CDP Climate Change 2022 Reporting Guidance

(C4.3b) Provide details on the initiatives implemented in the reporting year in the table below.

Question dependencies

This question only appears if you select “Yes” in response to C4.3.

Change from last year

Minor change

Rationale

CDP data users are interested in understanding how you are making progress towards your emissions reduction targets, as well as other emissions-reducing actions undertaken in the reporting year.

Connection to other frameworks

SDG

Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy

Goal 13: Climate action

RE100

Response options

Please complete the following table. The table is displayed over several rows for readability. You are able to add rows by using the “Add Row” button at the bottom of the table.

[Add Row]

Initiative type drop-down options:

Select one of the following options

Requested content

General

• Companies are asked to provide information on any emissions reduction initiatives made.
• There is no need to record every action – initiatives can be recorded on a programmatic level. Companies with large numbers of initiatives should prioritize those that have the potential to provide a meaningful contribution to emissions reductions.
• It is acknowledged that maintenance activities can have a beneficial impact on carbon emissions. Only those activities that have either been part of a defined program of emissions reduction initiatives or where additional investment beyond standard maintenance/replacement has been made for the purposes of reducing emissions should be reported here.
• Where initiatives are part of routine maintenance or necessary equipment replacement (e.g. necessary replacement of equipment that has an additional benefit in emissions reduction), enter the additional (premium) costs and additional monetary savings associated with the lower emissions model (if applicable).
• It should be noted that not all emissions reduction initiatives carry with them a significant cost – many initiatives, such as resource efficiency, have fairly negligible investment costs yet offer potentially high monetary savings. These initiatives should be included in the table, with the minimal investment required reflected in the “Investment required” column, and by selecting the payback of less than a year option (if this is the case).

Initiative category (column 1)

• Select the option from the drop-down list that best describes the initiative. Note that these are broad categories only, with more detailed options provided in the “Initiative type” column.

- Energy efficiency in buildings – Select this option for all energy efficiency initiatives relating to buildings, including those relating to the building fabric (e.g. insulation, draught-proofing, etc.) and those relating to building services (e.g. HVAC, BEMS etc.)
- Energy efficiency in production processes – Select this option for all energy efficiency initiatives relating to processes (e.g. waste heat recovery, process optimization, compressed air, combined heat and power, automation, smart control systems, product/service design to improve energy efficiency etc.)
- Waste reduction and material circularity – Select this option for circular economy and waste reduction initiatives (e.g. reuse, recycling, remanufacturing, product/service design to reduce waste etc.).
- Fugitive emissions reductions – Select this option for initiatives to reduce fugitive emissions (e.g. methane capture, agricultural nitrous oxide reductions, refrigerant leakage reduction etc.)
- Low-carbon energy consumption – Select this option for emissions reduction initiatives relating to increasing low-carbon energy consumption i.e. energy from renewable sources, nuclear plants and fossil-fuel plants fitted with carbon capture and storage. Note that if increasing low carbon energy consumption has been a component of your emissions reduction initiatives please also report the other accompanying information in C6.2, C6.3, C7.5, and Module C8. If you select “solid biofuels” or “liquid biofuels”, you should specify whether any of the biofuels are derived from sustainable biomass in the “Comment” column (column 10). Refer to CDP’s Technical note on Biofuels for more information. Members of the RE100 initiative selecting this option should ensure to enter a figure in column 6 “Annual monetary savings”.
- Low-carbon energy generation – Select this option for initiatives relating to the installation of low-carbon energy generating facilities (renewable, nuclear or fossil-fuel plants fitted with carbon capture and storage) at your own site or at others on behalf of your clients. If you select “solid biofuels” or “liquid biofuels”, you should specify whether any of the biofuels are derived from sustainable biomass in the “Comment” column (column 10). Refer to CDP’s Technical note on Biofuels for more information. Members of the RE100 initiative selecting this option should ensure to enter a figure in column 6 “Annual monetary savings”.
- Non-energy industrial process emissions reductions – Select this option only for initiatives to reduce emissions from industrial production processes which chemically or physically transform materials (e.g. CO₂ from the calcinations step in cement manufacturing, CO₂ from catalytic cracking in petrochemical processing, PFC emissions from aluminum smelting etc.)
- Company policy or behavioral change – Select this option for initiatives relating to a change in company policy (e.g. value chain engagement, a new procurement policy) or an organizational behavioral change (e.g. resource efficiency improvements such as reducing paper use, waste management improvements such as reducing food waste etc.). Note that changes in company transportation policies should not be reported here but under the initiative category “Transportation”
- Transportation – Select this option for initiatives relating to employee travel and commuting and the company fleet.
- Other, please specify – If none of the listed categories are applicable to your initiative, select this option and specify the initiative.

