Biking to Work

This month is the bike to work commuter challenge sponsored by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. Today was the first day of the challenge and I started by riding 5 miles to Toastmasters for a 7am meeting and then 2.2 miles back into work. I feel good and can't wait to see the physical results of commuting by bike every day this month.

Team TriLibrium has a goal of 100% participation on 100% of the days in September. So far so good as everyone rode to work today.

The beauty of this event is the fact that it is a month long. The length will actually force me to deal with all the issues (clothes, showers, commute time, locks, lights, storage, rain gear, etc.) that need to be solved to make daily biking viable. I had a number of logistical issues this morning that I'll get solved before next week so the commute is easy and comfortable.

Having recently completed our FY2010 green house gas inventory, I know that 80 percent of our firm's CO2 emissions is from employee commuting. We will never be sustainable driving to work in single occupancy vehicles.

So many of the changes necessary for us to become sustainable are easy and simply need to be implemented. We know we can't go on driving everywhere like we did 20 years ago but when do we actually make the change? I am hoping that today was a day of significant change. For our firm to be sustainable, we can't rely on fossil fuels to get us around.

I'll also take this time to remind readers that the tax code provides a $20/month non-taxable fringe benefit to employees who ride bikes. I mentioned it in this earlier blog post.

What are you doing about climate change?

Every single business needs to be taking action.  

The first step is to conduct a greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory.  Have you done that yet? 

The subsequent steps are to reduce emissions and then offset the remaining ones.  By conducting a GHG inventory, you will discover ways to make positive changes.  This is an iterative process so progress can be measured and reported.  

It is the transparency of the process and the reporting that helps provide credibility.  If you aren't transparent you will lose credibility and might be accused of greenwashing.  How sustainable is that? How long do you think that type of firm will survive in this market?

Stakeholders are far more sophisticated these days and are asking legitimate questions.  On Friday last week I sent an email announcement formally introducing TriLibrium and our website.  One of the receipients noted our GHG offsetting claims and asked the following questions:

Upon review of your website you mention that you will be "offsetting" your GHG emissions.  I have a  few questions/comments:  How are you determining your GHG Emissions?  What Scope are you defining and what are your boundaries?   As a matter of transparency, it might be advisable to define how you are calculating your GHG Emissions.  Also, it may be advisable to indicate how you are offsetting your GHG Emissions.  What company you intend on buying offsets from, etc.

I'll share my answers with you tomorrow.

A GHG footprint is your baseline measurement

I was speaking with the owner of a successful progressive business. His company is environmentally conscious and plays an active role in the sustainable community here in Portland. Founded in 2001, they have been steadily building their business. Our discussion turned to triple-bottom line accounting and he acknowledged their business didn’t have many, if any, non-financial measurements. Like most individuals and organizations, they didn’t know their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions footprint.

A GHG footprint analysis is a measurement of an organization’s direct and indirect GHG emissions. Greenhouse gases contribute to global warming through the greenhouse effect. They include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, CFCs and water vapor. A GHG report will measure an entity’s direct and indirect emissions of the various gases, and then convert the data to CO2 equivalents. The final result is the tons of CO2 equivalents released over the year. This is a number to be managed.

As the old saying goes, “What gets measured get’s managed”. The GHG reduction process is a 1, 2, 3 process beginning with measuring emissions, then reducing and finally, offsetting the GHG emissions that can’t be eliminated. The first step in this process is the measurement. Every business should begin this measurement process now. Businesses can download free tools to get started at http://www.ghgprotocol.org/. Individuals might want to start here: www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator.

Performing a GHG inventory will allow you to understand the source of your emissions. I was on a team who performed the first GHG inventory for the Bainbridge Graduate Institute (http://www.bgiedu.org/) and it was eye opening to see that well over half the annual emissions was from air travel by a small percentage of students, faculty and staff. We wouldn’t have known this without performing the footprint analysis.

For a great list of the Top 10 things businesses can do to reduce their emissions you can start here: http://www.carbonconcierge.com/act/top-10-things-businesses-can-do.

Individuals can start here for a similar list: http://www.carbonconcierge.com/act/top-10-things-businesses-can-do.

Having done a GHG inventory, I can assure you they aren’t that hard. There are experts who can help if you don’t have the time or skills. I actually offer reduced rates for this type of work because I want to help.

The process will engage your employees and could help you develop a competitive advantage. Customers, especially in the green community, will increasingly be asking about your footprint. I predict it won’t be long before a business that doesn’t know its footprint will be in the same boat as a company that doesn’t recycle – unattractive to customers, employees, regulators and the community.