Update of the carbon footprint of the Andrés Bello Catholic University Montalbán Campus for the year 2022

Abstract

The impact that human activities have on the earth continues to increase at the current rate (high confidence level), one of the most used ways to assess it is the carbon footprint that has recently been applied to companies and educational institutions. This research consisted of updating the carbon footprint of the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Campus Montalbán, Caracas, Venezuela for the year 2022 and compared with the data obtained from the baseline of the year 2019, as an indicator for decision making when it comes to achieving carbon neutrality or C neutral, that is, they are equal to zero, before the year 2040. The methodology applied was to calculate the Greenhouse Gas Emissions GHG, with the methodology endorsed by the ISO 14064-1:2006 Standard and the UI GreenMetric that follows the guidelines issued by the World University Rankings. The results obtained show that the carbon footprint compared to the 2019 baseline decreased its emissions by almost 40%, going from 911 kg CO2 eq/student/year to 514 kg CO2 eq/student/year by 2022, given a few activities on campus due to the COVID 19 Pandemic, and where transportation was the main activity that emits high concentrations of CO2, followed by electricity. In general terms, it is possible to reach C-neutral at UCAB by the year 2040, since according to the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings 2022 it is in position #471 worldwide and in second place among the 4 universities in Venezuela, based on its commitment to the environment and sustainability: green roof, weather station, photovoltaic panels, among others.