Document Type

Report

Publication Date

6-2009

Abstract

This report, assembled by graduate students of the Center for Environmental Research and Education (CERE), under the direction of Dr. Stanley Kabala, presents the results of an inventory of Duquesne University’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in calendar year 2008. As the second such report that CERE has issued, it compares its findings with those derived from 2006 data and assesses nascent trends regarding Duquesne’s GHG emissions. Additionally, the report discusses options over multiple timescales for reducing Duquesne’s carbon footprint.

Duquesne’s total GHG emissions for 2008 totaled 40,557 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), or approximately 4.0 tonnes per student. Duquesne’s 2008 emissions decreased significantly from the 2006 total of 46,800 tonnes CO2e, which equals 4.6 tonnes per student. In light of a slight expansion of the student body and the opening of the Power Center in early 2007, which considerably increased campus square footage, a reduction of more than 6,000 metric tonnes of CO2e is an encouraging development.

The overwhelming majority of emissions reductions from 2006 to 2008 resulted from Duquesne’s decision in early 2008 to begin purchasing all “imported” electricity using Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). RECs, delivered from local wind farms to Duquesne through a licensed credit-trading enterprise, effectively displace coal-fired electricity from the regional grid. Switching to 100 percent renewable energy eliminated 11,800 tonnes of CO2e from Duquesne’s total carbon footprint.

Duquesne’s biggest opportunity for GHG reduction now lies in improved process and operational energy efficiency (to reduce demand on the cogeneration plant), purchasing carbon offsets for university-sponsored travel, working to change student and faculty commuting habits, and further exploration of on-campus renewable energy.

Description

Greenhouse Gas Inventory for Duquesne University

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