The Effects of the Covid-19 Period on Carbon Footprint in Sakarya University Esentepe Campus

Abstract

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.