Open-Source Carbon Footprint Estimator: Development and University Declination
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- Scope 1 includes direct emissions (fuel combustion, carbon sinks)
- Scope 2 covers indirect energy-related emissions (heating network, electricity)
- Scope 3 includes all the other indirect emissions (purchases of products and services, travel, food...). These emissions usually represent 80% of the GHG emissions of a company [9].
2. Methods
2.1. Source Version
2.1.1. A National Carbon Footprint Estimator
2.1.2. Technical Features
2.1.3. Advantages of the Tool for University Declination
2.2. Design of the University Declination
2.2.1. Carbon Footprint of Centrale Nantes
2.2.2. Restricted Perimeter and User Profiles
2.2.3. Simulation Saving Add-On
2.3. Tests Strategy
- Recruitment of the panel via emails and posts on social network
- Invitation on a messaging server
- First version of the simulator, one-week feedback period
- Correction of issues and implementation of new features
- Second version, two-week feedback period
- Focus-groups
- Correction of issues and implementation of new features
- Third version, two-week feedback period
- Deployment
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. National Version
3.2. Implementation of the University Declination
3.2.1. Initial User Profile-Related Questions
- Student and staff trips (2060 tCO2eq, 36% of the overall result)
- Products and Services (1200 tCO2eq, 21%)
- Students and staff lunches (830 tCO2eq, 15%)
3.2.2. User-Specific Intermediate Questions
3.2.3. Typical Result and Advice on Reducing Carbon Emissions
4. Conclusions
- Professional carbon footprint estimators can be built to complement personal estimators. To do so, scopes and activities must be clearly identified and separated.
- User-specific questions depending on user category (e.g., student, professor, staff) help increasing the ergonomics and the tool adoption. These elements are expected to increase the tool efficiency in triggering behavioral evolutions towards more sustainable practices.
- Offering quantified advice to take action depending on the user’s habits is particularly relevant as it helps developing a deeper understanding of climate impacts and its relationships to the user professional and academic activities.
- Open-source code availability and multi-agent collaborations are key success factors in developing sustainability initiatives. It enables the approach outlined in this study to be replicated in other higher education institutions.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
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Auger, C.; Hilloulin, B.; Boisserie, B.; Thomas, M.; Guignard, Q.; Rozière, E. Open-Source Carbon Footprint Estimator: Development and University Declination. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4315. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084315
Auger C, Hilloulin B, Boisserie B, Thomas M, Guignard Q, Rozière E. Open-Source Carbon Footprint Estimator: Development and University Declination. Sustainability. 2021; 13(8):4315. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084315
Chicago/Turabian StyleAuger, Clément, Benoit Hilloulin, Benjamin Boisserie, Maël Thomas, Quentin Guignard, and Emmanuel Rozière. 2021. "Open-Source Carbon Footprint Estimator: Development and University Declination" Sustainability 13, no. 8: 4315. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084315
APA StyleAuger, C., Hilloulin, B., Boisserie, B., Thomas, M., Guignard, Q., & Rozière, E. (2021). Open-Source Carbon Footprint Estimator: Development and University Declination. Sustainability, 13(8), 4315. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084315