Before COVID-19, carbon emissions from City operations were declining and on track to meet our 2% annual reduction goal, but falling short of the more ambitious 4% annual reduction goal. However, as employees have shifted back to office-based work and the number of City employees has expanded, emissions have increased. Employee commuting, electricity consumption, and fleet fuel usage are all on the rise, requiring additional interventions to reverse this trend and get on track to meet the 4% reduction goal. Check out this additional chart to see a breakdown of emissions by source.
Desired trend: Emissions reductions in line with the 4% reduction goal.
Methodology: The City conducts annual data collection and analysis of fleet and transit fuel usage from City operations, building electricity consumption (from Duke Energy), renewable energy generation, and natural gas usage (from Dominion Energy). A commuter survey is completed every two years to determine City employee commute emissions. Net emissions are calculated by subtracting excess renewable energy sent to the grid, purchased renewable energy credits, and carbon offsets from total emissions. All data sources are converted to metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MT CO2e).