To assist in understanding the level of GHG emissions, we have
benchmarked our emissions against some of our international
peers in the integrated oil and gas cluster. In reviewing these
figures, it is important to appreciate that the size, products,
processes, equipment and regulatory reporting requirements in
each of these companies may differ significantly. The data
provided below is not intended to be used as a basis for making
direct company-to-company comparisons, but rather is intended
as a general indication − at a very broad level only − of how Sasol
compares with other large companies, with the aim of making our
emissions data more meaningful.
While Sasol's products and process are in many respects unique,
we have chosen to assess our performance against the following
oil and gas companies: BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Petrobras, Shell
and Total. The data quoted below comes from the most recent
public report of the Carbon Disclosure Project
(www.cdproject.net) and is based on submissions from each
company. Recognising that there are some limitations with this
comparison, we are committed in future to providing a more
meaningful benchmark that, for example, compares carbon
dioxide emissions per unit of energy provided throughout the products' life cycle. A broad life-cycle assessment of the
environmental implications of Sasol's GTL and CTL technologies is
provided on pages 21 − 22.
Another approach to understanding our carbon dioxide emissions
is to consider the nature of our contribution to overall carbon
dioxide emissions in South Africa. South Africa's most recent
national communication, issued in terms of the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change is dated October 2000 and
provides a GHG inventory using 1994 data. An updated national
GHG Inventory is being compiled.
Pending the publication of this inventory, it is suggested that a
reasonable estimate of South Africa's emissions is provided by the
Climate Analysis Indicators Tool of the World Resources Institute
(http://cait.wri.org/). Using data from the International Energy
Agency, the WRI estimates that in 2000 South Africa emitted
349 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. While this is not a completely
accurate figure, it is seen as a reasonable estimate for the purposes
of this assessment. Recent studies of GHG emissions in South Africa
highlight the predominant contribution of the fuel combustion
sector, with Eskom and Sasol being amongst the most significant
contributors. Eskom's publicly reported emissions of carbon dioxide
for the year ending March 2006 is 203 million tonnes (Eskom 2006
annual report). For the year ending June 2006, Sasol's GHG
emissions amounted to 75,4 million tonnes. |
