The reality of global climate change, which we have already begun to see, and the dramatic rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions concern us deeply. A problem this vast and this wide ranging in both cause and effect must be addressed on many levels. We are taking action to reduce our company's carbon footprint through our logistics work, our product and packaging design, and our engagement with our suppliers. We are also actively encouraging our own community of employees as well as our consumers to reduce their personal energy footprints. Seventh Generation is also driving the charge for reform within our industry and the business community at large. Finally, in joining Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), we have found an effective vehicle for combining forces with other progressive companies to demand strong federal climate change legislation that caps greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Our GHG goal calls for us to achieve reductions in emissions of 80% by 2050 (2% per year) from a 2005 baseline, normalized to sales. To more strategically guide our GHG-emission-reduction efforts, we have set additional carbon targets, including a commitment to offset our corporate electricity use through the installation of solar panels by 2012 and a goal of reducing the life-cycle GHG emissions of our products by 15% (from a 2007 baseline) by 2016.
Our GHG emissions have dropped 49%, normalized to sales, from our 2005 baseline, with a drop of 7% in the past year. Our absolute GHG emissions have increased 58% since 2005, while sales increased 209%. While we have made important strides in improving the sustainability of our products, packaging, and logistics, the measures we have taken are secondary factors in driving our GHG emissions downward. The most significant development is one that we cannot take credit for at all. Our product mix has changed since 2005 with paper products (which are more GHG-intensive) declining while sales of cleaners increased.
Methodology and Results
An internationally accepted GHG protocol developed by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development guides our tracking of the energy for our building and vehicles (Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions: see notes below). Using this widely accepted standard enhances transparency and comparability of data.
The largest contributor to our GHG emissions comes from our materials, ingredients, and packaging, where hard data are difficult to acquire and we must use estimates. (Additional impacts from the consumer-use phase of our products are not included in this analysis.) We could obtain a more accurate picture of the energy used to procure our raw materials and manufacture our products and packaging if we controlled their production. As our manufacturing partners may produce goods for several companies at their facilities, we cannot simply apply the energy used at an entire plant in our greenhouse gas calculations. We use component-specific GHG emissions factors from industry sources and published reports to account for approximately 85% of the CO2 intensity for our materials, ingredients, and packaging. These sources provide a gross estimate of GHG emissions; where data are missing, we have been forced to estimate or extrapolate from information for similar materials.
While estimating is not ideal, our year-to-year comparisons are fairly accurate. In 2009 we also conducted research that resulted in improved GHG emissions factors for a few of our ingredients. To enhance our understanding of the energy intensity of these components, we are performing cradle-to-gate assessments of the life-cycle impacts of some of our product categories. We completed a life-cycle assessment of our baby wipes in 2009 and will study two more product lines in 2010.
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2009 Greenhouse Gas Footprint, Metric Tons CO2e |
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| Category (data are in tonnes — CO2e/yr) | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 1 Year Change | Sales: normalized 1-year change | Change with respect to 2005 baseline | Sales: normalized change with respect to 2005 baseline |
| VT Facility | 52 | 80 | 85 | 146 | 140 | -4% | (0) | 168% | -13% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employee Commuting | 117 | 99 | 110 | 155 | 193 | 25% | 26% | 65% | -46% |
| Business Travel | 140 | 218 | 375 | 470 | 410 | -13% | -12% | 192% | -5% |
| Product Transport | 6,405 | 6,948 | 10,474 | 14,551 | 11,966 | -18% | -17% | 87% | -39% |
| MIPs | 35,847 | 35,723 | 53,605 | 57,690 | 54,629 | -5% | -4% | 52% | -50% |
|
Total (tonnes — CO2e/yr) |
42,561 |
43,068 |
64,649 |
73,012 |
67,338 |
-8% |
-7% |
58% |
-49% |
Table Notes
- CO2e is the universal unit of measurement used to indicate the global warming potential of a mixture of greenhouse gases.
- MIPS includes the inputs from our materials, ingredients, and packaging.
- The World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development Protocol define three different types of emissions categories. Scope 1: direct emissions from company-controlled buildings and vehicles. Scope 2: indirect emissions from electricity, steam, or heat produced by another organization. Scope 3: other indirect GHG emissions from; transportation of purchased materials or goods; employee business travel; employee commuting; and estimates of materials, ingredients, and packaging GHG burdens.
- We studied the recently updated WRI transport emissions conversion factors as well as those developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We chose to use the EPA factors because they are based on relatively recent U.S. data (through 2005) and because the majority of Seventh Generation’s product transport occurs in the US. We recalculated the product transport emissions for 2002 to 2008 using these EPA conversion factors and report these numbers here.
