Assessing carbon dioxide emissions from energy use at a university

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to assess the carbon dioxide emissions associated with electric, HVAC, and hot water use from a US university. Design/methodology/approach -First, the total on-campus electrical, natural gas and oil consumption for an entire year was assessed. For each category of energy use, the carbon associated with consumption of a single unit was calculated. Using this, the total carbon dioxide emissions for the entire university were estimated. Findings -It was found that the university's activities resulted in approximately 4 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per student per year. In total, the university emitted nearly 38,000 tons of carbon dioxide during the 2007 fiscal year. In addition, it was found that emissions from on-campus steam production, which account for roughly 57 per cent of total CO 2 emissions, would be improved with the addition of two proposed cogeneration facilities. Originality/value -The originality and value of this paper is attributed to: the recent international concern over CO 2 emissions and their global warming impact; the increasing adoption of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment which in part calls for an inventory of campus emissions; and the underdeveloped research area relating to total university campus carbon footprint estimation.

Promoting energy efficiency in a South African university

“…Case studies are a popular qualitative research methodology [48]. Case studies have been adopted in various studies with a sustainable campus focus [49][50][51][52][53][54]. The university that formed this case study is one of South Africa's the largest residential universities, with a student population of roughly 50 000 and a person-nel complement of approximately 6 000.…”

An action research approach for embedding education for sustainability in a university undergraduate curriculum

“…These provide a systematic structure to manage and improve the environmental performance of the organisation. Several stories of transformation of universities in terms of environmental management of the estates and operations can be found in the literature (Downey, 2004;Nicolaides, 2006;Sammalisto & Lindhqvist, 2008;Sharp, 2002 (Atherton & Giurco, 2011;Button, 2009;Cleaves et al, 2009;Rauch & Newman, 2009;Riddell et al, 2009). Universities can play an important role as stakeholders in decision-making and in assisting regional and national policy developments to meet the climate change challenge (Coffman, 2009 Corporate social responsibility and procurement practices are other areas of development in…”

Realizing Low Carbon Emission in the University Campus towards Energy Sustainability

“…Researches in campus sustainability show concern for environmental issues along sustainable transportation in the university communities [15]- [17], as well as sustainability in waste management programs [18], while innovations in the green design movement including GIS-based evaluation of greenery [19], greening campus restaurant [20] and greenway corridor [21], green transport, green buildings, and green energy among others appear to be the trend. The assessment of the carbon dioxide emissions associated with on-campus electrical, natural gas and oil consumption is more common in the university in recent times [22].…”

“…As a way to establish the quantities of carbon emission and set targets to mitigate the condition, attempts are made to develop the indices with which campus sustainability could be measured; example is the assessment of carbon dioxide emissions associated with on-campus electrical, natural gas and oil consumption [22]. More universities are developing carbon emission inventories [25]- [29].…”