Reduction Strategies

Reduction Strategies are the actions your organization will take to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) you produce. Here’s how to use Reduction Strategies in Climate Smart.

On this page:

• Choose Reduction Strategies
• Filter Reduction Strategies
• Edit Reduction Strategies
• Status

Choose Reduction Strategies

Reduction Plans should have at least 3 to 5 strategies. You can add as many Reduction Strategies to your plan as you want, but make sure it’s feasible for your organization. The main goal of a Reduction Plan is to be achievable!

To choose your Reduction Strategies, consider:

• What are your three highest sources of GHG emissions? Your Reduction Strategies should target them. If you’re not sure where to find this information, check your inventory summary.
• What are realistic strategies for your organization’s budget, timeline, and staffing?
• Are there other benefits these strategies can achieve for your organization, such as improving efficiency or lowering operational costs?

Check inventory summary

Check your inventory summary to discover your highest sources of GHG emissions while choosing Reduction Strategies. Find this page by following these steps:

1. In your top navigation, click Track & Reduce.
2. Click Year Over Year Reports.
3. On the Year over year reports page, review the information under Breakdown by type (metric tonnes CO2 equivalent) to find your highest sources of emissions.

Filter Reduction Strategies

When creating or updating a Reduction Plan, use search filters to find Reduction Strategies. If you can’t find the strategy you need, you can also create a custom Reduction Strategy.

After choosing filters, click APPLY to search or click CLEAR FILTERS to start over.

Here’s what each filter means.

Activity

Select one or more activities that might be related to the Reduction Strategy you’re looking for. These activities are from your inventory.

Industry Sector (NAICS)

Select one or more industries that might be related to your organization and/or the Reduction Strategy you’re looking for.

Industry sectors are based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). These codes classify business types, for example, transportation or agriculture.

Estimated Impact

Select the checkbox next to high, medium, or low based on how much the Reduction Strategy might lower your greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. For example, switching to electric vehicles might significantly lower your organization’s emissions, meaning it has a high estimated impact.

High impact strategies will lower emissions faster but they’re also more resource intensive. This means you might need to buy new equipment or hire more team members to achieve them. Discuss with your team to decide which Reduction Strategies are best for your organization.

Keyword

Enter a word to search for any Reduction Strategies that contain it. For example, enter “light” to search for any Reduction Strategies related to lighting.

Custom Strategies

If you’ve created any custom Reduction Strategies, select this checkbox to only search for the ones you created.

Edit Reduction Strategies

You’ll need to edit the Reduction Strategies you add to your Reduction Plan to keep them updated throughout the year.

To edit a Reduction strategy:

1. Navigate to your Reductions Manager. You can scroll to this section on your dashboard, or in your top navigation, click Track & Reduce and select Reductions Manager to jump there.
2. Click a Reduction Plan to open it.
3. Under Reduction Strategies, find the strategy you want to update. Next to this strategy, click EDIT.
4. You’ll find yourself on the Edit Reduction Strategy page. Here, you can update:
   • Status: Select a new status from the drop-down list. Learn more about statuses.
   • Estimated implementation start and due dates: Add or change the date your strategy will start and end.
   • Actual implementation date: Add or change the date your organization started using the Reduction Strategy.
   • Notes: Add or change additional information for your team. For example, mention if this strategy applies to a specific location or if a specific employee is responsible for overseeing it.
5. When you’re done, click UPDATE REDUCTION STRATEGY.

Status types

By default, Reduction Strategies are set to Considered. Edit a Reduction Strategy to update its status as you work on your Reduction Plan.

Here’s what each status means.

Status	Description
Considered	Reduction Strategy has the potential to be included in your Reduction Plan but needs to be explored by your team first.
Planned	Your team has decided to use this Reduction Strategy and has an estimated implementation date. This might include finalized discussions about budget and timelines. When updating this status, you should also update your Est. Implementation Start and Est. Implementation Due dates.
Implemented	Reduction Strategy has been put into action. When updating this status, you should also update your Actual Implementation Date.
Not Feasible	Reduction Strategy was applicable to your organization but couldn’t be put into action due to budgeting, building approvals, or other barriers.
Abandoned	Reduction Strategy was planned or implemented at some point, but never completed.