radiative forcing

Air transport

72%

Car15%

Other transport

2%

Accom-modation

9%

Other activities2%

Tourism Mitigation Scenarios

UNWTO-UNEP-WMO (2008)

References

Erxleben, T. and Sallwey, L. (2007) The impact of current developments on the baggage flow at airports and derived trends in airport logistics. Elektroniczne czasopismo naukowe z dziedziny logistyki, 3 (1), No. 5.

Peeters, P. And Dubois, G. (2010) Tourism travel under climate change mitigation constraints. Journal of Transport Geography, 18 (3),447-457.

UNWTO (2011) Tourism Highlights 2009 Edition. http://unwto.org

UNWTO-UNEP-WMO (2008) Climate Change and Tourism: Responding to Global Challenges. UNWTO, Madrid.

Targets, Standards & Methodologies

UK Climate Change Policy

2020 ↓34%2050 ↓80%

UK ClimateChange Act

2020 ↓42%2050 ↓80%

Climate Change(Scotland) Act

Sustainable Tourism in Scotland

Scottish Government has publicly stated its ambition for Scotland to be Europe’s most sustainable tourism destination

Aspiration that all quality assured businesses will have attained (at a minimum) entry level of the Green Tourism Business Scheme by 2015

Incorporation of environmental/sustainability criteria into Visit Scotland Quality Assurance Scheme

Concerns from sector on clashes between 4/5* and sustainability criteria

What is a carbon footprint…

“The total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and

indirectly by an individual, organisation, event or product”

Carbon Trust

The purpose of C accounting in tourism...

• To enable accurate emissions reporting?If accurate emissions reporting is required, then we need a rigorous approach that complies with relevant guidelines & standards.

&/or• To provide information for carbon management?

If for internal carbon management a less rigorous approach that provides management level information and allows identification of lowest hanging fruit may prove sufficient.

The purpose of C accounting in tourism...

• Provides baseline information that enables: Reporting of emissions

• Mandatory • Voluntary

Comparison to benchmark standards• e.g. Office energy efficiency

Correct identification of emission reduction targets • Savings• No Cost• Low Cost

Level against which future performance is measured• Quantify emissions abatement achieved• Project reporting

Drivers to reduce carbon emissions

Organisation

Regulation

Costs

New Business

StakeholderPressures

Barriers to carbon emission reduction

Time

Cost

KnowledgeBusiness as Usual Organisation

International Standards

• The Greenhouse Gas Protocol – www.ghgprotocol.org

• ISO 14064 Climate Change Standard– www.iso.org

UK Voluntary Reporting

• Guidance on how to measure and report your greenhouse gas emissions

In combination with:

• Guidelines to Defra/DECC’s GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting

www.defra.gov.uk/environment/business/reporting/index.htm

UK Government Recommendation:

3 to 5 Step Process

Define the boundaries

Collect the activity data

Calculate emissions & total footprint

Independent verification (optional)

1

2

3

4

5Public reporting (optional)

Boundary setting

ORGANISATIONALQ: What do you own/control?

OPERATIONALQ: What are you including?

Equity Share

Control Approach

Financial Operational

identify ALL emissions within organisational

boundary & then select which to include

?

Scope 1 & Scope 2

Scope 3This is your consolidation approach

Boundary Setting

Footprint Assessment Boundary

Within Companies Control

Water supply & treatment

Waste disposal & recycling

Staffcommuting

Company vehicles diesel

Gas consumption

Company vehicles petrol

Purchased electricity

Other business travel

The Sources – Scope 1, 2 & 3Scopes improve transparency & prevent double counting of emissions for GHG programs

The GHG Protocol requires reporting of Scope 1 & Scope 2 as a minimum

Source: GHG Protocol – A Corporate Accounting & Reporting Standard, Revised Edition

The Sources – Scope 1, 2 & 3Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the

company.• e.g. emissions from combustion in owned or controlled boilers, furnaces and vehicles (combustion of

biomass is reported separately). Process emissions and fugitive emissions are also Scope 1.

Scope 2: Energy Indirect GHG emissions from purchased electricity, heat steam & cooling consumed by the company.

