Instituciones universitarias sostenibles: determinación de gases efecto invernadero en un centro universitario y estrategias para disminuirlas

Abstract

The objective of this work is to determine the carbon  footprint of a university building. This work is considered  as a contribution aimed at integrating sustainability in its  management, determining the main sources of greenhouse gas  emissions and proposing solutions to reduce its environmental  impact. This educational center houses 1064 students of  Engineering and is located at the campus of the University of  the Basque Country in Vitoria-Spain. The methodology applied  to calculate greenhouse gas emissions follows the guidelines  issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment of  Spain (MAPAMA). It was found that an adequate environmental  management system eases the calculation of these emissions  and the source identifications. It was assessed that the carbon  footprint for the studied institution was 0.558 t CO2 eq/  person-year and 0.635t CO2 eq/student-year. With regard to  direct emissions, 205.15 t CO2 eq / year and indirect 392 t CO2 eq  / year were detected, for the last year studied.  For this edifice, it is proposed that the appropriate measures  to reduce the carbon footprint should focus on changing the  current energy source used for the air conditioning of the  building, what is now natural gas, and improving the insulation  system. The calculation method depends on emission factors  that are representative. Thus, it is recommended to continue  researching in order to set emission factors, which can be  applied specifically for university buildings. In this way, the  methodology would be standardized and more accurate  comparisons could be established between related studies.