Making the Case for Decarbonization Projects

Organizations are setting progressive decarbonization goals to meet regulatory requirements and achieve strategic objectives. However, not all decarbonization projects are created equal.

How do we know which decarbonization projects in which to invest? How can we balance capital planning, financial, and decarbonization objectives? Can decarbonization also achieve non-energy benefits? How do we deal with uncertainties such as rising carbon taxes?

Understanding how to balance competing objectives and navigate the most cost-effective path to achieving carbon reductions is crucial for a successful decarbonization program.

This one-day course is designed to provide participants with hands-on experience in analyzing decarbonization projects. It covers fundamental concepts such as incremental costs, carbon pricing, net present values, total costs of building ownership, and how to determine the necessary elements for a decision matrix. Throughout the day, participants actively engage in creating a business case for a decarbonization project by going through each step. At the end of the course, participants are asked to present their decarbonization recommendations.

This course provides tools and knowledge to analyze the total cost of ownership and create a business case for decarbonization projects. With this information, participants can make informed decisions on which decarbonization projects to pursue to ultimately achieve their organization’s carbon reduction targets. 

In this course, you will learn to

• Identify decarbonization opportunities. 
• Analyze project financial metrics such as incremental costs, the total cost of ownership or life cycle cost analysis, net present value, internal rate of return, $/greenhouse gas. 
• Compare various decarbonization opportunities and select the best ones. 
• Consider the effects of varying carbon prices on projects. 
• Develop a one-page proposal to pitch a decarbonization opportunity. 

This course is ideal for

This course is relevant to anyone involved in facility management, operations management and planning, or sustainability planning. It is especially valuable to those tasked with identifying and implementing decarbonization projects in commercial, industrial, multi-unit residential, and institutional buildings. 

• Sustainability, environment, or decarbonization managers 
• Planning or strategy managers 
• Energy managers 
• Accountants 
• Consultants 
• Operational efficiency specialists