Carbon Footprint (CO2 Emissions)

Carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide or CO2 emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels; in the case of an organization, business or enterprise, as part of their everyday operations; in the case of an individual or household, as part of their daily lives; or a product or commodity in reaching market. In materials, is essentially a measure of embodied energy, the result of life cycle analysis.

A carbon footprint is often expressed as tons of carbon dioxide or tons of carbon emitted, usually on a yearly basis. This is directly related to the amount of natural resources consumed, increasingly used or referred to as a measure of environmental impact. Carbon dioxide is recognized as a greenhouse gas, of which increasing levels in the atmosphere are linked to global warming and climate change.

How does IndustryPlayer integrate the Carbon Footprint into it's Simulation?

Every Industry has a Co2 emission coefficient based on it's real greenhouse gas emission volumes. Each player's current and cumulated Carbon Footprint is calculated and shown within the game.

Emissions Trading

Each player's contribution to climate change is calculated on the basis of his companies GHG emissions. If a player's overall emissions remain lower than the average emissions of all active players companies, his remaining unused emission allowances are reimbursed. Otherwise, if a player's emissions exceed the average GHG output, he needs to buy additional emission allowances. This very effective, self-regulating mechanism refers to the Emission Trading Schemes currently applied in more and more countries and regions.

Increasing Energy Costs

Considering the strong increase in global energy consumption and with conventional energy resources becoming more and more scarce, energy costs are likely to climb more strongly than most other costs in production. Therefore, the IndustryPlayer Economy simulates a continuous energy cost inflation. Increasing energy costs primarily affect the production costs and the profitability of industries which are relatively strong energy consumers.

CSR based Tax Incentive

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) stands for a company's voluntary consideration of all stakeholders interests and of it's overall environmental impact. CSR is closely linked with the principles of sustainable development. In IndustryPlayer, each participant's holding has a CSR Rating, which is determined by it's cumulated greenhouse gas emissions, by it's labour policy and quality control in production. Players who achieve a strong CSR Rating are rewarded with a discount of up to 50% on their income tax payments.

Climate Change Index

IndustryPlayer has a Climate Change Index which indicates the current temperature anomaly caused by the cumulated greenhouse gas emissions of all active companies.

Links/Sources

Wikipedia Carbon Footprint

Carnegie Mellon University: Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment

2012-02-04 08:22:21

Players: 18

Companies: 32

Population: 5,543,374

245 Industries/16 Sectors

Climate Change +1.7°C/3.1F

Average CSR Rating: 1.59

Interest Rate: 6%

Tax Rate: 20%