The carbon emissions created using fossil fuels for energy are the first place the carbon to the environment. Thermal power plants that burn coal or natural gas provide a significant part of this energy. It does not seem possible to avoid thermal power plants in the short term in future policies regarding energy. Thus, using the waste heat of these power plants for domestic heating to reduce carbon emissions for energy production also decreasing the global climate crisis is a critical practice. In terms of reducing the carbon footprint and the adverse effects of thermal power plants these practices are necessary steps. In this study, two scenarios were created to reduce the carbon footprint of heating based on waste heat from the natural gas thermal power plant in Sakarya. This is considered with the district heating system in houses. For domestic heating, natural gas is used in the first scenario, coal is used in the second scenario, and the carbon footprint is determined. Emissions from the power plant's use of coal and natural gas are also determined. District heating using waste heat and its process and installation cost was also analyzed. As a result, it has been revealed that there will be a carbon reduction of 461,161.2 tons/year CO2e when natural gas is not used for domestic heating and 605,159.6 tons/year CO2e when coal is not used. All this is possible by the use of waste heat. The annual carbon emission of the power plant using natural gas was found to be 1,263,260.8 tons/year CO2e, and the emission value was found to be 9,682,554 tons/year CO2e when coal was used in the power plant. The study results will guide policymakers to reduce the carbon footprint of heating using district heating systems, both in Turkey and developing countries where fossil fuel thermal power plants are used.

Climate change, one of the biggest threat of global life, is continuously triggered by greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere due to human activities. Carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the most important greenhouse gases, has revealed the concept of carbon footprint, and efforts to take mitigation measures by calculating it have become widespread. With sustainable campus studies, universities, where science and innovations are created, lead other institutions by creating the necessary database for measuring and managing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and calculating the corporate carbon footprint. This study calculated and compared the carbon footprints of Sakarya University Esentepe Campus for 2019 and 2020 when distance education was carried out during the Covid-19 pandemic. Greenhouse gas emissions resulting from activities on campus have been calculated and converted to a CO2 equivalent. GHG emission factors and the Tier-1 method of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were used for calculations. As a result, the carbon footprint in 2019 was 13.273,38 tCO2e and 6338,72 tCO2e in 2020. It has been identified that electrical energy causes the largest share of carbon emissions. The results obtained for both years were compared, and the 47.7% reduction in total emissions was evaluated. Following current studies on carbon emission reduction, suggestions and future measures are summarized in this research.