GHG Emissions estimate for Paper, Chemicals, and Electronics

Topics

Climate Change, 
Economic Sustainability, 
Purchasing, 
Waste, Research

Description

The UCSB Draft Climate Action Plan (as of the 24-25 school year) is scoped to include Scope 1 and 2 emissions as well as, Scope 3 emissions from commuting, business travel, and solid waste. Emissions from procured goods and services are not yet included in our emissions targets even though this includes many of our day to day activities and much of our overall impact. This project collected existing data, developed new protocols for assessing emissions, identified remaining challenges to be addressed, and developed recommendations for immediate action.  The areas they focused on were: paper, cleaning chemicals, electronics, and furniture.

Timeline

Start: 2024

End: 2025

Status

Completed

Outcomes/Metrics

  • Identified an opportunity to save 80.3 MT CO2e if all departments purchased at least 30% recycled content paper.  This could be increased to 110.2 MT CO2e if the minimum recycled content was 50% across campus. 
  • Identified an opportunity to save 43 MT CO2e if we were to purchase all cleaning chemicals in concentrated formats.
  • Developed new methodologies 
  • Drafted a chapter and appendix for the draft Climate Action Plan 2025.

Partners and Mentors

Procurement Services and Lead Author/Project
Manager of the Climate Action Plan.

Funders

Related Projects & More Info

Ways to Get Involved