Measurement of the university ecological footprint

Abstract

Sustainable consumption involves meeting our current and future needs for goods and services in an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable manner. The Ecological Footprint (EF) stands out as a valuable indicator, facilitating the identification of environmental, economic, and social impacts of a population or activity by determining the surface area needed to sustain its level of resource consumption and waste management. Universities, like other sectors, are influenced by current consumption trends. In this context, it is relevant to explore the assessment carried out at the National University of Cajamarca during the 2022 period. The methodology is based on the approach proposed by López and Blanco, analyzing five consumption variables: water, electricity, built area, paper, and mobility. The research conducts direct and indirect calculations to determine the surface area required to absorb the carbon dioxide emissions generated by consumption, including student paper consumption. The results reveal that the Ecological Footprint of the National University of Cajamarca was 108.73 global hectares of forests, necessary to assimilate the 805.75 tons of emissions generated by the five categories of consumption analyzed. At the individual level, it is determined that each person in the university community requires 0.0041 hectares per person per year and 0.0053 global hectares per person per year. Surprisingly, the university's EF is 3.45 times the size of the area occupied by the university campus. The research proposes specific strategies for reducing the Ecological Footprint by the institution.