Accounting carbon emission and proposals for their reduction at a university campus in China

Abstract

Abstract In the context of global sustainable development, various industries actively account for their carbon emission to address climate change effectively. University campuses should also actively participate in this pursuit. The carbon emission calculation method introduced by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol was applied in the paper, with Henan Polytechnic University’s south campus being used as a case study. Energy and food consumption data were collected from the school’s relevant offices, and other data were obtained through questionnaires and multiplied by the corresponding carbon emission factors to calculate the carbon emission of the campus in 2019. Results showed that the carbon emission were 65327.44 tons, with a per capita of 1.51 tons. The analysis revealed that electricity and heating systems constituted the primary contributors to carbon emission. Heating emission profiles exhibited pronounced seasonal dependency, while electricity carbon emission ‌varied‌ across different functional areas. Two innovative findings were established: carbon transfer from transportation to the building sector was driven by accelerated electric vehicle adoption, and a context-specific energy coupling system was proposed, with emission reductions being quantified through localized analysis. The context-specific short-term and long-term carbon reduction solutions are proposed. The carbon emission accounting conducted and targeted carbon reduction measures proposed in this study are considered to provide not only a reference path for universities to achieve carbon neutrality but also a theoretical foundation and methodological guidance for carbon emission reduction.