Carbon footprints

Banking is a key service sector in India. Banks have very important role in the development of economy. It contributes its income to the economy in the form of increased Gross Domestic Product. Modern banking is also concentrating on the protection of environment as a CSR initiative through its Instrument called Green Banking. Green banking is the process of reducing internal carbon foot prints and external carbon emissions with a concern over reducing the depletion of natural resources. This paper concentrated on elaborating the initiatives of Green banking of banking sector. The study used descriptive method. It is found that the banks in India are well equipped with Green banking instruments and most of the customers are adopting it. And also benefits of green banking are highlighted.

In any modern power plant, the efficiency calculation and loss analysis of a boiler are the first steps to maintain and improve the overall power plant efficiency. The efficiency of the boiler was calculated by the losses or indirect method which is more complicated and more accurate than the direct method. The specific objective of this paper is to calculate the efficiency of a boiler and to identify and analyse the losses involved in the boiler. Boiler's performance deviations were analysed and the causes for these deviations are found. To minimise these deviations the possible remedial measures were found and also aims to suggest methods which would aid in the reduction of the specific fuel consumption and the carbon footprint, apart from calculating the efficiency and analysing the losses involved in a boiler.

Stone column ground stabilization involves adding columns filled with stone into the ground to a depth of at least 4m below the ground surface. Compacted gravel layer can then be put over the top of the columns, ready for the construction of new house foundations. This method is quick to construct and can be done at any time of the year. Stone columns are widely used to improve the bearing capacity of soil and reduce the settlement of structures which are built on them. It increases the strength and decreases the compressibility of soft, loose fine graded soils, accelerating consolidation effect and reducing the liquefaction potential of soil. These columns consist of either compacted gravel or crushed stone arranged by a dynamic vibrator. This article shows its installation methods, design and its failure modes.

The recognition of the humans, vehicles or any other objects in the outdoor environment, such as roads, streets, pedestrian ways, car parking and public parks, is only possible with illumination after dark. The outdoor lighting consumes significant amounts of electricity. The best short-term payout period for reduction in energy consumption is implementation of energy efficiency solutions. A shift from traditional illumination technology to the advanced lighting solutions has the ability for significant energy savings. The main focus of this study is to find out the most suitable, environmentally friendly and " green " solution(s) to fulfill the outdoor lighting requirements. It includes ecological impact assessment of commonly available lighting technologies for outdoor illumination, such as high pressure sodium, compact fluorescent and light emitting diode, by using Sustainable Process Index methodology. The effects of different alternative energy resources and the impacts of geographical locations due to variations in energy provision system (i.e. energy mix) are also considered in this study. The obtained results show that Sustainable Process Index ranges from 258 km 2 to 7760 km 2 and carbon footprint from 930 t CO 2 eq. to 48,496 t CO 2 eq. to fulfill lighting requirement for 100,000 h of lighting. These results are compared with Sustainable Process Index and Carbon Footprint caused by high pressure sodium and light emitting diode luminaires providing electricity from Saudi Arabian electricity network.

Through the use of assisted reproductive technologies multiple children are born, adding to worldwide carbon emissions. Evaluating the ethics of offering reproductive services against its overall harm to the environment makes unregulated ARTs unjustified, yet the ART business can move towards sustainability as a part of the larger environmental movement. In the medical industry this can be accomplished through the established discipline of environmental bioethics and the nascent field of green bioethics.  When green bioethics is integrated into the assisted reproductive technology industry, climate change can be mitigated and the conversation about consumption can become a public discourse.

Although the impact of naturally made children on the environment is undeniable, I will focus on the assisted reproductive technologies industry as an anthropogenic source of carbon emissions which lead to climate change. The ART industry is an often-overlooked source of environmental degradation and decidedly different from natural reproduction as fertility centers provide a service for a fee and therefore can be subject to economic, policy and bioethical scrutiny.

