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Carbon Footprint Estimation in a University Campus: Evaluation and Insights

Author

Listed:
  • Pablo Yañez

    (Department of Community Engagement, Vice-Presidency of Outreach and Engagement, University of Talca, 346000 Talca, Chile)

  • Arijit Sinha

    (Department of Wood Science and Engineering, College of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA)

  • Marcia Vásquez

    (Department of Environmental Forest Management, Faculty of Forestry Sciences, University of Talca, 346000 Talca, Chile)

Abstract

Background: The University of Talca (UT), since 2012, has been annually tracking the carbon footprint (CF) based on the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol for all its five campuses. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the trajectory for determining the CF on campuses and identify the stressors. Methods: GHG protocol separates emissions into three scopes—1) direct; 2) indirect; 3) other indirect emissions. This study reports the emissions on the Talca campuses that are related to Scopes 1 through 3. The data is closely studied to draw inferences on the factors most affecting CF and recommend improvements. Results: The estimation of the CF in Scope 1 and Scope 2 were 2 0.03 tCO 2 e and 0.25 tCO 2 e per person per year, respectively. Results show Scope 3, which measures indirect emissions generated by activities like transportation of people, produced the highest contribution of 0.41 tCO 2 e per person to the UT’s CF in 2016. Conclusions: The study strongly suggested that transportation of students and faculty to and from the campus is one of the main stressors. The study of the main campus of Talca to quantify the CF is of immense value to institutions of higher educations as it provides a guideline and a comparative metric for other institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Pablo Yañez & Arijit Sinha & Marcia Vásquez, 2019. "Carbon Footprint Estimation in a University Campus: Evaluation and Insights," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2019:i:1:p:181-:d:301736
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Pengtao Xu & Jianguang Zhang & Usman Mehmood, 2023. "How Do Green Investments, Foreign Direct Investment, and Renewable Energy Impact CO 2 Emissions? Measuring the Role of Education in E-7 Nations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-20, September.
    2. Clément Auger & Benoit Hilloulin & Benjamin Boisserie & Maël Thomas & Quentin Guignard & Emmanuel Rozière, 2021. "Open-Source Carbon Footprint Estimator: Development and University Declination," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, April.
    3. Fatin Samara & Sahar Ibrahim & Mohammed Ekrima Yousuf & Rose Armour, 2022. "Carbon Footprint at a United Arab Emirates University: GHG Protocol," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-22, February.
    4. Melanie Harrer & Julia Danzer & Ralf Aschemann & Stefanie Hölbling, 2021. "Low Carbon Diet: Integrating Gastronomy Service Emissions into the Carbon Management of the University of Graz," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Antonio Guerrero-Lucendo & Fuensanta García-Orenes & Jose Navarro-Pedreño & David Alba-Hidalgo, 2022. "General Mapping of the Environmental Performance in Climate Change Mitigation of Spanish Universities through a Standardized Carbon Footprint Calculation Tool," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-24, September.

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