Carbon Footprint Evaluation and Reduction as a Climate Change Mitigation Tool – Case Study of Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Since the knowledge of carbon footprint evaluation, co-operations have since been striving to set an example of environmental responsibility by establishing environmentally sound policies and practices, and by developing curricula and research initiatives to support an environmentally sustainable future. One of the most recent efforts in this quest was the urge to create awareness and evaluate carbon footprint for the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) for the period August 2011 to July 2012. It stressed the need to conduct a detailed and comprehensive carbon footprint analysis for the whole University. The aim of this analysis was to determine the carbon footprint of FUNAAB, not only to give a tangible number with which the University’s carbon sustainability level can be compared with other academic institutions, but also to provide the much-needed baseline against which future mitigation efforts on the university campus can be measured. In this paper, boundary conditions were set out to identify the various emission sources on campuses using international standards like the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission factor. Using a genuinely analytical questionnaire, surveys, and interviews, data on the various emission sources were collected. The data collected was analyzed and used for the calculation of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in FUNAAB using the appropriate emission factors from Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) guidelines and GHG emission data respectively. FUNAAB’s carbon footprint for the 2011/2012 session was found to be about 5,935 tons CO2, with transportation, campus energy consumption and farm machineries contributing about 63%, 35% and 2% respectively. Staff and student commuting alone contribute about 55% of all the emissions associated with University activities. FUNAAB’s per-capita emissions with a total of about 10,256 students for the 2011/2012 session amount to about 0.6 tons CO2 emissions per student. By this study, FUNAAB contributes a total of 5,935 tons of CO2 for all emissions released into the atmosphere yearly. These CO2 emissions contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer causing Greenhouse effects and global warming. FUNAAB can reduce her carbon footprint by introducing green energy sources such as solar energy in place of the standby diesel generators that contributes an estimated 84 tons of CO2 monthly. In addition, transportation emissions can be reduced by implementing a transportation routine programme to reduce the amount of cars that commute to the University daily. The period of study covers August 2011 to July 2012.

Keywords

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Carbon Footprint, FUNAAB, Emission Reduction, Emission Factors

References

1. Wiedmann T, and Minx JC, “A definition of 'carbon footprint'”. In:Petsovam CC (ed) Ecological Economic Research Trends, 1stedn. Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge, New York, pp. 55–65, 2008.
2. Hall, M. and N. Murray (2008). Green Campus Policy
3. Framework for the University of Cape Town. University of http://www.erc.ac.za/Research/publications/10Thapeleeta l-UCT_footprint.pdf, Accessed 16 June 2012 at:
4. IPCC (2000) Land use, land-use change and forestry.
5. IPCC Special Report, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc/land_use/157.htm Accessed 11June 2012 Available at:
6. World Resources Institute GHG Calculation Tools for Stationary http://www.ghgprotocol.org/templates/GHG5/layout.asp? type=p&MenuId=OTAx,Accessed 10 June 2012 at:
7. DEFRA 2009: Guidelines to Defra / DECC's GHG
8. Conversion Factors for Company Reporting. Version 0.London, UK, Department for Environment, Food and Rural http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/FCRP018.pdf/ Accessed April 2012 Retrieved from

9. Rippon, S. (2008). Green Campus Action Plan.
10. University of Cape Town, Cape Town. Available at: http://www.erc.ac.za/Research/publications/10Thapeleeta l-UCT_footprint.pdf, Accessed 16 June 2012
11. US EPA, 2006: A Program Guide for Climate Leaders. Available http://www.epa.gov/climateleaders/documents/cl_progra mguide_508.pdf, Accessed 15 June 2012 at :
12. Woodland Trust (2005) Position statement on climate change. http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/campaigning/, Accessed 14 April 2012 Available at:
13. Hogne N. Larsen, Johan Pettersen, Christian Solli, and Edgar G. Hertwich, “Investigating the Carbon Footprint of a University - The case of NTNU”, Journal of Cleaner Production, 10.007Vol 48, June 2013, pp. 39-47.
14. “Lidija Čuček, Jiří Jaromír Klemeš, and Zdravko Kravanja, “A Review of Footprint analysis tools for monitoring impacts on sustainability”, Journal of Cleaner Production, j.jclepro.2012.02.036Vol. 34, October 2012, pp. 9-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
15. Sayam Aroonsrimorakot, Chumporn Yuwaree, Chumlong Arunlertaree, Rungjarus Hutajareorn, and Tarinee Buadit, “Carbon Footprint of Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Salaya Campus, Thailand”, 4th International Conference on Environmental Science and Development- ICESD, APCBEE Procedia, Vol. 5, 2013, pp. 175-180.