Operations
World Centric’s Office Operations Footprint Download the .pdf hereIntroduction
- What quantifiable impact does World Centric have on the environment through its water, electricity, transportation and landfill usage?
- What methodologies are currently in place to reduce its water, electricity, transportation and landfill usage?
- How can World Centric offset its current environmental impact?
- What measures can World Centric implement to further reduce this impact and offset its future impact?
World Centric is a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing economic injustice and environmental degradation through education, community networks and sustainable enterprises.
As part of our mission to be environmentally sustainable, we aim to become a resource-neutral organization through conservation efforts and resource offsets.
This document summarizes research quantifying the impact that World Centric’s office operations have on the environment. The goal is to offset our usage so that we can become a resource-neutral organization. More specifically, the aim is to increase transparency by helping World Centric, its board of directors, customers, business partners, and all others associated with the organization, to understand and answer the following questions:
This information is collected: (1) for detailing the steps that the organization has taken to reduce its impact, (2) to account for World Centric’s office operations impact, and (3) to aid World Centric in offsetting its future impact. Thus, the emphasis is on finding quantifiable environmental impacts in the office; and is not an exhaustive list of all impacts, such as the life cycle analysis of the products associated with World Centric hereof. The footprint for materials and product manufacturing may be found in the Manufacturing section.
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Certified Green Business
World Centric is a Certified Green Business through the Santa Clara Green Business Program.-
Energy
Current energy consumption is at an average of 876 kWh per month for 5000 square feet of space and 13 employees, which is below the national average household usage of 888kWh1 per month. World Centric has implemented various measures to improve the efficiency of our energy usage. The top three energy savers, in no specific order, include: (1) electing to use mostly (78%) laptops rather than desktops, 2) use of natural lighting rather than artificial lighting, and 3) using fans and space heaters only when necessary, not on an automatic timer
World Centric has elected to join Palo Alto Green, a voluntary program which supports 100% renewable energy from wind and solar power; thus, making office energy use a carbon-neutral activity.
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Water
Based on data collected over the past few months, current water consumption is at an average of 3.9 CCF (1 CCF = 748 gallons or a hundred cubic feet of water) per month. This is much less than the monthly average usage per household in the United States, which is about 9.55 CCF2 of water per month. World Centric works to ensure water conservation through (1) the installation of low flow toilets and aerators, (2) regularly checking for and repairing leaks in the facility and (3) manually controlling sprinklers rather than setting them on automatic timers.
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Transportation
World Centric encourages public transportation through offering public transportation rebate benefits. The office-wide transportation survey shows that a majority (70%) of employees engage in at least one form of non-emitting/low emitting mode of transportation (by foot, bicycle, bus, subway or train) to and from work, at least once a week. As an organization, all office employees emit an average of 6933.84 pounds of CO2 per year from their vehicles and through public transportation. This is 39.44% less than the annual average emission per passenger car in the United States, which is about 11,450 pounds 3 of CO2 per year.
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Landfill
Every month, World Centric diverts 83.8374 pounds of waste into recycling and composting programs (33.65 pounds of paper and cardboard waste, 12.38 pounds of bottles and cans, and 37.8035 pounds of compostables. An average of approximately 25.37 pounds of waste goes into the landfill. This is a diversion rate of approximately 76.77%, as compared to California’s 48%4 diversion rate.
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Energy
Energy use in the office is offset through the Palo Alto Green Program, which purchases units of renewable (wind and solar) energy equivalent to the electric usage reported to CPAU every month. This energy is delivered to the grid, which, in turn, redistributes the energy to California residents. In the end, less electricity is produced daily from non-renewable power plants due to these offsets.
Based on World Centric’s projected electric usage of 10,512 kWh per year, we will prevent 18,078 pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere. This is the CO2-emissions-equivalent of 928 gallons of gasoline or the carbon sequestered by 210 trees 5. One can drive 22,179 miles6 with 928 gallons of gasoline – almost enough to drive all the way from the North Pole to the South Pole! World Centric has retrofitted most of its incandescent lights with compact fluorescents (which use 75% less energy) and T12 lamps with T8 lamps (which use 20-25% less energy)7. Further reducing energy usage may involve: (1) switching all appliances and equipment to ENERGY STAR items and (2) replacing the remaining desktops with laptops (desktops consume up to 5 times8 more energy than laptops).
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Water
Based on World Centric’s projected water usage of 3.9 CCFs per month, we will use approximately 46.8 CCFs in one year. In order to offset water usage, World Centric is considering creating, sponsoring, participating in, or donating to projects that involve: (1) excavating water wells (2) purchasing water pumps (3) re-vegetating and stabilizing water banks, (4) improving road surfacing and drainage, (5) reducing nutrient run-off at gardens or on farms, (6) improving sewage management, or (7) installing pollution control equipment at other off-site sources.
