Investigating the Carbon Footprint of a University - The case of NTNU

Abstract

In this paper we apply an Environmental Extended Input-Output (EEIO) model to calculate the Carbon Footprint (CF) of the Norwegian University of Technology and Science (NTNU). Results show that the CF of NTNU is very significant with an average contribution of 4.6 tonnes per student. In particular, the purchase of large amounts of equipment and consumables for scientific use is found to be an important contributor to this. In the paper we also derive per-department CFs, enabled by the standardized structure of the financial accounting system used by the university. Results show large variations in the CF of the different faculties. Social Science and Humanities have a significantly lower CF per student compared to Natural Science, Engineering, and, in particular, the Faculty of Medicine. The single most important CF contributing input to the university is, however, allocated to the property department regarding the use of energy and other building related activities. Also, the CF structures of the departments/ faculties show large differences that indicate that different mitigation strategies are needed. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.