Abstract
As regulators and financial institutions set high expectations to transition to net zero, climate-neutral operations became a requirement today. However, many companies in the industry face challenges in measuring their emissions in an accurate, consistent, and automated way. As regulations become more stringent, calculating its carbon footprint is critical to unlock value and avoid penalties for inaccurate carbon footprint reporting. In this paper, I will share how digitalization is the foundation for effective carbon footprint management.
While every company is unique one thing remains constant; measurement is the first step towards effective carbon footprint management. To achieve the best results possible scope creep must be avoided for effectiveness. Once the key emitting processing units are selected, the main sources of emission and measurement can be identified for scopes 1 and 2. With a Fit-for-plant mindset, real-time data, and digitalization, models can be deployed to automate emission calculations. Doing so lets you effectively measure and track the carbon intensity of your intermediary and final products in real-time and provides carbon data in your daily operation management.
Through implementing this approach with customers, we have seen benefits of reducing efforts and costs related to emission data calculation and validation from 3-4weeks of effort quarterly to 0days; freeing up 1 to 2 resources to focus on value-added tasks; identifying high emitters, operational discrepancies, equipment inefficiencies, and operational improvements to reduce emission from 18,000 to 7,000 ton CO2e/year for a 150,000 bbl/day for a deep conversion refinery and to save up to 0.5% of energy consumption. Furthermore, the approach helped reduce IT overhead as emissions and energy consumption are measured, validated, consolidated and reported through one readily available tool. Lastly, the customers were able to trace the carbon intensity into their final products and leverage this for new value stream opportunities.
Digitalization is the key to making the invisible visible and manageable. To track carbon, you must know where it comes from in real-time, so it becomes actionable. Quarterly or monthly calculations based on estimated and inaccurate emission factors methodology won't be sufficient for emission accounting and capturing opportunities arising with green premium and scope 3. This whitepaper offers a new perspective on carbon footprint management and the need for an automated emission calculation system to manage emissions effectively and track carbon. This will, in turn, unlock new value stream opportunities. Lastly, this paper highlights the workforce empowerment benefits and the financial considerations of emission granularity, as inaccurate emissions calculations will have financial implications in the future.
