The City of Knoxville's Office of Sustainability performs regular monitoring of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from both municipal operations and our community as a whole.  These GHG inventories provide context for how various local activities, like transportation and energy use, emit key gases that are the leading cause of climate change.  A GHG inventory is a best estimate, and as better data becomes available these datasets are revisited to fine tune how we pinpoint GHG emissions.  

	Click chart to enlarge

Below you will find a mix of materials and reports that give a snapshot of our local emissions.  The Office of Sustainability uses a BASIC+ reporting standard (chart on right).  This is a prominent standard in community greenhouse gas reporting.  If you have general questions about the inventories or about City of Knoxville sustainability efforts, please email us (sustainability@knoxvilletn.gov).  If you'd like to learn more about greenhouse gases and their impacts on our planet, we highly recommend NASA's Climate Change web portal. 


Helpful definitions

Scope 1 - Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources.  Examples: Gasoline used by cars and natural gas furnaces.

Scope 2 - Indirect emissions from owned or controlled sources.  Example: Electricity purchased from the grid.

Scope 3 - Indirect emissions from the value chain of a reporting entity.  Examples: Waste generated in the City but disposed of out-of-boundary and City employees commuting to work.

CO2e - Carbon dioxide equivalent means the n umber of metric tons  of CO2 emissions with the same global warming potential as one metric ton of another greenhouse gas.  In the information below, CO2e equals CO2 plus CH4 and N2O multiplied by their individual global warming potential factors.  For more information on global warming potentials, we recommend EPA's website and FAQ.