In this article I will provide a brief background on the current state of human-driven climate change before suggesting two conservationist strategies that can be employed in the ART business. First, endorsing a carbon capping program that limits the carbon emissions of ART businesses will be proposed. Second, I will recommend that policymakers eliminate funded ARTs for those who are not biologically infertile. I will conclude the article by urging policymakers and all those concerned with climate change to consider the effects of the reproductive technologies industry in light of climate change and move towards sustainability.

The main objective of the paper is to find out whether the selected Indian scheduled banks are using Eco-Friendly Technology and Green methods to bring down the carbon footprint or not.
The paper discusses the various eco-friendly methods & technologies that the banks can use to bring down the carbon footprint and contribute in their own way towards the environment, therefore the objective of the research work is also to find out whether the selected 16 Indian scheduled banks, chosen after using stratified sampling based on turnover of banks & then randomly selecting a bank from each strata, are using Eco-Friendly Technology and Green methods to bring down the carbon footprint or not.
The data is also collected from related articles and from published research papers and uploaded related published research papers, related project reports and case studies, books and magazines, news and news paper articles etc. and GAP Analysis Worksheet is prepared comparing the current state with the desired state.
The study indicated that the leading Banks are the only ones to have taken initiative to use Eco-friendly Technologies as part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility in cutting down the carbon footprint.

Substantial scientific evidence indicates that an increase in the global average temperature of more than 2° C above pre-industrial levels poses severe risks to natural systems & human health. Sustained warming of this magnitude could, for example, result in the extinction of many species & extensive melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets causing global sea level to rise between 12 and 40 feet. Australia’s residents have modern and energy reliant lifestyles leading to a very high value of carbon footprint of around 18.4 tonnes of CO 2/ capita/year. Australia is one of the top 20 polluting countries in the world and produces more carbon pollution per person than any other developed country in the world. Australia's emissions are projected to increase by 24 per cent between 2000 and 2020. Recognising the importance of responding to the climate change challenge, countries all over the world are acting to reduce their emissions. Australia needs to reduce its carbon p...

Now, we put out a lot of carbon dioxide every year, over 26 billion tons. For each American, it is about 20 tons. For people in developing countries, it is less than one ton. It is an average of about five tons for everyone on the planet. Furthermore, somehow, we have to make changes that will bring that down to zero. Bill Gates

Day lighting significance in architectural designs is well established for enhancing visual comfort, energy-efficiency and low carbon buildings development. Practising the atrium element in the modern architectures has been increasingly popular in recent years because of the fact that the transitional space with good environmental elements can improve the quality of the buildings and reduce extra energy utilisation. The present study explores the advantages and effectiveness of the atrium on the energy performance of small buildings, a case study of 'The Azuma Row House'. Based on local micro-climate data Autodesk Ecotect Analysis was performed to calculate the daylight factors and the energy demand of the building. A comparison was made with atrium and without atrium in the building to evaluate overall energy savings. The results show a higher annual heating energy demand with atrium 3443 kWh compared without atrium 2526 kWh. The annual cooling energy demand without atrium 2516 kWh is significantly greater than with atrium 912 kWh. The total energy requirements under no atrium case is about 5042 kWh which is considerably higher than the total annual energy demand with atrium 4355 kWh. The total amount of energy saved is about 15.7% per year by introducing the sunlight through the atrium. Along with the increasing issue of the energy crisis, environmental problem and the beautiful design of atrium, the development of atrium in modern architecture designing is feasible to have a good future.

