Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory of a University in the Philippines: the Case of UP Cebu

Abstract

Estimating the carbon emission of a university is a key step towards carbon neutrality in the education sector and in contributing to the national greenhouse gas emission (GHG) inventory. Following the guidelines of the Philippine Climate Change Commission (CCC), this study examined the university GHG profile using the University of the Philippines Cebu (UPC) as a case study. The main goals were to create a GHG inventory that could serve as a model for other educational institutions in the Philippines and evaluate mitigation strategies that could potentially reduce emissions. Total emission of UPC in 2018 was estimated to be 1,520.6 tCO2e, equivalent to 1.1 tCO2e/capita/yr. The highest contributor to the UPC emission was student mobility, which accounted for 47.2% (717.5 tCO2e) of the total. As the university progressed through the K-12 transition years and assuming a business-as-usual scenario, it was projected that GHG emission had increased by 9.1% (151.4 tCO2e) in 2019 and by 13.6% (238.3 tCO2e) in 2020. If UPC had mitigated its emission in 2018 such as reducing its purchased electricity consumption to 7.5% by shifting to solar energy, total emission could have been reduced by 1.8% or 27.4 tCO2e. If there had been 10% less travels such as by opting to videoconferencing, UPC could have reduced its emission by 0.3% or 5.2 tCO2e. Finally, if UPC had reduced 10% of its solid waste disposal to landfills such as by recycling, carbon emission would have been lessened by 0.3% or 4.7 tCO2e. Through this research, UPC is the first national university in the Philippines to measure its carbon emissions using CCC guidelines. An understanding of the university carbon footprint could significantly raise awareness among stakeholders of their roles and responsibilities in creating a sustainable campus. Moving forward, it is recommended that the inventory would be continued for the succeeding years.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the carbon footprint of a Philippine university

“…The Lahug campus serves as the main campus for classes, offices, and other related activities, while the SRP campus serves as a campus extension. We chose to investigate UP Cebu because there had been a comprehensive carbon footprint inventory for the 2018 base year before the COVID-19 pandemic [16]. In this study, the inventory was continued for 2019 and 2020.…”

“…Based on the 2018 emission inventory [16], the following activities in UP Cebu produced greenhouse gases: fuel consumption (scope 1), electricity consumption (scope 2), official travel (scope 3), student and staff mobility (scope 3), solid waste disposal to landfills (scope 3), and untreated wastewater disposal (scope 3). Information on the university population, days present on campus, etc are listed in table 1.…”