Activity: carbon footprint, personal sustainability plan, and behavioral change Dave Newport, DirectorCU Environmental Center“Peak to Peak Project”August 15-16, 2011

This activity

Goals Create awareness of personal impacts

—and how to mitigate them Basic understanding of carbon

emissions Understanding of socio-economic &

cultural context Create agency for action Initiate behavioral change

methodology

Global context & solutions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENcV5zeMILs

Discussion: emphasize challenges AND SOLUTIONS! Awareness must come with agency.

Quick carbon taxonomyScope 1 (“Direct”)

Emissions created by the entity’s operations or entity-owned assets; CU “owns” a molecule of CO2 that we created through combustion of natural gas in boilers we own.

Scope 2 (“Indirect”) Emissions from operations owned and/or operated

by another entity but consumed by the reporting entity; Xcel “owns” the molecule combusted in its coal plant, but we control the demand for electricity from it.

Scope 3 (optional) Emissions created from activities upstream and

downstream of the entity; other entities “own” the molecule and create the demand for it. Entities have moderate and changing control over these sources, e.g. staff commuting, airplane efficiency .

Activity: personal carbon footprint

Carbon Footprinthttp://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.htmlCarbon Footprint Calculator PG&Ehttp://www.pge.com/microsite/calculator/calc1.jspClimateSmart Calculator – Zerofootprinthttp://calc.zerofootprint.net/calculators/boulderCool Climate Carbon Footprint Calculatorhttp://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/uscalcEPA Climate Change- Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator (Household)http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.htmlNature Conservancy Carbon Calculatorhttp://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator

DISCUSSION: Why different results from different calculators, and how consistently are scopes included and discussed? Implications?

Quick personal context

Activity: Personal Sustainability Plan

http://calculator.bioregional.com/

DISCUSSION: Are these actions effective, and can they be implemented consistently long term? How? And are these actions relevant to low-income/at risk populations? What might those populations care more about?

Behavioral change method

Community Based Social Marketing (CBSM) is the systematic application of marketing along with other concepts and techniques to achieve specific behavioral goals for a social good. (smoking, drunk driving, prenatal health)

We use several principles of social marketing in Fostering Sustainable Behavior (McKenzie-Mohr, 1999)

Research on barriers and motivators Customized communications for specific targets Prompts Commitments, pledges and competitions Try to create a norm

Pledging, the first step

Emory sustainability pledgeCU “Live Green” pledge

DISCUSSION: How can these be effective is there is no ‘enforcement?” How can these pledges grow in impact over time?

Potential activity discussion issues

Scopes Where is the most leverage on

carbon?

Socio-economic How to connect with/assist those

most at risk?

Behavioral How to systematically engineer

behavioral change?

Activity: carbon footprint, personal sustainability plan, and behavioral change Dave Newport, DirectorCU Environmental Center“Peak to Peak Project”August 15-16, 2011