Reporting for Calendar Year 2019
The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol categorizes a company’s GHG emissions as one of three “Scopes”. Scope 1 is classified as direct emissions from owned or controlled sources (i.e. mobile combustion, stationary combustion, process emissions). Scope 2 emissions are classified as indirect emissions (i.e. purchased energy). Scope 3 emissions are all remaining indirect emissions not included in Scope 2 (i.e. business travel, distribution, shipping and logistics).
GHG emissions are commonly reported in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). CO2e is a way to quantify and combine various greenhouse gasses, such as CO2, NH4, and N2O, into a singular unit. ES3’s GHG emissions are broken down by scope and displayed as follows:
Scope 1 GHG emissions are the smallest contributor to ES3’s carbon footprint and come from ES3 owned and operated vehicles.
Scope 2 emissions—purchased energy for facilities, including our manufacturing, overhaul, and test facilities—make up the majority of ES3’s carbon footprint. In 2018, ES3 purchased and installed 400 high efficiency lighting fixtures at our 120,000 square foot Material Research & Development Center (MRDC). In 2019, ES3 installed modern, high efficiency Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) units at the MRDC, our largest facility. Although ES3 is improving the efficiency of our energy usage, our Scope 2 energy usage is increasing because ES3 workload is increasing.
ES3’s Scope 3 emissions are primarily due to travel and shipping. ES3 was able to reduce our business travel from previous years, however, shipments of the heavy components we manufacture and overhaul are increasing as our workload is increasing.
