What is Reset Connect?
The event was aimed at “sustainability professionals, large corporates, government leaders, policymakers, tech providers, innovators, purpose-led brands and entrepreneurs can network, find sustainable, low-carbon solutions/providers and explore opportunities for funding through institutional & impact investors, private equity & venture capital, and the financial adviser community.”
One of the key pros of the event was the diversity of businesses and professionals; there was a huge cross-section of people all driving towards the same goals: sustainability and net-zero practices. This resulted in lots of idea sharing and lots of opportunities for businesses to partner together with a view to implementing sustainable practices.
Interesting Exhibitors and/or Companies to look out for:
- Microshare: “Reassure staff and tenants with EverSmart data solutions on cleanliness, air quality, occupancy, energy use and more.”
- C-Free: “Carbon calculations and climate action for your business.”
- Greenly: “Carbon Management Made Easy.”
- Sweep: “Reduce carbon emissions in your business and value chain.”
- Earthly.org: “Invest in nature. Now. Remove carbon. Restore nature. Help reverse climate breakdown.”
- O-Wind: “A simple turbine for chaotic winds by O-Innovations.”
Key themes and Buzzwords:
Carbon Accounting
The process by which organizations quantify their GHG (Green House Gases) emissions, so that they may understand their climate impact and set goals to limit their emissions. In some organizations, aka carbon or greenhouse gas inventory.
Carbon Footprint
Refers to emissions that are associated with the consumption spent on goods and services, wherever in the world these emissions arise along the supply chain for businesses and those which are directly generated by households through private motoring and burning fuel to heat homes
Scopes 1, 2 and 3 of Carbon Emissions
Scope 1: emissions from direct activities of the company, e.g. fuel combustion from facilities and vehicles owned by the company.
Scope 2: emissions from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by the company (including purchased steam, heating and cooling).
Scope 3: emissions from indirect sources in a supply chain, e.g. raw goods, distribution and transport, employee commuting, use of sold products and end-of-life treatment. Reporting to demonstrate a reduction in energy, and in turn, a reduction in carbon emissions.
ESG/ESG Investment
Environmental, Social and Governance – is a set of standards measuring a business’s impact on society, the environment, and how transparent and accountable it is.
EUI
Energy Use Intensity – has been called “the miles per gallon rating of the building industry,” but many design and construction professionals are not entirely sure how EUI is defined and what its utility is with regard to projects. Below is a primer to help get anyone started.
Data Sharing Protocol for Net Zero (BPP)
Net Zero Protocol aims to eliminate the single point of dependence in greenhouse gas emission disclosure methods by capturing raw data from satellites and regional sensors across the globe, storing an immutable record of specific emission events on a blockchain, and making it easily accessible using an External Adapter.
Whole life carbon (WLC)
The carbon emissions resulting from the materials, construction, and use of a building over its entire life, including its demolition and disposal. A WLC assessment provides a true picture of a building’s carbon impact on the environment.
Operational carbon
Refers to the total from all energy sources used to keep our buildings warm, cool, ventilated, lighted and powered. Typical energy sources for this purpose are electricity and natural gas, with occasional contributions from fuel oil, propane, and wood.
Embodied carbon
The total emissions of GHG from all energy sources used to mine, log, harvest, extract, process, manufacture and transport to the construction site; and assemble the thousands of materials that go into a typical building. As with operational carbon, we measure this using CO2e. In our previous article, we mentioned that operational carbon is approximately 28 percent of global and US GHG, while embodied carbon is another 11 percent.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
A way of reducing carbon emissions, which could be key to helping to tackle global warming. It’s a three-step process, involving: capturing the carbon dioxide produced by power generation or industrial activity, such as steel or cement making; transporting it; and then storing it deep underground. Here we look at the potential benefits of CCS and how it works.
Key takeaways:
- Data visibility is going to be key to help drive change and reduce carbon consumption in specific projects, including reporting on all different aspects of projects, construction developments, etc.
- Agnostic connectivity platform appears to be sought after, especially when discussing data mining for proof of sustainability and the Net Zero Roadmap.
- Sustainability is a huge driving factor for businesses, but there’s a hesitation to spend money before they can see the ROI.
