An outlook into a applications of
footprint methodologies
Manfred LenzenManfred Lenzen
ISA, The University of Sydney
Australia
Origins and Destinationsof Australia’s species threats
both “driven” overseas and “suffered” at home
Brown Cheeked Hornbill
Bycanistes cylindricus
Ivory Coast
Johnston’s Genet
Genetta johnstoni
Jentink’s Duiker
Cephalophus jentinkii
Consumers: What To Do ?
• Know your labels and try to shop better
• Recognise greenwash
• Change procurement practices at work
• Be country-aware and check origins
• Investigate production chains
Carbon, land, water
Nitrogen, air pollutants,
phosphorus, NPP, water scarcityphosphorus, NPP, water scarcity
Value added
Employment, inequality, slavery,
war casualties, occupational health
“Often, the majority of total corporate emissions come from scope 3 sources,
which means many companies have been missing out
on significant opportunities for improvement.”
GRI on boundary setting and validation :
… “The Validation step requires all identified material Aspects to be assessed against
the Reporting Principle of ‘Completeness’ ”…
British Standards Institute (BSI) inits Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2050:… “a GHG-emitting source in the life cycle of a product shall be included in the assessment of GHG emissions if it makes a ‘material GHG emissions if it makes a ‘material contribution’ of more than 1% of the total anticipated life-cycle footprint. In addition, PAS 2050 requires that ‘at least 95% of the anticipated life-cycle GHG emissions of the functional unit’ must be captured in the assessment” …
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M L E T S B M L E T S B M L E T S B M L E T S B M L E T S B M L E T S B
Supplier level:∞
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2
Organisation
Mining Legal SteelTrans. BankingElect. 1
On-siteBoundary
UpstreamDownstream
Product 2Product 1
Consumer Industry
Trucost & Defra
“… there is still a lack of quantification in most reporting … the majority of reports lack depth, reporting … the majority of reports lack depth, rigour or quantification ... There is no single, quantifiable measure that companies can use as a Key Performance Indicator for the effect of their upstream supply chain on the environment.
No meaningful industry benchmarking
Water service provider
A
Pumping
Catchment
Water service provider
B
Pumping
Catchment
C
D
Loopholes via demerging and outsourcing
AGHG
emissionsA 1
Dairy farming
Transport
Dairy processing
98%
<0.1%
2%
Dairy farming
Transport
Dairy processingA 2
No inventive for improving supplier performance
Alum. / HDPE
X
Bio-plastic
Y
Dairy processing
B
Alum. / HDPE
Packaging
Bio-plastic
Packaging
Dairy processing
B
Investors and lenders can’t see hidden risks
Carbon footprint Carbon footprint
Construction Pty
C
On-site carbon
from materials
Water supplier Pty
D
On-site carbon
from materials
Carbon offsetting –are organisations really neutral?
Flights. Waste.
Flights, waste, officeequipment, catering,
XYZ Finance
C
On-site emissions
Flights. Waste.
ABC Insurance
D
On-site emissions
equipment, catering,outsourcing, new building
There is a reputational risk
“Tesco‘s recent attempt to present itself as a force for environmental good appears to be backfiring, as evidence emerges that Britain’s backfiring, as evidence emerges that Britain’s biggest retailer has severely underestimated its true contribution to climate change ... the true impact Tesco has on the environment could be as much as 12 times higher than the level the supermarket admits to.”
The Observer, 9 September 2007
Li Gao, Director of the Department of Climate Change in
China's National Development and Reform Commission
''We produce products and these products are
consumed by other countries, especially the
developed countries. This share of emissions should
be taken by the consumers but not the producers''