Indirect emissions ‘the main game’ in carbon neutrality

“Scope 3” emissions – those embedded in supply chains – are the area of greatest remaining opportunity for many universities determined to erase their carbon footprints.

But universities may never reach the point of carbon neutrality without investing large sums in offset schemes, according to sustainability experts at top-performing institutions.

“I’d never say never, but some parts of our operations are going to be really hard to totally decarbonise in the near term,” said Ed Maher, sustainability manager at Charles Sturt University (CSU). “It’s likely that carbon offsets will still be required for years to come.”

CSU is one of 10 institutions worldwide that received perfect scores for carbon neutrality in Times Higher Education’s latest Impact Rankings, which assesses universities on their progress towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The university emitted 27 per cent fewer emissions last year than in 2014, when it compiled its first carbon inventory.

This largely reflected CSU’s exclusive use of electricity produced from renewable sources and its investment in onsite power stations. The university has also made energy efficiency improvements, reduced air travel and acquired electric vehicles, and is progressively electrifying its gas heating appliances.

The remaining 73 per cent of emissions – some 32,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent – were offset through investments in wind farms in India, rainforest protection in Papua New Guinea, native bush regeneration in eastern Australia and strategic savannah burning in the Northern Territory.

Maher said that for institutions with established carbon reduction programmes – like CSU, officially deemed Australia’s first carbon neutral university in 2016 – scope 3 emissions now offered most potential for reduced reliance on offsets.

“Embodied carbon in construction and other purchased goods and services start to account for a greater percentage of emissions,” he said. “We’re highlighting the value we place on reducing embodied carbon and wanting to do business with like-minded companies.

“In regional Australia, it’s still fairly early stages in terms of mid-sized organisations going down the path of carbon neutrality. We hope that by signalling that interest to our suppliers, we can support them to move towards low carbon status themselves.”

The University of Tasmania’s perfect score on carbon neutrality contributed to its ranking performance on climate change; it has topped the SDG 13 (climate action) table for the fourth year running.

Chief sustainability officer Corey Peterson said aspirations for carbon neutrality meant little unless they took account of indirect emissions. “Scope 3 are 60 per cent of our emissions. How are you saying you’re carbon neutral when you’re only counting 40 per cent of your material emissions by any fair standard of measurement?”

Nevertheless, Peterson said UTas had slashed its direct emissions by carefully accounting for their sources, setting clear reduction targets and incentivising staff to comply. The university has made work units “financially accountable” for emission reductions from the sources they can control – air travel, land travel and paper use.

Units that exceed their targets are rewarded financially. They receive the equivalent value in commercial carbon offset costs – typically between A$11 and A$15 (£5–£7) a tonne – from Peterson’s budget. Units that miss their targets must make up the shortfall by paying Peterson the equivalent value in “social costs of carbon”, currently calculated at over A$200 a tonne. “There’s sticks and carrots all through this,” Peterson said.

“It’s got…university council sign-off. Our executive team fully supports it. Our chief financial officer loves it, because we spend a lot of money in flying in and out of Tasmania. He’s keen from a financial perspective. I’m keen from a carbon reduction perspective.”

Eko Siswoyo, director of research and community services at the Islamic University of Indonesia (UII) in Yogyakarta, said financial imperatives were also a major factor in the sustainability drive that had earned his institution a perfect score on carbon neutrality.

UII has slashed both costs and emissions by generating its own power, using natural ventilation to reduce the need for air conditioning and collecting rainwater to avoid trucking it in.

Siswoyo said solar generation provided 80-100 per cent of power for some UII faculties, offering more reliability than Indonesia’s blackout-prone coal-fired electricity service. “It is more stable because we are a tropical country. We get the sun all day.”

He said sustainability was rooted in UII’s “spirit”, anchored in Islamic values and articulated in a university vision to promote “mercy for all humankind” and “mercy for the universe”.

“The spirit is not only Islamic rule, but also the budget,” Siswoyo said. “The situation in Indonesia is very difficult for private universities. We have to reduce the budget as much as we can.”

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com