Carbon Footprint Measurement

Carbon footprints in educational institutes

is contributed by:
 Energy
 Resources
 Water
 Waste
 Food
 Transportation
Energy

Energy consumption is a direct cause of

CO2 emissions from a school.
Energy Types which leaves carbon foot
print:
Electricity
LPG
Coal
Resources

 Schools are large consumers of resources

– from paper and books to food and sports
equipment.
 School is often unaware of the source of
many products used in the school
 Energy Consumption  CO 2 per kWh   CO 2( Kg ) per Re am
 Annual Re venue  Price per Ream of Paper 
 Estimate of 700 gms of CO2 per kWh of energy produced
Water

 Water pumping and treatment causes

CO2 emissions.

Volume of Water Pumped  CO 2( kg ) / m3 pumped ortreated  CO 2 ( kg ) per anum

Waste
 Waste produced represents “the grave” for
the life cycle of the majority of products
used within the schools.
 Indirect CO2 emissions from waste
products are caused by transportation to
disposal facilities and the emissions from
the breakdown or combustion of the
waste.
Tonnes of Waste per Annum X 94kg CO2 per tone of waste landfilled  CO2(kg) per annum
Food

 Chilled or frozen food require much more

energy for storage (and hence a higher
carbon footprint).

 Frozen foods tend to be stored for longer,

thus accumulates a higher carbon footprint
by the time they are consumed.
Transportation
 Transport in educational Institutes is used not just for
movement of students but also for movement of
resources

 Each liter of fuel burnt produces carbon in the form of

carbon dioxide.

 Amount of CO2 produced depends on the fuel

efficiency of vehicle and distance traveled.

 E.g: 170 gms of CO2 for small cars per passenger per
km, 310 for medium cars and 600 for buses.
Measurement of carbon footprint in
Indian educational institutes
 Indian educational institutes have woken
up to the environmental issues.
 There have been conscious efforts to
measure and reduce the carbon footprints
 Anna University, Chennai took an initiative
to measure the carbon footprint in its
campus.
Environment Performance of Educational
Institutes
Energy consumption pattern in the University

Water audit and to give sustainable solutions for

usage

Effect of noise inside the campus at various locations

Environmental performance analysis of the

educational institution

Prepare an Ecomap for the University campus

Energy Audit

 Real time readings of electrical energy

consumption taken for each building
during the three periods:
Examination Period
Weekend
Semester Break
 Utility areas was studied for the luminance
and the comfort of the user
Energy Audit: Results
S. NO MONTH HT5 ( kWh) HT547(kWh) TOTAL ( kWh)

1 May 70500 25010 95510

2 June 73950 31690 105610
3 July 75839 28200 104039
4 August 75730 29940 103670
5 September 81730 31890 113620
6 October 71730 25010 96740

• Energy is the area where the university spends the most

• The major electricity usage is by air conditioners inside the
campus which is also the potential source of CFC emission
• Use the air conditioners more effectively and only in areas of
necessity
• Some experiments even suggest that excessive noise
can cause miscarriage
• Prolonged exposure to noise can impair the personality
shape-up of an individual
• Excessive noise levels causes hypertension and
coronary diseases
• In schools, studies have shown that loud noise levels can
impair brain activity and reduce thinking ability
• Loud noise levels causes tiredness, irritation
Noise Pollution
Noise Audit

 Mainly due to the vehicular movement,

anthropogenic sounds, laboratory works,
operation of generator’s, machineries etc
 Noise-meter readings were taken at various
locations such as
Canteen Blocks
Class rooms
Conference Hall
Hostel Blocks
Main Building
Noise Audit: Results
S. NO Location Noise Level
(db)
1 Classrooms, Main Building, 53.7 – 76.4
Other study areas
2 Near hostel buildings 54.567.2
3 Near running machineries, 58.6 – 78.2
laboratories
4 All other utility areas 67.2 – 82.6

• Environment Rules 1986, state that ambient noise levels should be

within 55 db for residential areas.
• Equipments causing higher noise levels should be properly
insulated or replaced.
• Noise barricades be provided in classrooms and libraries along with
noise absorbants
Water Audit
 Water audit identifies productive use and
needless waste
 A comprehensive water audit can uncover costly
inefficiencies in water utilization and distribution
 Data was collected for water audit through
following methods:
University water supply data from estate office
Trends for water usage for gardening, laboratory,
canteen etc through secondary data at estate office
Water lost is calculated as
(operational time of the pumps, h/day) × (pumps’ capacity, m3/h)
Education for Sustainability

 Tomorrows future decision makers should

be trained today
 Proactively teach students about the
environmental and social impacts
 Besides green awareness let students
learn through holistic training and practical
experience
The Sustainability Plan

 Commitment to emissions reduction

 Institutional structures and support
 Emissions inventory
 Developing the plan
 Recommendations, approval and
implementation
 Climate action planning over the long haul
Commitment to emissions reduction
Some Campus Initiatives

 High level of commitment from all the

stakeholders
 Top leadership to guide the authority
through actions such as:
Integrated Planning
Campus Initiatives
Governmental Laws
Institutional structures and support

 Sustainability plan is a people centric

process
 Requires coordinated efforts from each
individual
 Institutes should integrate the
sustainability plan across all verticals
 Important people should be at the key
posts to ensure smooth implementation
and working of the plan
Emissions inventory
 Calculation of Carbon footprint is most
important step
 All calculated data should be properly
recorded and archived for comparison
later
 In case historic data is unavailable,
Institutes should start recording present
data for future use
 Both Indirect and direct emissions must be
calculated
Cost-Benefit & Feasibility Analysis
 Analyze wide variety of options/plans for
implementation. For e.g.
 Purchasing green utility power
 Using CFLs
 Buying retail carbon offsets
 Rank options in terms of cost and the CO2
reductions
 Feasibility is generally done in these two areas:
 Infrastructure
 Behavior Changes
Planning for the Long Term

 All sustainability plans should be long term

 Besides proper planning and execution,
proper monitoring is also required
 Yale university publishes annual reports
containing the progress of the
sustainability plans
 All plans should can be incorporated right
at induction of students and can be made
a part of the curriculum too