Carbon footprint of organization: case studies of the petroleum and petrochemical college and office of the president, Chulalongkorn University

Abstract

Carbon footprint is the cumulative amount of direct and indirect greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions associated with products, organizations or human activities. It is expressed in equivalent mass of carbon dioxide (CO₂ₑ). Although, there are many of commercial products evaluated for carbon footprints, very few organizations in Thailand report their carbon footprints. Thus. This work aims to access the GHG emissions and investigate the options of the academic organization’s carbon footprint using the case studies of the Petroleum and Petrochemical College (PPC) and Office of the President, Chulalongkorn University. All GHG emissions from various activities occurred in the organization will be gathered and evaluated in the units of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂ₑ), based on ISO 14064, 14069 and Thailand Greenhouse Gases Organization (YGO) guidelines. The results showed that the major source of GHG emissions in carbon footprint of both departments was the use of energy (electricity), followed by mode of daily commuting of staff and students. Consequently. The electricity consumption and mode of transportation (daily commuting) were prioritized as measures to reduce carbon footprint of organizations in the University. In addition, the current energy-saving technologies and proper campaigns are an option to decrease the power consumption, including 3R strategies (reduce, reuse and recycle), and public transportation campaign. The results obtained from this work would provide guidelines for policy maker and management to support University to create a sustainable campus.