Assessing the carbon footprint of a university campus using a life cycle assessment approach

Clabeaux, Raeanne; Carbajales‐Dale, Michael; Ladner, David A.; Walker, Terry

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122600

Cited by 71 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…On the contrary, other emission sources which are usually considered in Scope 3 are included in Scope 1 in some studies. For example, the purchase of fertilisers is included in Scope 1 by Bailey and LaPoint ( 2016 ) and Clabeaux et al ( 2020 ), water supply by Budihardjo et al ( 2020 ), Syafrudin et al ( 2020 ) and Ullah et al ( 2020 ) and wastewater treatment by Clabeaux et al ( 2020 ) and Criollo et al ( 2019 ). Finally, fuel used in power generators, which is usually considered in Scope 1, is included in Scope 2 by Güereca et al ( 2013 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon footprint in Higher Education Institutions: a literature review and prospects for future research

Valls-Val

Bovea

2021

Clean Techn Environ Policy

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Graphic abstract Higher Education Institutions (HEI) or universities, as organisations engaged in education, research and community services, play an important role in promoting sustainable development. Therefore, they are increasingly linked to the initiative of calculating their carbon footprint (CF), which is a tool to assess sustainability from the perspective of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The aim of this study is to carry out a systematic review of the current situation of CF assessment in academic institutions by analysing different key elements, such as the time period, methodologies and practises, calculation tools, emission sources, emission factors and reduction plans. The review protocol considered articles published until March 2021. Of the articles reviewed, 35 are aimed specifically at calculating the CF of HEI, while the remaining articles consist of review, activity-specific CF assessment or GHG emission reduction articles. Clear differences have been identified when results are compared for the normalised CF (average of 2.67 t CO 2 e/student, ranging from 0.06 to 10.94) or the percentage of carbon offsetting, only considered in 14% of the studies and ranging from 0.09 to 18%. The main reason for this is the lack of standardisation as regards the time metric (year, semester), functional unit (student, employee, area) and data collection boundary (scope 1, 2, 3), the emissions sources and emission factors, mainly for scope 3 (water consumption and treatment, waste treatment, office, ICT and laboratory consumables, commuting and travel, construction materials, canteens, etc.), and the inclusion or not of the effect of carbon offset projects to offset the CF (aim of the project and absorption sources and factors). However, despite the differences, a reduction over time is clearly observed. Therefore, CF in HEI requires further improvements and solutions to a number of challenges, including the definition of representative emission sources, the creation of a robust emission factor database and the development of tools/methodologies that cover all the needs of this type of organisation.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon footprint in Higher Education Institutions: a literature review and prospects for future research

Valls-Val

Bovea

2021

Clean Techn Environ Policy

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“…An interesting example of the use of LCA to verify the carbon footprint of a university campus was performed by Clabeaux et al. (2020) .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The environmental impacts of face-to-face and remote university classes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Silva

Giusti

Rampasso

et al. 2021

Sustainable Production and Consumption

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“…Carbon footprints in universities have been studied by several authors [13][14][15][16][17][18]. Methodological inconsistencies, especially regarding the organizational boundaries selected for the analysis, have been reported as a major difficulty.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Open-Source Carbon Footprint Estimator: Development and University Declination

Auger

Hilloulin

Boisserie³

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut to limit climate change. Thus, universities, in the same way as citizens and companies, are starting to raise awareness about this issue and to take action to reduce their carbon footprint. Centrale Nantes, a French “Grande école”, initiated a low carbon transition with the calculation of the 2018 carbon footprint of the university. This report presents an individual carbon footprint estimator developed within the scope of the university, based on the new open-source French national simulator called “Nos Gestes Climat” proposed by ABC (Association Bilan Carbone (Association for the implementation of Carbon footprint assessment)) and ADEME (French Environment and Energy Management Agency). Development context and important features of the national version are described. Then, to meet university user’s expectations, feedback from a panel of testers has been collected in order to guide the declination development and promote good practices ensuring user engagement. The transparency of the data model, the accurate explanations, the variety of actions have been found to be key success factors for the development and the adoption of such a simulator. Results also suggested that users are keen to involve themselves in the university initiative to reach carbon neutrality.

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Assessing the carbon footprint of a university campus using a life cycle assessment approach

Cited by 71 publications

References 32 publications

Carbon footprint in Higher Education Institutions: a literature review and prospects for future research

Carbon footprint in Higher Education Institutions: a literature review and prospects for future research

The environmental impacts of face-to-face and remote university classes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Open-Source Carbon Footprint Estimator: Development and University Declination

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