Carbon Neutral University: A Case Study from Thailand

Higher Education Institutions worldwide aim to achieve carbon neutrality. This study examined the path to carbon neutrality for a university by evaluating the baseline greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and identifying unavoidable emissions after the implementation of all mitigation projects. These projects were assumed to be implemented shortly, both technically and financially. The evaluation followed national guidelines from the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization, aligned with ISO 14064–1 (2018) and the GHG Protocol (2001, 2004). Mitigation initiatives included energy efficiency, renewable energy, and transitioning from Internal Combustion Engine to Electric Vehicle projects. Numerical results showed that Scope I and Scope II emissions totaled 5,330.55 <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\text{tCO}_{2}$</tex>-eq in 2023, with contributions from vehicle fuel combustion (39.21 <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\text{tCO}_{2}$</tex>-eq), refrigerant leakage (1,829.53 <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\text{tCO}_{2}{-}$</tex> eq), and purchased electricity (3,461.81 <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\text{tCO}_{2}$</tex>-eq). Implementing all projects could reduce emissions by 1,078.40 <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\text{tCO}_{2}$</tex>-eq. The remaining unavoidable emissions could be offset by purchasing carbon credits or renewable energy certificates.