MEASURING THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF TREATMENT WORKS – DOES IT HAVE A ROLE? Plenary
Justin Strutt, Black & Veatch
(free)
This paper reviews the role of carbon footprinting within the UK water industry at a time when environmental awareness is high on the corporate, social and political agendas. Climate change represents a real threat to the water industry which is firmly embedded within the hydrological cycle and ultimately dependant on the sustainability of a single natural resource.
Science is now largely in agreement that climate change is a result of manmade greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere, and carbon footprinting is increasingly being used as a tool to monitor those emissions. Signatories to the Kyoto Protocol have agreed to reduce their GHG emissions to help tackle climate change and are seeking to achieve this through various regulatory and voluntary instruments. These will in turn impact on the water industry.
All businesses need to look at how they will operate in a carbon-constrained future economy, and carbon footprinting can help the adjustments that will be necessary as we move towards that future. As a management tool, standardised carbon footprint models can also help operational efficiency in many ways from strategic decision making to plant selection, as well as improving investor confidence.
KEY WORDS Carbon footprint, climate change, greenhouse gas, water treatment.
