Carbon Footprinting and Mitigation Strategies for the USP Marine Campus

Mani, Jeanette and Mani, Francis S. and Subbarao, Srikanth and Raturi, Atul K. (2018) Carbon Footprinting and Mitigation Strategies for the USP Marine Campus. Journal of Pacific Studies, 38 (1). pp. 39-71. ISSN 1011-3029

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Abstract

The quest for a low carbon footprint (CF) has prompted many institutions around the
world, such as universities, among others, to take stock of their greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions. The CF assessment and its reporting are seen as a first step
towards sustainability through planning for anthropogenic carbon emissions
reduction. Carbon emissions–related activities of The University of the South Pacific
(USP) Marine Campus) were investigated and then evaluated for potential reduction
opportunities. A CF model for the campus’s CO2e emissions was developed. The
results from the model estimated the USP Lower Campus CO2e emissions to be
2665.8 tCO2e. The Lower Campus per capita emissions for 2015 amount to about
1.1 tCO2e per equivalent full-time student (EFTS) and 0.07 tCO2e per square meter.
Scope 3 emissions held the largest share of the emissions (96%). The emissions
within scope 3 were largely from student and staff commuting. Besides commuting
category, the largest contributor to the overall campus emission was electricity
consumption and was recognized as an important source category. A 50kWp
Photovoltaic (PV) rooftop system is proposed as an emission reduction strategy for
the base case. This would make the campus electricity 100% renewable and entail
an annual emission reduction of 12.9 tCO2e. Other strategies that support
environmental and GHG management within the campus are also proposed in this
paper.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	T Technology > TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
Divisions:	Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment (FSTE) > School of Biological and Chemical Sciences Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment (FSTE) > School of Engineering and Physics
Depositing User:	Atul Raturi
Date Deposited:	05 Feb 2019 00:06
Last Modified:	05 Feb 2019 00:06
URI:	https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/11286

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