UEA has made major contributions to understanding world climate and combating global climate change and is home to the Low Carbon Innovation Centre (LCIC), the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and the Climatic Research Unit .
We are making a contribution to responding to this challenge with policies to reduce our own carbon emissions ahead of government targets and have been a leader in the field of combined heat and power generation and low energy buildings for over fifteen years.
Our new Carbon Reduction Plan details our pathway to carbon sustainability (currently awaiting approval by the UEA Executive Team and Council in August 2012, click here to download the approved 2010 Carbon Reduction Plan). In early 2011 the Sustainability Team commissioned a series of thermal images of the campus. These images clearly illustrate the long term challenge of our 1960’s buildings, and the importance of our programme of long term improvement.
Our key objective is to minimise our consumption of non-renewable energy and gross emissions of greenhouse gases.
Our current targets are to:
• Reduce our CO2e emissions from direct activities by 35% from a baseline of 1990 by March 2015.
Note: Targets against a 2005/6 baseline from 2011 to 2020 have also been set in line with the HEFCE Carbon Reduction Strategy:
o 22% by 2011/12
o 44% by 2014/15
o 50% by 2016/17
o 60% by 2019/20
Post 2020 the University recognises the need for significant and long term reductions in GHG emissions. As a result we will look to exceed the national GHG emission target of 80% by 2050. We will set a series of 5 year GHG reduction targets to ensure our carbon footprint is less than 20% of the 1990 footprint by 2050.
• Generate at least 70% of electricity used on the main campus averaged over each academic year up to July 2015.
• Reduce electricity used on the main campus by 15% compared to a 2008/09 baseline by July 2015.
• Reduce heat used for heating and hot water by 10% compared to a 2008/09 baseline by July 2015.
Energy Key Performance Indicators-
| Key performance indicator | 2008/9 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | Change in last year |
Notes |
| Total GHG emissions (CO2e) (scope 1 and 2) * |
22,977 tonnes |
23,485 tonnes |
23,101 tonnes | ↓ | Owned transport, buildings (gas, electricity, heat, steam and cooling), refrigerants, imported electricity. Note: floor area increase of 4457m2 in 2009/10. |
| Scope 1 GHG emissions (CO2e) * |
15,380 tonnes |
16,730 tonnes |
15,501 tonnes | ↓ | Owned transport, buildings (gas, electricity, heat, steam and cooling), refrigerants |
| Scope 2 GHG emissions (CO2e)* |
7,600 tonnes |
6,756 tonnes |
7,601 tonnes | ↑ | Electricity imported from National Grid |
| GHG emissions per student (CO2e)* |
1.613 tonnes |
1.641 tonnes |
1.624 tonnes | ↓ | |
| Total electricity generated |
74,709 gigajoules |
84,636 gigajoules |
79,290 gigajoules | ↓ | Some electricity is exported |
| Total heat generated |
141,520 gigajoules |
147,140 gigajoules |
145,668 gigajoules | ↓ | Some heat is exported |
| Total electricity consumption* |
121,883 gigajoules |
124,140 gigajoules |
125,276 gigajoules | ↑ | Electrical, heat, steam and cooling |
| Electricity used (National Grid)* |
52,238 gigajoules |
46,359 gigajoules |
52,154 gigajoules | ↑ | |
| Fossil fuel used* |
313,049 gigajoules |
342,885 gigajoules |
321,168 gigajoules | ↓ | Gas and oil |
| Renewable energy produced* |
Not available | 80 gigajoules |
72 gigajoules | ↓ | ZICER building photovoltaics |
| Emission of ozone depleting substances * (CO2e) |
193 tonnes |
|
190 tonnes | ↓ |
(*denotes complies with DEFRA and/or Global Reporting Initiative guidelines)
Building specific energy use data is regularly reported to the CarbonCrew.
