City, University of London: Strategic Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting
Using a marginal abatement model to budget for emissions reduction options
City, University of London, is systematically working to improve the organization’s energy efficiency and use of resources by integrating principles of sustainability into corporate strategies and operational procedures, and by raising the awareness of environmental issues amongst our staff, students and the wider community.
We were selected to take part in the Higher Education Carbon Management programme, which was designed to assist universities like City, University of London in saving money on energy and putting it to good use in other areas, whilst making a positive contribution to the environment by lowering their CO2 emissions.
As part of this programme, we have developed a carbon management plan to reduce emissions systematically through energy efficiency, low carbon technologies (such as Combined Heat and Power and renewable energy systems), low energy buildings, more sustainable travel arrangements and improved management systems. These measures form part of a coherent strategy to reduce emissions over time, from an established baseline to an agreed target level.
Within the carbon management plan, we considered the marginal abatement costs of the key carbon reduction options available to us, and used these to inform our carbon and financial budgets. The table and graphs below show the marginal abatement costs (MAC) for the top ten emissions reduction projects. The costs for each project have been plotted against the CO2 saving. The marginal abatement cost of each project or cost/tonne of CO2 is shown by the position of each project above or below the zero cost line. This gives a clear view of which projects should be implemented at different abatement costs.
The analysis was a key informant for the carbon management plan, with most of the projects planned for feasibility studies, full evaluation or implementation over a five year period, alongside some behavioural initiatives and water saving measures. The analysis also led to a budget of £78,000 per annum being put in place for energy conservation projects. This is mainly to allow low cost/fast payback projects to proceed in the first instance.
