Carbon Dioxide and Global Warming
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Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and
Global Warming Potential
Climate change is a gradual change in the global temperature caused
by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Carbon
dioxide is the most significant greenhouse gas and results from
the generation of electricity, generation of steam and combustion
of fuels. A small amount of carbon dioxide is also emitted from
fermentation operations. The other greenhouse gases include methane
emitted from waste treatment and halocarbons, emitted from production
operations and ancillary cooling systems.
Global
Warming Potential from Energy |
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In the calculation of CO2
emissions related to energy, we include CO2
emissions from electricity imported (not generated onsite),
steam imported (not generated onsite) and combustion
of fuels used for non-transport related activities.
In 2003, 1,810 million kilograms of CO2
was generated from energy sources representing a decrease
of 1.8%. Carbon dioxide from production of imported
steam rose by 22%. Carbon dioxide from non-transport
fuels and production of imported electricity decreased
by 3.1% and 1.3%, respectively. Sixty-one percent (61%)
of CO2 from energy sources
is due to production of imported electricity.
The 1,810 million kilograms
of CO2 generated by GlaxoSmithKline's non-transport
activities in 2003
is equivalent to the CO2 generated
by one year of energy consumption of approximately
300,000 UK households.
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In 2001 we set a target to reduce CO 2 emissions from energy sources by 8% on a per unit sales basis by the end of 2005 and we have exceeded that target in 2003.
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History of data changes
In 2002, we revised the 2001 baseline for
CO2 from energy sources due to the discovery of errors in the calculation
(incorrect application of CO2 conversion factors, the incorrect
inclusion of site-based transport fuels and double counting the
fuels used onsite to generate steam and electricity). Calculations
underlying this metric were reviewed again this year as part of
the data reporting and analysis process and a system unit conversion
error was identified. Correcting this error resulted in a revised
baseline for 2001 and a revised value for 2002: 1,897 million kilograms
and 1,844 million kilograms, respectively.
Global
Warming Potential from Energy by Business |
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Carbon dioxide is the most significant greenhouse
gas and results from the generation of electricity,
generation of steam and combustion of fuels. The other
primary greenhouse gases include methane, nitrous oxide,
hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorcarbons and sulfur hexaflouride.
The greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane are
formed from waste treatment and fermentation. Halocarbons
are released during production operations and from ancillary
cooling systems. These other greenhouse gases can be
compared to carbon dioxide by calculating their CO2
equivalence. Included in the global warming potential
figure in this graph is carbon dioxide generated from
energy sources (see previous section on carbon dioxide),
CO2 equivalents from
halocarbons (ozone depleting compounds) and CO2
equivalents from waste treatment and fermentation. For
2003, the total global warming potential is 2,692 CO2
equivalents, which represents a 10.6% decrease from
2002. We did not set a target for this parameter.
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Inventory methods and factors
utilised for conversion to carbon dioxide equivalents
are based on the World
Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)/
World Resources Institute (WRI) Greenhouse Gas Protocol
Initiative, September 2001, its Stationary and Mobile
Combustion Workbooks, and the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (1996).
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History of data changes
In light of the baseline changes made to
CO2 from energy there is also a revised 2001 baseline for total
global warming potential to 3,336 million kilograms CO2 equivalents.
For 2002, the total global warming potential using the corrected
calculation is 3,012 million kilograms.
Global
Warming Potential by Business |
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Global
Warming Potential from Transport |
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Global warming potential is also impacted
by the greenhouse gases produced from the consumption
of fuels in GSK business air travel, from transport
of our products and from vehicle fleets, primarily sales
fleets. Calculation of CO2
for air travel activities was based on factors from
the
UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.
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Although impacts from these activities are not included in the
previous graphs, carbon dioxide generation has been estimated for
the following activities:
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Air travel by GSK employees. GSK employees
travelled a total of 656 million kilometres in 2003, an increase
of 2.3%. This includes routine travel between and within the
United States and the United Kingdom as well as international
travel but does not include travel related to large group events
such as sales conventions. It resulted in an estimated 95.2
million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions. The amount of
CO2 emitted from air travel depends
on the distance of each trip as well as the total distance travelled.
Since our travel data does not include the distance of each
trip we make assumptions about the proportion of trips that
are long distance or short distance. During our analysis of
data in 2003 we re-evaluated these assumptions and revised the
estimate of CO2 produced from
the 641 million kilometres travelled in 2002 from 85.2 million
kilograms to 91.5 million kilograms, a more conservative estimate.
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Product freight transport among the top 50 country
destinations. GSK products travelled a total of 149
million kilometres in 2003 (up 16% from 129 million kilometres
in 2002), 75.5% of it (112.5 million kilometres) by air. This
air transport represents 12.6 million kilograms of CO2
emissions. The remaining 24.5% of product transportation is
by rail and sea for which we do not estimate CO2
emissions.
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Emissions from vehicles used in GSKs sales and marketing
activities. Global sales fleets drove a total of 585
million kilometres in 2003 representing emission of 73 million
kilograms of carbon dioxide.
The total CO2 generated from
these GSK business activities in 2003 was 180.8 million kilograms.
This is equivalent to approximately 10% of the carbon dioxide generated
from GSK energy sources. This percentage is consistent with the
previous year data.
The carbon dioxide generated from these transportation activities
combined with the global warming potential related to site
energy requirements could be absorbed by a forest approximately
the size of Rhode Island, the smallest state in the United
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