CO₂e emission sources
The institution’s facilities and vehicles are the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions at NTUA. The process for recording these emissions begins with the collection of necessary data, such as the quantities of fuel and electricity consumed, and includes the collection of information on travel.
Emissions from the Movement of NTUA Students – Employees – Vehicles
The daily commute of students at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) is one of the institution’s major sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Based on recent analyses, it appears that these commutes contribute to annual carbon dioxide emissions in quantities exceeding thousands of tons. In a university with more than 20,000 students commuting to and from campus daily, it makes sense that these commutes are the main contributor to the institution’s carbon footprint.
Staff travel also contributes significantly to total emissions, although to a lesser extent than that of students, as their numbers are smaller. However, when emissions from business trips outside Athens to participate in research conferences and meetings are taken into account, staff emissions exceed those of students. Emissions from the use of the Institution’s official vehicles, although constituting the smallest part, are still significant.
Emissions from travel present special characteristics in terms of their calculation, due to the complex factors on which they depend. For this purpose, specially designed questionnaires were developed for NTUA students and staff, so that they could record their travel habits to and from the institution. The data collected are as follows:
- General information: school, year of study, frequency of visits to NTUA, types of transportation used
- Distance traveled by means of transport when traveling to/from NTUA
- Role (driver or passenger) in case a private car is used
- Technical characteristics of private vehicles, such as fuel type and specific fuel consumption
- Additional clarifications
By using questionnaires, it becomes possible to reliably calculate the emissions resulting from the travel of NTUA students and staff.