The sustainability transformation calls for policies that consider the global consequences of local lifestyles. We used stakeholders' visions of sustainable lifestyles across Europe to build 19 scenarios of sufficiency (net reductions) and 17 of green consumption (shift in consumption patterns). We applied Environmentally Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output analysis to model scenarios by assuming widespread adoption of the proposed lifestyles changes. Finally, we estimate the domestic and foreign implications for land, water, carbon and human toxicity potential. We distinguish the options with most potential from those that are seemingly fruitless or present backfire risks. While our method allows for testing a large number scenarios under a consistent framework, further work is needed to add robustness to the scenarios. However, we do find a range of indicative results that have strong potential to contribute to mitigation efforts. Services: We find that a local and sharing service economy has a maximum reduction potential of 18% of the European carbon footprint (CF). Clothing & Appliances: Sharing and extending lifetimes of clothes and devices could diminish CF by approximately 3%. Transport: Reducing motorized transport by remote work and active travel could mitigate between 9-26% of CF. Food: Vegan diets could spare 4% of the land and reduce up to 14% of CF. Bio-economy: Switching to biomaterials and bioenergy tend to reduce carbon and toxic emissions at the risk of increasing water and land use. Housing: Passive housing and decentralized renewable energy reduces carbon emissions up to 5 and 14%, respectively. We characterize the sensitivity of our results by modelling income rebound effects and confirm the importance of deterring expenditure in resource intensive goods.

The paper considered Internet of things as it applies to agriculture. It’s relevance in the area of weather forecast, irrigation/fertilizer application, tracking of farm produce, internet banking, pests and disease control and monitoring were looked into. However, Nigerian agriculture has not witnessed such reformation and transformation due to some challenges. Therefore, some recommendations were made to combat these hindrances and move Nigerian agriculture to an enviable status of worldclass standard.

While quality of life (QOL) is the result of satisfying human needs, our current provision strategies result in global environmental degradation. To ensure sustainable QOL, we need to understand the environmental impact of human needs satisfaction. In this paper we deconstruct QOL, and apply the fundamental human needs framework developed by Max-Neef et al to calculate the carbon and energy footprints of subsistence, protection, creation, freedom, leisure, identity, understanding and participation. We find that half of global carbon emissions are driven by subsistence and protection. A similar amount are due to freedom, identity, creation and leisure together, whereas understanding and participation jointly account for less than 4% of global emissions. We use 35 objective and subjective indicators to evaluate human needs satisfaction and their associated carbon footprints across nations. We find that the relationship between QOL and environmental impact is more complex than previously identified through aggregated or single indicators. Satisfying needs such as protection, identity and leisure is generally not correlated with their corresponding footprints. In contrast, the likelihood of satisfying needs for understanding, creation, participation and freedom, increases steeply when moving from low to moderate emissions, and then stagnates. Most objective indicators show a threshold trend with respect to footprints, but most subjective indicators show no relationship, except for freedom and creation. Our study signals the importance of considering both subjective and objective satisfaction to assess QOL-impact relationships at the needs level. In this way, resources could be strategically invested where they strongly relate to social outcomes, and spared where non-consumption satisfiers could be more effective. Through this approach, decoupling human needs satisfaction from environmental damage becomes more attainable.

Stabilizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from croplands as agricultural demand grows is a critical climate change mitigation strategy. Depending on management, the Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector can be both a source as well as a net sink for carbon. Currently, it contributes 25% of the global anthropogenic carbon emissions. Although India's emissions from this sector are around 8% of the total national GHG emissions, it can contribute significantly to the country's aspirations of reaching net-zero emissions by 2070. In this review, we explain the carbon footprints of the AFOLU sector in India, focusing on enteric fermentation, fertilizer and manure management, rice paddies, burning of crop residues, forest fires, shifting cultivation, and food wastage. Furthermore, using the standard autoregressive integrated moving average method, we project India's AFOLU sector emission routes for 2070 under four scenarios: business as usual (BAU) and three emission reduction levels, viz., 10%, 20%, and 40% below BAU. The article focuses on how the AFOLU sector can be leveraged proactively to reach the net-zero emission goals. Increasing forest cover, agroforestry, and other treebased land-use systems; improving soil health through soil management, better crop residue, and livestock feed management; emission avoidance from rice ecosystems; and reducing food waste are all important strategies for lowering India's AFOLU sector carbon footprints.

