ommunities increasingly address climate change through local government policies and actions. Sustainability Solutions Group (SSG) is further supporting these efforts with the release of GHGProof - a powerful yet easy to use, fully transparent and open source model that enables local governments to measure greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and costs ($) resulting from potential land use policies.

1. GHG MODELING TOOL:
EVALUATION OF THE IMPACTS OF LAND USE
DECISIONS ON GHG EMISSIONS
Jesse Dill – Associate Member
Sustainability Solutions Group

2. land use-GHG connection
building form
energy supply
land use changes
24,711 tC02e
transportation
behaviour
30 hybrids for
LED street waste
city staff anti-idling
carbon lights
campaign
offsets local agriculture
energy- plant 5000
efficiency trees
education
car pooling
program

3. introducing GHGProof…
a pioneering, innovative decision-making
tool to enable planning processes to
include GHG emissions impacts
What is the purpose of the model?
what land use aspects are captured?
how can it be used?
What is the process?
what do the results look like?

4. aspects of GHGProof
buildings residential
personal
emissions transportation
agricultural
solid
community-wide
GHG emissions waste
liquid
agriculture
absorption biomass
forest

5. aspects not included
buildings
• industrial uses
• embodied energy
• micro energy generation
transportation
• modal shifts to cycling
• commercial transport
• transport of waste
• trips outside municipal boundary
• air and water travel
waste
• construction for sewer
extensions

6. possible uses
assess community/regional plans
set a GHG reduction target
develop policy to achieve target
future proofing
evaluate development proposals

7. modeling process
building a scenario

8. modeling process
GIS analysis to assess land use pattern

9. modeling process
GIS analysis to assess VKT
GHGTRANSPORTATION = (average trip length)(total # of trips)
(% of trips by vehicle)(emissions factor)
Longer VKTs in rural areas Shorter VKTs in urban areas

10. modeling process
excel-based calculator
e.g. building form calculation
automatic calculations
Buildings (tC02e)= real time changes
(# of buildings by type)* rapid generation of
(energy per area)* scenarios
(emissions factor )*
(average floor area)/
1000 kilograms

11. model results
detailed and summarized results
Transportation Trip length
tCO2
0 detailed impacts of
Mode shift 0
Public transport
Sub-total
0
0
each variable on GHGs
% of Total 0%
total & per capita GHG
Road Road length, asphalt 0
Road length, gravel
Sub-total
0
0
emissions summary
% of Total 0%
chart generation
Buildings Process energy 0
Community energy 0
Sub-total 0
% of Total 0 GHG (tC02e)
Waste Solid 0
Liquid 0
Sub-total 0
% of Total 0%
Biomass Agriculture- local food 0

12. accessing GHGProof
free for non-profit purposes;
users must share changes they make at:
http://www.sustainabilitysolutions.ca/landuse
Jesse Dill, Associate Member
Sustainability Solutions Group
jesse@sustainabilitysolutions.ca