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DNRP's 2015 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Sources

DNRP's 2015 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Sources

Vehicles 16,000 MTCO2e

Diesel and gasoline used in department vehicles

16,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) associated with 1.6 million gallons of fuel

How do we calculate it? Calculated based on transportation fuel emissions factors documented by The Climate Registry.

Electricity 48,000 MTCO2e

Electricity and energy used in buildings and facilities, especially electricity to treat wastewater

Total: 48,000 MTCO2e. 45,000 MTCO2e associated with electricity use (96,500,000 kWh from Puget Sound Energy and 37,500,000 kWh from Snohomish PUD) and 3,000 MTCO2e associated with heating oil, propane and natural gas usage.

How do we calculate it? Electricity emissions are calculated based on the amount of electricity used by the department and the sources of generation used by local electricity providers (Puget Sound Energy and Snohomish PUD) as reported though the Washington State Fuel Mix Disclosure Program and based on fossil fuel GHG coefficients documented by The Climate Registry. Note that electricity used by Seattle City Light is considered Carbon Neutral.

Methane emissions 21,000 MTCO2e

Methane emissions associated with wastewater treatment and King County-owned landfills

21,000 MTCO2e of fugitive methane emissions

How do we calculate it? Calculated based on reporting protocols established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and others (see Cedar Hills Regional Landfill 2015 EPA Report).

Emissions associated with department purchases 85,000 MTCO2e

Emissions associated with department purchases

85,000 MTCO2e associated with $217 million dollars of spending (2014)

How do we calculate it? Many entities exclude emissions associated with purchases in their inventories or environmental footprint assessments. In an effort to be comprehensive and complete, King County and Cascadia Consulting built a tool that builds on the County’s comprehensive consumption-based GHG emissions inventory to estimate the indirect emissions related to purchased services, supplies, and equipment. These emissions are associated with everything from the purchase of office supplies to the emissions from construction projects that are contracted out to independent contractors.

Total 2015 GHG Emissions: +170,000 MTCO2e

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