Scope 3: Other indirect GHG emissions (optional for the GHG protocol discretionary in UK Govt guidance)

• arise as a consequence of the activities of the company, but occur from sources not owned or controlled by the company.

• both the upstream & downstream supply chains • e.g. extraction, production of purchased materials, transportation of purchased fuels, waste

disposal, employee commuting, business travel, customer travel.

Others: Emissions of other GHGs not included in the Kyoto Protocol (optional for the GHG Protocol, include if material in UK Govt guidance)

• e.g. CFCs (regulated by the Montreal Protocol), NOx

Source: GHG Protocol – A Corporate Accounting & Reporting Standard, Revised Edition

The Sources – Scope 1, 2 & 3

• An approach often taken is to tackle the easiest emissions to quantify first (Scope 1 & Scope 2) – developing a more detailed approach at a later date (e.g. Scope 3 - examining the supply chain).

• HOWEVER – an analysis limited to direct and indirect energy emissions may account for only a small fraction of an entities total carbon footprint.

• Developing a carbon management plan based on limited information could be worse than useless.

Which Scope 3 Sources? ISO 14064-1

The organization may quantify other indirect GHG emissions based on requirements of the applicable GHG programme, internal reporting needs or the intended use for the GHG inventory.

The organization may exclude from quantification direct or indirect GHG sources or sinks whose contribution to GHG emissions or removals is not material or whose quantification would not be technically feasible or cost effective.

The organization shall explain why certain GHG sources or sinks are excluded from quantification.

Materiality: concept that individual or an aggregate of errors, omissions and misrepresentations could affect the greenhouse gas assertion and could influence the intended users’ decisions

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Which Scope 3 Sources? Defra/DECC

Discretionary - include if significant...

Small Business User Guide specifically notes: Water supply/waste water disposal Waste disposal/recycling Business travel Staff commuting

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Which Scope 3 Sources? Carbon Trust

Carbon Trust - Baseline Tool (for SMEs) pilot – being trialled in 2011/12 Water Waste (general mixed – no breakdown) Business Travel

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Which Scope 3 Sources? GTBS

GTBS – Criteria address... Water Waste Travel (Business, Staff, Visitor) Purchasing

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What is a tiered methodology

In the IPCC GPG, there is a hierarchy of estimation methods – Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 methods – with Tier 1 being the simplest (highest uncertainty) and Tier 3 being the most complex (greater confidence).

This approach is also evident in Defra/DECC guidance – which provides basic guidance on how to estimate emissions from some sources in absence of complete data sets.

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What is a tiered methodology

Tier 1: simplest - equations and default parameters provided - e.g. Scotland specific...

Tier 2: as Tier 1 but higher temporal and spatial resolution – more disaggregated data – e.g. Region specific...

Tier 3: higher order methods – based on high quality activity data (in combination with modelling) – e.g. Enterprise specific...

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Key Questions

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Discussion Groups

Eva Milroy

Kalyan Bhandari

Steve Macfarlane

Vasileios Skampalis

Chris Wood-Gee

Joung Hun Youm

Alice Hamling

Zan Kirk

Stephen Miles

Jon Proctor

Sue Roaf

Emily Taylor

Lisa Gibson

Neil Kitching

Hiro Murakami

Markos Skampalis

Robert Smith

Song Wang

The Tourism System

Transition Route Region

Operational Context

Operational context includes economic, socio-cultural, political, technological, legal and environmental variables

Tourist Destination

Region

Tourist Generating

RegionReturning Tourists

Departing Tourists

Source: Leiper 1990

Q1: Tourism Sector Boundaries

1. Which tourism actors– are core tourism businesses (in the rule book)

– are supporting businesses (data needed from them for determining footprint of the ‘core’ tourism business)

– should facilitate / support carbon measurement and reduction in the tourism sector

2. For the core tourism businesses, please arrange them into what you think are the appropriate number and type of sub-categories

Q2: Tourism & Travel Emissions

1. Which actors are interested in tourism related transport emissions?

2. Whose responsibility do you think it is to measure and reduce emissions from tourism related transport?

3. How would you evaluate visitor travel? – What data is needed?

– Who should collect it?

Q3&4: Which Scope 3s?

1. What do you think are the significant Scope 3 emission sources for the core tourism sub-categories formulated by your group?