• Note that a selection must be made for both column 1 and column 2. Your data will not be saved if either column is left blank.

Initiative type (column 2)

• Select the type of initiative you have undertaken from the drop-down options provided. Note that only initiative types relative to the initiative category selected in the previous column will be displayed in the ORS.
• If none of the provided options are applicable to your initiative, select “Other, please specify” and provide details of the initiative type.
• Note that a selection must be made for both column 1 and column 2. Your data will not be saved if either column is left blank.

Estimated annual CO₂e savings (metric tons CO₂e) (column 3)

• Enter the expected annual CO₂e savings in all emission Scopes, in metric tons, occurring with the initiative in place. It is acknowledged that this figure is likely to be an estimate.
• Where savings occur on a non-annual basis, average the savings so that an annual figure can be provided.
• Where the initiative has not been in place for the entire reporting period, estimate and report the emissions that would be saved in a 12-month period, so that an annual figure can be provided.

Scope(s) (column 4)

• Select the Scope(s) and/or Scope 3 categories where the emission reductions are expected to occur.
• If the initiative covers multiple Scopes, select all Scopes and Scope 3 categories where emissions reductions are expected to occur.

Voluntary/Mandatory (column 5)

• Select whether the initiative is mandatory (i.e. to comply with regulation), or a voluntary initiative.

Annual monetary savings (unit currency – as specified in C0.4) (column 6)

• Enter the amount of monetary savings per year expected from the initiative (e.g. in reduced energy costs) once it is fully operational.
• The number entered should be appropriate to the currency selected in C0.4.
• Where savings occur on a non-annual basis, please average out so that an annual figure can be provided.

Investment required (unit currency – as specified in C0.4) (column 7)

• Enter the total investment required for the initiative over its lifetime.
• The number entered should be appropriate to the currency selected in question C0.4.

Payback period (column 8)

• The payback period reflects the time it takes for the investment made to be offset by the monetary savings from the initiative (Payback Period = Investment/Annual monetary savings).
• The payback period is not applicable (therefore select "No payback") if:

- the initiative does not require any investment and you have entered 0 (zero) in column 7 (Investment required (unit currency, as specified in C0.4)) AND/OR
- the initiative does not bring any monetary savings and you have entered 0 (zero) in column 6 (Annual monetary savings (unit currency – as specified in C0.4))

Estimated lifetime of the initiative (column 9)

• This column refers to the duration of cash flow savings from carbon mitigation investments. This data point, in years, allows data users to calculate the Internal Rate of Return of the project, also using the “Annual monetary savings,” “Investment required” and “Payback period” information.
• If you have multiple emissions reduction initiatives for each initiative type, select the median to answer this column.

Comment (column 10) (optional)

• If you select “solid biofuels” or “liquid biofuels” as the “Initiative type” (column 2), specify whether any of the biofuels are derived from sustainable biomass here.

Note for electric utility sector companies:

• For electric utilities, emissions reduction initiatives may include fuel switching at existing plants or investment in lower-emitting methods of generation. Please disclose this information if applicable.

Note for agricultural sector companies:

• Agricultural sector companies are specifically asked to report on initiatives implemented to reduce emissions from agricultural/forestry, processing/manufacturing activities. E.g.:

- Adoption of low impact agriculture/forestry practices
- Increased efficiency of energy use during manufacturing
- Reduced fleet use of fossil fuels or increased use of renewable fuels in transportation

Explanation of terms

• Building energy management system (BEMS): An integrated system comprising hardware, software, and services that leverage information and communication technology for monitoring, automating, and controlling energy consumption. Examples include smart meters and smart billing, data analytics, performance optimization and others.
• Low-carbon energy: In line with the IEA definition, low-carbon technologies are technologies that produce low – or zero – greenhouse-gas emissions while operating. In the power sector this includes fossil-fuel plants fitted with carbon capture and storage, nuclear plants and renewable-based generation technologies. Natural gas, combined cycle gas turbine and fossil fuel-based combined heat and power (cogeneration), despite being less carbon intensive than other means of electricity production like coal, are not considered low-carbon.
• Renewable energy: CDP follows the definition of renewable energy given in the GHG Protocol, i.e. “energy taken from sources that are inexhaustible, e.g. wind, water, solar, geothermal energy and biofuels.”
• Process emissions: emissions from industrial production processes which chemically or physically transform materials (e.g. CO₂ from the calcinations step in cement manufacturing, CO₂ from catalytic cracking in petrochemical processing, PFC emissions from aluminum smelting, etc.)