Elon University's greenhouse gas emissions, per student & per square foot of building space, remain lower today than when emissions were first measured during the 2008 fiscal year.
The seventh annual Elon University Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory has found that emissions per student, and per square foot of building space, are lower than when the university first started tracking its emissions output as part of a longterm goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2037.
Though the total volume of emissions has increased since fiscal year 2008 as Elon welcomes each fall larger classes to campus, the per capita figures indicate that school efforts, including the construction of sustainable facilities and encouraging sustainable habits, have made a positive impact.
Between fiscal year 2008 and fiscal year 2014, Elon’s total square footage of all campus facilities increased 35 percent, yet emissions per 1,000 square foot decreased 18 percent. During this same period, the number of full-time equivalent students increased 16 percent while emissions per full-time equivalent student decreased 4.6 percent.
“Conducting a yearly emissions inventory is essential to monitor progress toward Elon’s goal of carbon neutrality set forth in the Sustainability Master Plan,” Elaine Durr, Elon’s director of sustainability, said of the inventory released this month.
The fiscal year 2014 inventory found that overall greenhouse gas emissions were 10.7 percent higher than in 2008 due to an increase in energy consumption and directly financed travel. The increase in energy consumption is likely due to additional square footage. Directly financed travel includes faculty and staff business travel and athletic team travel.
Energy consumption is the largest source of emissions, accounting for 53.9 percent of emissions. Transportation is the second largest source of emissions at 39.3 percent of total emissions. Transportation includes directly financed travel, study abroad travel, commuter travel and fuel use in the university fleet.
The Office of Sustainability completed the greenhouse gas emissions inventory with the assistance of a student intern. The process involved collecting data from numerous departments, ranging from the Physical Plant for electricity and natural gas consumption to Human Resources for the number of employees. Many departments and individuals on campus contributed information needed to complete the inventory.
To learn more about the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, Elon University’s Climate Action Plan or the commuter habit survey, visit the Climate page of the Sustainability website. To learn more about the greenhouse gas emissions summer internship opportunity, email sustainability@elon.edu.