Abstract:
Universities have always had an important leadership role in society
in demonstrating the types of changes that need to occur with
respect to the prime issues of the time. All around the world,
universities are lining up to declare themselves the next carbon
neutral school as part of the global trend of becoming "sustainable."
But what does it really mean to be carbon neutral? In 2007 Victoria
University's School of Architecture and Design (SoAD) declared
themselves the first carbon neutral campus in the world through the
use of sponsored and purchased carbon credits. However 100%
reliance on offset schemes is not the answer as it does not
guarantee the capture of carbon forever. Also, the continuing
purchase of carbon offsets could be costly and maintaining businessas-
usual without any significant changes will result in continuing
environmental degradation as a result of the SoAD's unsustainable
activities. This research explores various solutions for reducing the
three biggest factors that contribute towards the emissions, which are
energy, transport and waste. It looks at the difference between
behavioural changes (low cost) and technological investment (high
cost) in order for SoAD to reduce its carbon footprint to meet three
possible reduction targets, established by this research as 25%, 50%
and 90%. The findings are that 25% could be saved through simple
behavioural changes which cost very little, as they are mainly related
to avoiding wastage, 50% could be saved through a combination of
low and high cost measures, and 90% comes from considerable
investment in new technologies or drastic reduction in use.
A further aim of the research is to translate all possible savings into
other means, such as knowing how much carbon or land is saved,
using a measure such as the ecological footprint, and more
importantly what these savings mean to the third world where
resources are scarce and expensive. If SoAD's wasteful activities
from neglect can be translated into saving people's lives in other
nations, it might lead to more responsible energy use. What this
research indicates is that for SoAD to be carbon neutral various
factors need to be considered and user behaviour is paramount.
