GHG Emissions Assessment

Scope 1 of GHG Protocol

Base Year: 2014

Contents 1. Viva Tierra Background

2. Scope 1 Emissions Assessment

2.1 Purchased Electricity

2.2 Water Use

2.3 Utilities

2.3 Transportation

3. Summary Findings

4. Conclusion and Suggestions for Reduction

1. Viva Tierra Background Founded in 1993 and formerly known as CF Fresh, Viva Tierra is

one of the leading marketing brands in North America for their organic

apples and pears, and one of the top suppliers to wholesale and retail

chains. With some produce such as plums, peaches, nectarines, and oth-

er fruits and vegetables only available seasonally, Viva Tierra supplies

organic apples, pears, and onions year round.

With their headquarters taking place in Sedro Woolley, Viva

Tierra represents a number of independent farms in North America, and

South America. Due to our lack of time, Addie Pobst (Organic Integrity

and Sustainability Coordinator) asked our group to conduct a scope one

emissions analysis of their office in Sedro Woolley.

Scope 1 emissions by GHG Protocol include emissions from

sources that are directly owned by the company. For Viva Tierra’s main

office in Sedro-Woolley, this includes electricity use, water and other

utilities, and employee transportation. We used 2014 as the base year to

estimate a baseline of GHG emissions that can be used to measure fu-

ture reductions and improvements.

2. Scope 1 Emissions Assessment

2.1 Purchased Electricity In 2014, Viva Tierra purchased 30,310kWh of electricity from Puget Sound

Energy, which converts to ~103.34 MMBtu. Emissions are measured in lbs of car-

bon emissions equivalents (CO2e). Total electricity purchased (in MMBtu) is div-

vied by the weight of each source based on PSE’s energy source mix. Weighted

amounts of total electricity purchased are then multiplied by EPA emissions factors

(in lbs CO2e /MMBtu), to estimate the total amount carbon emissions from pur-

chased electricity in 2014. The sum of weighted emissions factors for each source

equates to 98.818 CO2e /MMBtu. This means that in 2014, for every MMBtu pur-

chased, 98.818lbs of carbon equivalents are emitted. For 2014, 103.34MMBtu

amounts to approximately 10,212.077 lbs CO2e

2.2 Water Use Viva Tierra purchased 43,384 gallons of water in

2014 from Skagit Public Utility District. Emissions from

water use are based on the amount of energy, measured in

kWh of energy, consumed in the distribution process. Wa-

ter in Sedro-Woolley is sourced from the Skagit River ba-

sin. Emissions from water use are from the processing of

water, which includes sourcing, treatment, distribution,

and wastewater.

Energy consumption per process is measured in kWh per gallon of water,

based on estimates from Skagit PUD. Total energy consumption amounts

to .003263kWh of energy per every gallon purchased. Total energy consumed

equates to 141.562 kWhe, or .4827 MMBtu 43,384 gallons of water use. With an

estimated carbon intensity of 98.818 lbs CO2e/MMBtu (based on PSE’s energy

mix), 43,384 gallons of water in 2014 amounts to ~192.5243 lbs CO2e.

Energy Source % (PSE mix) MMBTU lb CO2e/MMBTU lb CO2e

Coal 0.31 32.03610293 208.390000000 6676.003489505

Hydroelectric 0.32 33.0695256 0.000029987 0.000991656

Natural Gas 0.28 28.9358349 116.390000000 3367.841824497

Nuclear 0.01 1.033422675 0.000060186 0.000062198

Other* 0.01 1.033422675 162.789330000 168.230184894

Wind 0.07 7.233958726 0.000120372 0.000870769

Total 1 103.3422675 98.81801192 10212.077423519

Process kwhe/G

Sourcing 0.000836

Treatment 0.000627

Distribution 0.000437

Wastewater 0.001363

Total 0.003263

2.3 Utilities

Photovoltaic System

In August 2007, Viva Tierra in-

stalled 130 Sanyo HIP 195 solar panels

and four SunnyBoy 6000 Inverters. This

photovoltaic (PV) system is responsible

for producing 22,000-kilowatt hours per

year. Along with the implementation of

the PV system, the company launched

and initiative to reduce their total electric- ity

consumption which has equated to a

27.1% reduction in electricity since 2007.

