Investigation of Carbon Footprints of five selected Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) of Islamabad, Pakistan (T-1321) (MFN 6256)

Abstract

This research presents an activity-based carbon footprint study for five different universities of Islamabad Capital territory (ICT) Pakistan including scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions under the classification of the World Resource Institute and World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WRI/WBCSD) Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard. Data was collected from five different universities of the Islamabad to estimate emissions and identify carbon hotspots. The results of the quantification show that the most vulnerable sector from which the highest emissions came from is the use of old and phased out refrigerants with high global warming potential (GWP) such as R22 in almost 85% of the AC and Refrigeration in most of the universities. Whereas emissions from purchased electricity and vehicle fleet are prominent. Furthermore, emissions from electricity generation have seen a bit lower and the contribution of emissions from air travel is almost the least but not negligible. Excessive energy consumption and emissions highlights the need to implement policies that address the supply chain of the products that universities consume. This study represents the most comprehensive analysis to date of the consumption-based emissions associated in institutions within Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). The consumptionbased methodology developed in this study could be applied to other universities and institutes to expand an enhanced understanding of their major greenhouse gas emissions and appropriate proceedings that they need to take to reduce these emissions.