Energy Efficiency, Recycling, and Climate Change

July 9, 2013

Part One of this NERC Blog series by guest blogger Robert Kropp, a Vermont-based freelance journalist, presents an overview of energy efficiency, electronics, and the recycling of electronic discards.

It's well established by now that climate change is the single greatest crisis threatening the sustainability of human life on Earth. Concerned stakeholders—whose numbers include every human being on the planet, not to mention every other species as well—worry that governments are doing far too little to effectively address climate change, especially considering the magnitude of the threat. But in the absence of concerted government action, smaller scale initiatives are being implemented by businesses, nonprofit organizations, local and state governments, individuals, and other stakeholders to help forestall a tipping point after which the effects of climate change increase exponentially.

Energy efficiency is often described as “the lowest of the lowest hanging fruit” in efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are the primary drivers of climate change. How effective can energy efficiency be? A recent report from the Carbon Disclosure Project, an international nonprofit organization to which thousands of companies report on their emissions reduction strategies, reveals that many of the world's largest cities are reducing their GHG emissions and realizing significant cost savings largely through energy efficiency measures. “One out of every two actions that cities are taking to reduce emissions in their municipal operations is focused on efficiency,” the report states. “Cities report over $40 million in savings per year from tackling climate change.”

“Leading cities are enjoying multiple paybacks for their economies and communities,” Conor Riffle of CDP’s cities program said. “National governments should pay close attention.”

If the United States government implemented a comprehensive national approach to energy efficiency, energy savings of $1.2 trillion and an abatement of GHG emissions of 1.1 gigatons per year could be realized within a decade, according to a 2009 report by McKinsey & Company.

Companies in a number of industry sectors have also recognized the value of energy efficiency in reducing costs and GHG emissions. The real estate industry provides one example. “Buildings in the United States are responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 13% water consumption and 15% of GDP per year, making green building a source of significant economic and environmental opportunity,” states the US Green Building Council, an organization whose Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) ratings encourage building owners and operators to pursue green building construction and maintenance. “Greater building efficiency can meet 85% of future US demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs.”

Existing building retrofits are also an area of potential action for individual homeowners, who can save money and reduce their carbon footprints by making their homes more energy-efficient. Many states and local governments now offer homeowners grants or low-interest loans to help them in their efforts.

Another sector actively pursuing energy efficiency is the information technology (IT) industry, whose data centers are rapidly growing sources of energy consumption. Reducing non-computing power use can drive the power usage effectiveness (PUE) of data centers down, with a goal of using as much of their energy consumption as possible to power computing functions alone.

But the IT sector is also responsible for massive volumes of electronic waste that too often ends up in landfills or is exported to developing nations where mismanagement of it can cause human health and environmental impacts. To address this issue, the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) helped found the Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse (ERCC) in 2010. Supported in part by the memberships of major electronics companies such as Samsung, Dell, and Microsoft, ERCC provides information on state laws governing the disposal of e-waste and identifies best practices to further improve recycling efforts. Many corporate ERCC members provide end-of-life recycling services for outdated electronic equipment, and a thriving industry has built up around the need to dispose of e-waste in an environmentally responsible manner.

A compelling feature of successful e-waste recycling programs is that they engage all stakeholders—lawmakers, corporations, civil society organizations like NERC, and individuals—in shared responsibility. There's no doubt that governments must start doing more by forging meaningful international agreements, but it is heartening to observe that so many refuse to stand aside while climate change wreaks havoc on the generations that will succeed us. Energy efficiency and recycling may seem like small steps in the face of such a threat, and much more must be done if we are to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 50% in less than forty years, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommends. But such small steps do lead to significant reductions in the energy-intensive use of dwindling resources. And they can be empowering for individuals who can realize reduced carbon footprints in their own lifestyles.

Next: How reuse and composting have a positive impact on the global environment.

Robert Kropp is a Vermont-based freelance journalist whose writings on sustainability and corporate responsibility can be read at www.SocialFunds.com.

Guest Blogs represent the opinion of the writer and may not reflect the policy or position of the Northeast Recycling Council, Inc.