This paper presents a consumption-based ecological footprint study for an Italian university. Data was collected from different departments and administrative units of the Politecnico di Torino to estimate emissions and identify the measure of the pressure exerted by the campus activities on the ecosystem. More precisely, each category of consumption has been associated with the necessary amount of land to produce all the resources consumed and to absorb the generated waste by the campus community during 2016. Six main categories were identified, and relative impacts were translated into gha, the global ecological footprint hectares. Transports reached the wider area of consumption: 49,4% of the total campus impact with 3072 gha, whereas energy represented the 40,1% with 2500 gha. Food, waste, land use and water accounted respectively for the 5,7%, 3,7%, 0,7% and 0,5%. If compared to the actual surface occupied by the Politecnico di Torino, the campus would need an area 310 times higher than itself to be self sufficient, about the 48% of the total Turin city area. This study presents the most comprehensive analysis to date of the consumption-based emissions associated with an Italian Higher Education Institution (HEI). The consumption-based methodology developed in this project can be applied to other Italian universities to gain a better understanding of their major greenhouse gas emissions per hosted functions or weather conditions, as well as creating thresholds for actions and rules to reduce the emissions by the HEI sector.
Keywords:Ecological footprint analysis, Sustainable higher education, Higher education policy, Sustainability assessment, Consumption-based organisational carbon footprint
5e. Sustainable consumption and consumers
