South Fremantle Senior High

School Certifying the

first !Carbon

Neutral

School in

Australia!!

South Fremantle Senior High School

The Carbon Neutral Committee

Main Messages!

  If a school can do it – ANYONE can!

 Key ingredients:  A hardheaded, whip cracker  Support  Determination!

> A Peter Newman…

Overview  Carbon Neutral Concept

 The Fed Govt’s Carbon Neutral Program

 Benefits of going Carbon Neutral

 The Carbon Footprint Process

 Lessons Learnt and Future Research

…what does it mean?

ACCC – False and Misleading Claims

National Carbon Offset Standard

Carbon Neutral Program Guidelines

2010 �

LOW CARBON AUSTRALIA LTD

 Set up in 2010

  Independent Body funded by government

 Budget: $100million

 Aim: to drive energy efficiency and voluntary carbon reduction

Energy Efficiency Program

Carbon Neutral

Program

Who’s participating …

Defining Carbon Neutral

A situation where “...the net emissions associated with a product or organisation’s activities

are equal to zero.”

And how do you achieve it?!

The Carbon Neutral Process

1. Measure the carbon footprint

2. Monitor and reduce

3. Offset unavoidable

emissions

Measure

Reduce

Offset Validate/Certify

Annual Report

NCOS = 5 year certification/monitoring period

Key documents under NCOS

1.  Emissions inventory (the carbon footprint)

2.  Emissions Management Plan (EMP)

3.  Public Disclosure Summary

4.  Annual report

Benefits of carbon neutrality

 Saves money on utility bills

 Decreases risk & vulnerability

 Demonstrate CSR & Environmental integrity

 Branding & Marketability > credibility

  Improves indoor environments…

Sustainable classrooms = higher performance

Scientifically proven!!!

The physical impacts of classrooms on students…

  Temperature   Light levels   Noise   Air quality

Indoor Environment

Quality

(IEQ)

 Higher test scores and learning rates

 Higher concentration rates

 More daylight = less artificial lighting/energy

DAYLIGHT US Study:

Students in classrooms with the

most daylight showed a

21% IMPROVEMENT IN LEARNING RATES.

(HMG 99)

Other Benefits of Green Schools…

“the physical elements of a building are important, but, Green schools can create environments conducive to learning while

also serving as an instructional tool. “

Glenn Cummings, Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Education

School facilities as teaching tools…

PD Day 2012 Embedding carbon neutral initiatives into curriculum & everyday

operations

1. Measure the carbon footprint

2. Monitor and reduce

3. Offset emissions

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure” !

!

How is the footprint calculated?

  NCOS requirements

  International guidelines developed for governments & businesses

  Using Australian National Emission Factors

Scopes of emissions…

SFSHS Carbon Footprint

Measuring the footprint

Information collected from…

 Utility bills  Company records  Site visits

> Verification

Spreadsheet with tabs for each

calculation, using emission factors from Australian

Government

Total Footprint GROSS emissions

NET emissions

OFFSET !

70% ELECTRICITY

19% FUEL & TRAVEL

6.5% WASTE

OTHER:4.5% (NATURAL GAS REFRIGERANT

WATER AND WASTEWATER OFFICE PAPER)

1. Measure the carbon footprint

2. Monitor and reduce

3. Offset emissions

Emission Management Plan (Managing and maintaining certification)

Emission Management Plan

  Identifies base year

 Emission reduction targets & measures

 Data collection procedures

 Offset plan: type, how many, retired where?

What has

already been

achieved at SFSHS?

2011/12 Actions for EMP Planned Emission Reduction Measures for the 2011/2012 period

Estimated Emission Quantity (Tonnes CO2-e) Reduced

BEHAVIOUR CHANGE

•  Carbon Neutral policy established. All staff are introduced to in their induction and reaffirmed at staff meetings and circulars.

Indeterminate

•  Competition around energy savings based on the energy monitoring systems to be implemented by Greensense

See below (installation of real-time electricity monitoring)

•  Work being commissioned by The Word Farm to educate the staff and teachers on how to integrate sustainability and the various carbon neutral initiatives into the curriculum.

Indeterminate

TECHNOLOGIES •  Installation of real-time Electricity, Gas and Water

monitoring system (Greensense) 19.50tCO2-e/year (5%) – 58.51tCO2-e/year (15%) (Combined total. See Appendix C for calculation)

•  Flow restrictors in all hot water taps on school classrooms, toilets and kitchens

2.5 tC02-e/year

(See Appendix C)

•  Complete negotiations on lighting upgrade for all buildings

0 (estimated 114.3 tC0/year once installed, see appendix C)

Total Estimated Quantity of Emissions Reduced 22 tC02-e/year

= 3.8% reduction

ACTIONS

1. Energy Monitoring system

2. Flow restrictors on hot water taps

3. Integrating sustainability and carbon neutral initiatives into curriculum

4. Carbon Neutral Policy…

1. Measure the carbon footprint

2. Monitor and reduce

3. Offset emissions

 Supplier - Carbon Neutral

  International offsets  No domestic available at time

 197t purchased  Serial numbers officially ‘retire’ offsets

(increase legitimacy!)

Offsets…

Now GHF &

CFI

Carbon Neutral = Feb 2012

NCOS Certified = May 2012

Got PM’s attention!

More work to do!!

 Inefficient buildings

Problems with schools…

Buildings offer best carbon

abatement/ cost saving

opportunity

More work to do!!

 Inefficient buildings

 Lack of building management

Problems with schools…

Benchmarking & Building Mgt

Source: Greensense Blog 2012

More work to do!!

 Inefficient buildings

 Lack of building management

 Lack of funds

 Split incentives

 Lack of benchmarks

Problems with schools…

Sorry – data couldn’t be displayed…

So much more data to

compare!

I luuurve excel…

Future research…

 Potential collaboration with Dept. of Education

 Low Carbon Communities CRC research

  Individual schools expressing interest

 P&C’s a driving force!

Benchmarking for schools

“Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future”

John F Kennedy

Questions?