The University of Twente strives to be CO2 neutral by 2030 and realise a 15% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2023 (compared to 2020).
The CO2 footprint calculates the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the University’s activities as well as from the products and services it acquires. UT has been calculating its CO2 footprint since 2014 according to the greenhouse gas protocol which divides the emissions into three scopes, depending on the origin of the emissions. Part of the information the GHG protocol requires UT to record is published here in order to keep the CO2 report concise and readable for a broad audience.
The management summary provides you with a three-page overview of the 2019 CO2 footprint of the UT.
The complete 2019 CO2 report, you can find here.
Total CO2 emissions 2019
Factors influencing the CO2 footprint
The 2019 CO2 footprint shows that electricity contributes for 52% to UT’s CO2 footprint. The number of buildings in use, as a consequence of increased student and staff numbers, affects the demand for electricity, heating, cooling as well as air humidification in labs.
Mobility’s share of the CO2 footprint is 31% of which 18% is commuting. The number of students and staff and the way they travel has an impact on the contribution of commuting to the CO2 footprint. The mode of travel for work trips, especially flying, counts for 13% of UT’s total CO2 footprint.
CO2 footprint per person
To facilitate the interpretation of the data, the following graph is added which shows the number of students and staff over the last years. When dividing the total CO2 emissions of the university by the number of people, the line in the graph shows that while the number of people has increased, the CO2 emissions per person have decreased.
CO2 footprint
The CO2 footprint is divided into three scopes. This is related to the direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gasses as a result of activities at UT.
Scope 1 2019
Scope 1: Direct emissions – These are GHG emissions due to gas consumption for air humidification and heating, fuel consumption of vehicles owned by UT and the refilling of air conditioning systems with refrigerants.
Scope 2 2019
Scope 2: Indirect emissions – These are GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity and district heating which is consumed by UT.
Scope 3 2019
Scope 3: Indirect emissions – These are GHG emissions which are indirectly emitted due to activities by UT. This includes work travel, commuting, waste, emissions of products and services bought as well as waste produced.