The carbon footprint of a university campus

Case study of Yildiz Technical University, Davutpaşa Campus, Turkey.

Abstract

In this study, the carbon footprint of Yildiz Technical University (YTU), Davutpaşa Campus was calculated to draw attention to the sustainable use of resources, what needs to be done against global climate change, and to reveal the responsibilities of universities in this regard and the importance of their contributions. This study was carried out to emphasize the need for higher education institutions to lead in reducing the carbon footprint in every living area in our country. IPCC and DEFRA methods were used to calculate the carbon footprint. The emission values obtained for 2019 and 2020 were 15244.4 and 7213.3 t of CO₂, respectively. The largest component of emissions is electricity consumption, followed by transportation. The obtained values are similar to the results of the studies conducted on other university campuses. The reason for the low emission value in 2020 is the application of the online education system due to the pandemic. The precautions to be taken to reduce the carbon footprint are stated and suggestions are made. YTU, which has already adopted a new environmental policy, is rapidly advancing towards becoming a sustainable campus. In line with the sustainable campus vision, the carbon footprint is expected to decrease significantly.