Increase in global populations of humans and domesticated livestock are impacting the resource use and have a large ecological footprint (EFP). The ever-increasing EFP of humanity is accelerating climate change, increasing water scarcity and contamination, aggravating soil degradation, and dwindling above and below-ground biodiversity. Several sub-components of EFP include resource footprint (RFP) which comprises land (LFP), water (WFP), nitrogen (NFP), biodiversity (BFP) power (PFP), carbon (CFP), etc. Agricultural practices (e.g., tillage, fertilizer and pesticide use, farm operations such as irrigation, harvesting, baling, etc.) also cause the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as CO2, CH4, and N2O, and these gasses equivalent in their global warming potential (GWP). In general, CFP is reported as CO2eq by converting CH4 and N2O into CO2. The Human diet, consisting of plant and/or animal-based products and grown diversely with or without chemicals, irrigation, and modern innovations, has a wide range of EFP. The latter, is the widely used measure of resource consumption and humanity’s impact on the planet. EFP encompasses the cumulative GHG emissions by an individual, community, organization, institution, nation for a specific service or product. It can vary widely because of using different reference systems of the studies and differences in system boundaries. Therefore, standardization of the methodologies may require a better understanding of the various ways related CFP concepts are relevant for decisions at individual to global levels. There is no one size that fits all. It is also widely recognized that the global average per capita CFP of humanity, estimated at 4.47 Mg CO2eq in 2020 is not sustainable, and must be reduced to < 2 Mg CO2eqif the global warming is to be limited to 2 0C. Therefore, understanding the magnitude of CFP of agriculture and food systems (FSs), and factors affecting it, can lead to identification of technological options which can enhance the use efficiency of inputs, reduce wastage, and decrease the CFP. Different FSs affect CFP through diverse components of production and supply chains, and in the manner in which food is stored and cooked and the waste is disposed or recycled. There is need to adopt international standard (ISO) protocol. Therefore, this review identifies and deliberates technological options which may be needed for reducing CFP of humanity in general but that of agriculture and FSs in particular, while also advancing Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030 of the United Nations. CFP of diverse agro-ecosystems, land use and management systems are also discussed. Specific examples of CFP include type of farming systems (organic vs.. conventional, dietary preferences, and food waste). There are several options for the humanity to change lifestyle and make it more sustainable. Food waste, about one-third of all, is an important factor impacting CFP while also accelerating global warming. The impact of avoidable food waste on gaseous emissions, estimated at 2.0 to 3.6 Mg CO2eq per Mg of food waste on dry weight basis, must be minimized.

Carbon footprinting is one of the foremost methods available for quantifying anthropogenic environmental impacts and for helping tackle the threat of climate change. However, for any person undertaking a carbon footprinting analysis for the first time, they will almost certainly be struck by the broad array of definitions, approaches and terminology surrounding the field. This paper provides an introductory guide to some basic concepts in carbon footprinting for researchers and lay people interested in the area. Each stage of calculating a carbon footprint is considered and an introduction to the main methodologies is provided. The advantages and disadvantages of the various approaches are discussed and a rough framework of procedures is provided for the calculation of carbon footprints over a variety of subjects. Some general data sources and a glossary of key carbon footprinting terminology are included.

A substantial proportion of anthropogenic greenhouse gas generating activities are concentrated in global cities. Action to reduce emissions at the urban level requires an understanding of life-cycle emissions sources and reduction potentials. Policy response(s) by municipal authorities needs to consider all emissions scopes across the urban lifecycle. Existing framework guidance often does not include all relevant emissions sources, proposes inconsistent methodologies and fails to consider the significance of limited data. A clear statement of the urban system and its boundary is required to develop benchmarks and facilitate the development of global ‘low-carbon’ cities. Carbon footprints are being developed to facilitate the management of anthropogenic GHG emissions and offer the opportunity to develop internationally agreed models to inform decision making and localize the issue of climate change. This paper will explain the theory behind their development and outline how theory can be translated into a practical tool.