Design and Development of a Carbon Footprint Calculation Model for Universiti Tenaga Nasional

Abstract

Carbon footprint is the amount of a greenhouse gas (GHG) produced as a result of human activities, usually expressed in equivalent kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2). As the amount of greenhouse gases emission increases, the global temperature increases. In the context of a global awareness of the climate change, carbon footprint has recently become extensively calculated and ways to reduce it are proposed. The purpose of this research is to calculate the amount of carbon footprint discharged by students in College of Engineering (COE), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN). From this research a model to calculate the carbon dioxide emission released from the activities done by the COE students particularly, is developed. Literature reviews are done leading to an explanation of what emission categories should be presented in a CO2 calculation for a university. This includes emission sources in each buildings, activities and services in COE particularly. Conducting survey is one of the methods to get the data from the students and staffs directly. From this data, the calculation is done and tabulated in the Excel template. From this template model, the carbon footprint for each or total students of COE can be known. Referring to this data, CO2 reduction strategy in COE particularly and UNITEN generally can be proposed.