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Transportation
Carbon offsetting is the concept that one may compensate for one’s carbon dioxide emissions by sequestering it elsewhere. This coincides with World Centric’s aims to support sustainable development programs in the developing world. We are thus considering: sponsoring, participating in, or directly donating to carbon sequestering programs such as tree planting projects, efficient (e.g. smokeless) cooking stoves, small scale solar village lighting projects, greenhouse gas abatement programs, or building wind farms.
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Landfill
World Centric accepts approximately 58.11 pounds of compostables from its employees and community members each month to help us offset our landfill usage of 25.37 pounds. We over-offset our landfill contribution by 32.74 pounds, or 129%. Combined, the office, its employees and local community members contribute 95.91 pounds of compostables each month. In order to further offset our landfill usage, World Centric is considering hosting local composting events.
According to current projections, World Centric’s annual diversion will prevent 1,703.33 pounds of waste from getting into landfills and contribute 304.44 pounds. We are thus diverting 5.6 times the amount we are contributing.
Recycling saves energy and prevents carbon dioxide from getting into the atmosphere. In one year, we will divert 147.12 pounds of bottles and cans; of which approximately 73.56 is plastic. This saves 258.70 kWh9 of electricity, enough to power World Centric for half a month. Recycling 403.80 pounds of paper in one year will prevent 12 pounds of CO2 from getting into the atmosphere and save 1,413 gallons of water and 4 trees.10
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1Energy Information Administration (EIA). “U.S. Household Electricity Report.” 14 July. 2005.
<-http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/reps/enduse/er01_us.html->.
“Electricity consumption by 107 million U.S. households in 2001 totaled 1,140 billion kWh”
(1,140 billion kWh / 107 million U.S. households = 10,656 kWh per year, per household; or 888 kWh per month per household.)
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2US Geological Survey, US Department of the Interior. “Water Q&A: Water use at home.” 30 Aug 2005.
<-http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/qahome.html ->
“…each person uses about 80-100 gallons of water per day.”
US Census Bureau. “Fact Sheet - 2006.” N.d. http://factfinder.census.gov “Average household size: 2.61” (90 gallons per day*365 days * 2.61 persons = 85,738.5 gallons per household per year. This translates to 7144.875 per household per month, or 9.55 CCF.)
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3US EPA. "Emission Facts: Average Annual Emissions and Fuel Consumption for Passenger Cars and Light Trucks”. April 2000.
<-http://www.epa.gov/oms/consumer/f00013.htm->
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4California Integrated Waste Management Board. “Waste Board Approves Southern California Cities’ Diversion Rates: Others get new deadlines, diversion rates.” 19 Feb. 2003.
<-http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Pressroom/2003/February/14.htm ->
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5US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.” 11 Feb 2008.
<-http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html ->
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6Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “Emission Facts: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
from a Typical Passenger Vehicle” 04 February. 2005.
<-http://www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/420f05004.htm ->
“MOBILE calculates values of 23.9 miles per gallon (mpg) for passenger cars”
23.9 miles per gallon x 928 gallons = 22,179.2 miles
Circumference of Earth: 24,859.82
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7Right Lights Palo Alto Program, City of Palo Alto. N.d.
<-http://www.cpau.com/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=146&TargetID=223 ->
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8Ecos Consulting. “Efficient Products: Computers” 2005.
<-http://www.efficientproducts.org/computers/->
“The average desktop computer (without its accompanying monitor) now consumes 200 to 400 kWh per year of electricity. Laptops consume about 80 to 140 kWh”
( 400 kWh / 80 kWh = up to 5 times more efficient)
- 9Earth 911. “Energy Conservation: Energy Facts.” N.d.
<-http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=lib&a=energy/EnergyFacts.html->
“…recycling a pound of PET saves approximately 12,000 BTU's”
(73.56 pounds * 12000 BTUs per pound = 882,720 BTUs, or 258.70 kWh.)
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10Earth 911. “Energy Conservation: Energy Facts.” N.d.
<-http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=lib&a=energy/EnergyFacts.html->
“each ton saves 60 lbs. of air pollution… 17 trees and 7000 gallons of water”
(403.8 lbs / 2000 lbs per ton = 0.2019)
(0.2019 * 60 lbs of air pollution = 12.114 lbs of air pollution)
(0.2019 * 17 trees = 3.44 trees )
(0.2019 * 7000 gallons = 1413.3 gallons of water)