This was a significant change because

prior to 2007, Viva Tierra’s electricity

consumption had increased by an average of

7.5% per year.

With the decreased amount of total electricity used, Viva Tierra is using more re-

newable energy. In fact, last year Viva Tierra generated over half of their electricity

from the PV system. To increase the impact of the PV system we are going to address

some areas where Viva Tierra could make changes to decrease their total electricity us-

age even more.

Electricity Usage in the Office

Prior to looking at this data, we took a tour of Viva Tierra and explored every

nook and cranny from roof to crawl space to see what was using electricity. We were

able to get model numbers and a general idea for long all of the electricity consuming

assets were running during the year. From there I ran some estimates and tried to calcu-

late the kilowatt hours used for the HVAC system, server room, the computers, kitchen

appliances, printers, lighting and miscellaneous appliances. All of my figures are esti-

mations because there are no monitoring devices on specific assets. Based on my esti-

mations, I came up with an estimated usage of 41,996.5-kilowatt hours per year.

Section Total Electricity Con-sumption (kWh/year)

HVAC 15,243.5

Server Room 11,710.2

Kitchen Appliances 4,777

Lighting 4,392.96

Computers 3,421.44

Printers 1,689.4

Miscellaneous 762

Totals: 41,996.5

HVAC

The majority of the electricity usage was from the HVAC (heating, ventilation, air condi-

tioning system). That is common with most office buildings. It accounted for nearly 40%

of the total electricity consumption. Viva Tierra had upgraded their HVAC system as part

of their sustainability initiatives of 2007.

Suggestions: There are a few simple suggestions that I would recommend for increasing

the efficiency of the HVAC system. (HVAC, 2011)

Suggestions:

1) Routinely clean the air filters- By remembering to check the air filters once per

month and cleaning when dirty, you can improve efficiency by 5-15%. Reusable electro-

static air filters are available which can cut down on waste while not sacrificing perfor-

mance or efficiency.

2) Use plants to shade south facing windows in the summer- By reducing the direct sun-

light entering the building during the summer minimizes the stress on the air condition-

ing. Have the plants in movable pots, in the winter the south facing windows are good

sources of lighting.

Kitchen Appliances

Kitchen appliances were responsible for the largest amount of waste power. The amount

of power that was being used by appliances that seemed to be hardly used can be easily

saved.

Suggestions: Ghost power is an obvious concern with many kitchen appliances. My man-

aging this and making a few small changes you should be able to cut the appliance usage

by 75% (appendix a).

1) Unplug the monster fridge- If it is needed in the summer to keep fruit samples it can

be plugged in, but it uses nearly half of the total kitchen appliances electricity. If you can

make room in one of the other refrigerators for the fruit samples and leave the monster

fridge unplugged, it will have a noticeable effect on your energy usage from this step

alone, between 5%-7% of the TOTAL electricity usage.

2) Unplug unused appliances-By unplugging the oven in the back room and the coffee

pots you can reduce the kitchen appliance usage by another 25%.

Printers

Printers were another significant sources of electricity use that could be significantly re-

duced. During our tour we noticed 13 printers that were plugged in. Given the drastic re-

duction of paper usage, this many printers seem unnecessary.

Suggestions: If the office could create a network around the large commercial printer in

the main office space, it would cut down the electricity usage by 68% and get employees

a chance to stretch their legs.

The Server Room The server room was the second biggest user of electricity. I included the wall mounted AC unit in my calculations, which significantly added to the electricity usage for this seg-ment. I included this because it is essential for the server room not to overheat and takes significant stress off the server fans that are used to cool down the machines. This room holds approximately 66% of the company’s data. Suggestions: Because these machines need to stay running, the reductions need to come from climate control. This also decreases the likelihood of crashing during a power outage. Suggestions: 1) Apply insulated blinds over the south facing windows in the server room. By keeping the summer heat out of the server room the AC unit wouldn’t have to be on as much and the fans in the servers wouldn’t have to be as stressed. 2) Funnel the air from the AC unit directly to the servers. This will help keep the ma-chines cool and increase the efficiency of the AC unit. 3) Unplug all unused computers and phones.

