Glossary

Scope 1 Emissions are direct GHG emissions that include fuel combustion, company vehicles and fugitive emissions. These emissions are direct GHG emissions that happen from sources owned or controlled by an organization including fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces, vehicles.

Boilers burn biological plant material – predominantly wood – in order to generate heat or both heat & electricity for combined units.

Simple-cycle combustion turbines propel hot gas through a turbine in order to generate electricity.

Combined-cycle combustion turbines uses both a gas and a steam turbine together to produce up to 50% more electricity from the same fuel than a traditional simple-cycle plant.

Engines covert energy from fuel to some mechanical energy.

Incinerators burn waste to boil water that may power steam generators that generate electric energy and heat.

Process heaters generate energy using either fuel-based, electricity-based, heat transfer media (steam, hot water, thermal fluid), or hybrid technologies to provide the hear energy required for various manufacturing operations.

Fire suppressant systems are used to extinguish or control fires, and are activated by hear, smoke, or a combination of the two.

CFC or Chlorofluorocarbon is gases covered under the 1987 Montreal Protocol and used for refrigeration, air conditioning, packaging, insulation, solvents, or aerosol propellants. Since they are not destroyed in the lower atmosphere, CFCs drift into the upper atmosphere where, given suitable conditions, they break down ozone. These gases are being replaced by other compounds: hydrochlorofluorocarbons, an interim replacement for CFCs that are also covered under the Montreal Protocol, and hydrofluorocarbons, which are covered under the Kyoto Protocol. All these substances are also greenhouse gases. See hydrochlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, ozone depleting substance.

HCFC or Hydrochlorofluorocarbons is compounds containing hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine, and carbon atoms. Although ozone depleting substances, they are less potent at destroying stratospheric ozone than chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). They have been introduced as temporary replacements for CFCs and are also greenhouse gases. See ozone depleting substance.

HFC/hydrofluorocarbons and PFC/perfluorocarbons are types of gases those contains Fluorinated gases (F-gases), which have been introduced as substitutes for Ozone-depleting substances in many sectors such as refrigeration and air conditioning applications. These gases do not deplete the ozone layer, but they are greenhouse gases. This means that these new gases also contribute to climate change.

Scope 2 Emissions are electricity indirect GHG emissions that include emissions from consumption of purchased electricity, heat, cooling or steam. These emissions are a result of a company’s activities but often occur outside a company’s physical facility.

Scope 3 Emissions are other indirect GHG emissions that include all emissions not covered by scope 1 and scope 2 emissions and include the extraction and production of purchased materials and fuels, transport-related activities in vehicles not owned or controlled by the reporting entity, electricity-related activities (e.g. transmission and distribution (T&D) losses) not covered in Scope 2, outsourced activities, waste disposal, etc. These emissions are the result the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organization, but that the organization indirectly impacts in its value chain.

Refuse, also called municipal solid waste, is nonhazardous solid waste that requires collection and transport to a processing or disposal site. Refuse includes garbage and rubbish.

Sludge is any solid, semi-solid, or liquid waste generated from a municipal, commercial, or industrial wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility exclusive of the treated effluent from a wastewater treatment plant.

Vehicle Miles is a measure used extensively in transportation planning. It measures the amount of travel for all vehicles in a geographic region over a given period of time.

Ton-Miles is a term used to refer to one ton of freight carried one miles, as a unit of traffic. Ton-miles should not be calculated by simply multiplying total miles by total tons - this calculation effectively assumes that the entire tonnage is transported on each and every truck, railcar, aircraft, or barge and will likely overstate ton-miles.

Carbon Storage also known as carbon sequestration, is a complex method of capturing carbon dioxide emissions and storing them in coal seams, aquifers, depleted oil and gas reservoirs and other spaces deep under the surface of the Earth.