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

Abstract

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.

COVID-19 Pandemic Effect on Energy Consumption in State Universities: Michoacan, Mexico Case Study

“…Likewise, in a particular way, the reduction in electrical energy consumption could be identified in the buildings and laboratories of some universities in Europe, with significant levels of decrease, as has been reported in some studies [25,35]. This translates into reduced environmental impact [36][37][38] and energy costs.…”

“…The mitigation of CO 2e emissions in universities, as in the rest of the world, as a result of the pandemic, is also significant [50] and it has been common in all the universities of the world [38]. In contrast, the reduction of CO 2 emissions as a result of the reduction of energy consumption in universities [38,46] has represented a mitigation strategy resulting from the pandemic, which has contributed to the reduction of the carbon footprint in the entire world's education sector [36].…”

A Framework for Integrating Green Highway Performance Data with the Carbon Footprint Calculator in Malaysia

“…Carbon footprint technology is still emerging as a means of benchmarking and comparison, especially regarding the precision of calculations and the consistency of measurement methods (Li, et al, 2021;Valls-Val and Bovea, 2021). Nevertheless, the implications of personal decisions must be discussed in further depth until a normative definition of responsible action towards emission reductions is developed (Kar, et al, 2015).…”

General Mapping of the Environmental Performance in Climate Change Mitigation of Spanish Universities through a Standardized Carbon Footprint Calculation Tool

“…The assessment of the calculation of CF in HEIs has been considered as one of the initial steps towards campus environmental sustainability [ 15 , 16 ], and CF reporting the start of sustainable educational practices [ 17 ]. The CF of an organization can be defined as the measurement of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused directly and indirectly due to its activity [ 18 ].…”

“…Although there are no relevant references that evidence the use of CF as an environmental performance indicator in HEIs [ 14 ], the assessment of CF in these organizations is widely registered: The literature contains a few studies focused on comparing the CFs of different HEIs belonging to specific associations in a specific geographical area [ 16 ], such as Bailey and LaPoint [ 20 ], who compared the CF from nine universities located in Texas (USA) or Robinson et al [ 21 ] with 20 colleges in the United Kingdom. In some cases, they are very detailed studies, but pertaining to a single university, such as Abdelalim et al [ 22 ], which reported individual CFs for 42 buildings on the Carleton University campus in Canada.…”