Schools, private businesses, commuters and private homes emit greenhouse gases every day. The municipality of Hvidovre, located just west of Copenhagen, Denmark, currently does not have a precise figure of its greenhouse gas emissions.
COWI has been commissioned to develop a model so the municipality can keep tabs on its carbon footprint. The carbon model will help Hvidovre reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by two per cent.
Hvidovre's commitment to reducing emissions is a result of it joining the Low Carbon Community programme under the auspices of the Danish Nature Conservation Society. Hvidovre's mayor signed the agreement with the Danish Nature Conservation Society in March 2008 and became one of five municipalities currently taking up this carbon challenge.
COWI's Carbon Model will establish the carbon account that includes all activities within the municipal boundary. This means that the model will include data on all major CO2 emitting sources within the municipality.
Obtaining and using the municipality's own existing data is the least problematic, as the municipality has reliable data on energy, water and fuel use. It can also precisely measure CO2 emissions in retirement homes and kindergartens and other public buildings or secure information about the municipality's purchases and waste /wastewater management systems. However, data is less reliable and less easy to locate when it comes to measuring commuter traffic or emissions caused by households and businesses located within municipal borders.
COWI's assignment includes assessing the reliability of the collected data and gathering the information needed to make calculations for estimating the municipality's total greenhouse gas emission.
The Carbon Model will initially establish the current total greenhouse gas emissions with an emphasis on the most reliable data. However, the Carbon Model can be expanded in the future to include ongoing updating and review of greenhouse gas emissions which will enable the municipality to determine whether it has reached its carbon goals.The information also provides an overview of the most promising and the most difficult options for reducing the overall greenhouse gas emissions to achieve a cost-efficient reduction.