Development of Carbon Emission Assessment Tool Towards Promoting Sustainability in Cal State LA

Abstract

The great demand for the burning of fossil fuels has greatly increased greenhouse gases (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere. An increase in the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases produces a positive climate forcing or warming effect [EPA, Climate Change Indicators]. Therefore, mitigation of GHG concentrations is important to prevent long-term impacts on the environment. On April 4, 2016, California State University, Los Angeles signed the most comprehensive of Second Nature’s three Climate Leadership Commitments, the Climate Commitment. Following this commitment, California State University, Los Angeles, set the ambitious goal of operational carbon neutrality by the year 2040. To assist California State University, Los Angeles in moving effectively toward this goal, we developed an energy dashboard that can bring access, awareness, and education to campus about campus carbon footprint and promote energy-efficient behaviors. The developed energy dashboard is an interactive web application that works based on an energy model that is composed of various energy-consuming and GHG producing units such as Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), Heated Potable Water (HPW), Electricity, and Campus-Related Commutes. This energy dashboard enables individuals to analyze the campus’s energy consumption and carbon footprint. Our research showed that campus-related commute was the first largest contributor to Cal State LA’s carbon footprint in 2018 and accounted for 71.5% of carbon emissions. Electricity and heated potable water accounted for 20%, and 8.5% of the total campus carbon emissions, respectively.