Desktop Computers

The energy initiative replaced all of the old CRT monitors with LCD high efficiency flat

screen monitors. All of the employees had a desktop computer with one or two monitors

that ran during business hours. These are absolutely pivotal in order for the company to

operate. The switch to e-files cut the paper usage, international travel and even one em-

ployee’s Friday commute significantly.

Suggestions: The only suggestions I can give are to ensure they get turned OFF during

non-business hours and during holidays and turn down the brightness of the screens. Turn-

ing off computers should be standard practice. Turning down the brightness of the moni-

tors not only saves electricity but also is better for your eyes.

Lighting

Lighting

With the energy initiative, all of the lights in the building were converted from incandes-

cent to florescent bulbs. This typically improves efficiency by 60-70%.

Suggestions: Make use of natural lighting whenever possible. This will not only cut down

on power usage but also improve ambiance.

Miscellaneous

This included the water filter and telephones. These use a very small amount of energy, it

wouldn’t make much of a difference to make changes here.

2.4 Transportation Employing nine members from their

office in Sedro Woolley, our group analyzed

the member’s emissions from their daily com-

mute, and from business travel purposes. Us-

ing equations found on the EPA’s website, we

were able to make a close estimates of each

members emissions for the year. Starting with

the employees’ daily commute, we came out

to a total of about 405.14 lbs of CO2 in day.

This total was then multiplied by the number of days each member made this com-

mute to find a weekly to-

tal of around 1,955.29 lbs

of CO2.

As for business air travel, I was able to get ahold of each employee’s air trav-

el for the year. This included the other modes of transportation in between (getting

to and from the airport, meetings etc.). From this, I got a total of about 21,867 lbs of

CO2. This was obviously the largest contributor to Viva Tierra’s total emissions, but

with the company’s main source of their products coming from farms in South

America, it’s a given that employee’s are going to occasionally visit these farms to

do orchid visits.

3. Summary Findings Purchased Electricity: 10,212.077 lbs CO2

e

Water Use: 192.5243 lbs CO2e

Transportation: 21,867.02 lbs

Total: 32,271.6213 lbs CO2e

4. Conclusion With air travel contributing to 21,867.02 lbs a year and work commute contributing

to a yearly total of 101,675.08 lbs a year (1955.29 x 52 weeks), transportation is by far the

leading contributor to Viva Tierra’s total emissions. However, this is one of the hardest ar-

eas to suggest to reduce. Naturally, we would like to suggest the members of Viva Tierra

to carpool to work to reduce commute emissions, but our group lacked the information to

suggest this to the employees. With a majority of their produce coming from farms in

South America, it is necessary for employees to travel to these orchids. While these emis-

sions are large, there is a tradeoff because Viva Tierra supplies year-round supply of or-

ganic produce. If the company would like to reduce this area of emissions, they would

need to conduct a scope two and scope three emissions analysis.

Purchased electricity is the second largest contributing source of GHG emissions,

amounting 10,212.077 lbs CO2e in 2014. This amount is small because their solar photo-

voltaic system allows Viva Tierra to produce a large share of their total used energy and

return excess electricity to the grid during the sunnier months of the year. In 2014, Viva

Tierra produced more than half the amount of energy used, amounting to 22,410 kWhe. Of

the amount produced, Viva Tierra returned 9,260 kWh of electricity and used 13,150

kwhe. Of the electricity directly used at Viva Tierra, 43% was produced with solar energy.

Carbon offsets are a great way to balance carbon emissions by purchasing offsets that can

neutralize Viva Tierra’s Baseline.

Puget Sound Energy’s Green Power Program offered is a non-profit program that

funds independent resource projects and uses voluntary demand to find cleaner energy op-

tions. The program requires no contracts and be cancelled at any time. Signing up is easy

and can be done online with current account information. Businesses choose the amount

they wish to pay, ranging from $20/month to covering 100% of your total bill, at $2 blocks

per 160 kilowatts. Many other carbon offset options exist, and would be a great way for

Viva Tierra to market their efforts of reduction to consumers, as well as investors.

Water use contributes to ~192.5243 lbs CO2e, which is negligible in comparison to

purchased electricity and transportation. Overall, Viva Tierra has made impressive efforts

in reducing their energy consumption by investing in solar photovoltaic panels and reduc-

ing the electricity bill as well.