CEA Carbon Footprint & Emissions Tracking 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which EPA program requires large US facilities emitting 25,000 metric tons or more of CO2e annually to report their greenhouse gas emissions?
- Clean Air Act Title V permit program
- EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) (Correct answer)
- ENERGY STAR certification program
- EPA's Acid Rain Program
Correct answer: EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP)
The EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), established under 40 CFR Part 98, requires large emitters to report annual GHG emissions to the EPA.
Question 2: In a lifecycle assessment (LCA), 'cradle-to-gate' analysis covers emissions from:
- Raw material extraction through the end of a product's useful life
- Raw material extraction through the point of product manufacturing completion (Correct answer)
- Product use phase through end-of-life disposal
- Transportation of goods from factory gate to retail sale
Correct answer: Raw material extraction through the point of product manufacturing completion
Cradle-to-gate analysis covers the upstream supply chain from resource extraction through manufacturing, stopping at the factory gate before distribution and use.
Question 3: What does 'double counting' refer to in Scope 3 emissions reporting?
- Reporting the same emission source under both Scope 1 and Scope 2
- When two companies in the same value chain both report the same emission as their own Scope 3 (Correct answer)
- Applying two different emission factors to the same activity data
- Counting emissions from both purchased and self-generated electricity
Correct answer: When two companies in the same value chain both report the same emission as their own Scope 3
Double counting occurs when the same physical emission appears in the Scope 3 inventories of multiple companies in the same value chain, which is an inherent feature—not an error—of Scope 3 accounting.
Question 4: Which verification level provides the highest assurance that a company's GHG inventory is accurate and complete?
- Limited assurance (review engagement)
- Reasonable assurance (audit engagement) (Correct answer)
- Self-declaration with internal review
- Peer company benchmarking
Correct answer: Reasonable assurance (audit engagement)
Reasonable assurance (audit-level) engagements provide the highest level of independent verification assurance, requiring more extensive testing than limited assurance reviews.
Question 5: An energy analyst calculates that a facility's total Scope 1 emissions increased 10% but its revenue grew 25% in the same year. What happened to the facility's carbon intensity?
- Carbon intensity increased by 10%
- Carbon intensity decreased (Correct answer)
- Carbon intensity stayed the same
- Carbon intensity increased by 25%
Correct answer: Carbon intensity decreased
When revenue grows faster than emissions, emissions per unit of revenue (carbon intensity) declines, even if absolute emissions increase.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes 'avoided emissions' in carbon footprint analysis?
- Emissions that are captured and stored underground via CCS
- GHG reductions that occur outside a company's value chain as a result of its products or services (Correct answer)
- Scope 3 emissions excluded from a company's inventory due to data unavailability
- Regulatory exemptions that allow a facility to exceed its permitted emission limit
Correct answer: GHG reductions that occur outside a company's value chain as a result of its products or services
Avoided emissions represent reductions that occur beyond a company's value chain boundary, such as when a product enables customers to reduce their own emissions.
Question 7: When tracking fugitive emissions from refrigeration equipment, which data collection method directly measures actual leakage rates?
- Emission factor method using equipment capacity
- Refrigerant purchase and inventory mass balance method (Correct answer)
- Engineering calculation based on equipment age
- Extrapolation from industry average leak rates
Correct answer: Refrigerant purchase and inventory mass balance method
The mass balance method tracks actual refrigerant purchases, inventory changes, and disposals to calculate the quantity of refrigerant that leaked into the atmosphere.
CEA Carbon Footprint & Emissions Tracking 5
Which EPA program requires large US facilities emitting 25,000 metric tons or more of CO2e annually to report their greenhouse gas emissions?