Total area: 6,566.13 m² (70,677.26 ft²)

Total distance: 369.68 m (1,212.88 ft.)

 

Building	Total area	Floors	Total
Building one	385,62	3	1.156,86
Building two	1.016,42	3	3.049,26
Building three	56,53	3	169,59
Total			4.375,71

 

CARBON FOOTPRINT

 INTRODUCTION

This Carbon Footprint Report presents an assessment of the carbon emissions associated with the operations of the Islamic University of Lebanon (IUL) during the reporting period. The report takes into account the university’s activities and practices in Lebanon and the surrounding region. The aim of this analysis is to evaluate the environmental impact of the university’s operations and provide insights into its progress in reducing its carbon footprint.

METHODOLOGY

The carbon footprint assessment was conducted following recognized international standards and methodologies for calculating greenhouse gas emissions. Data was collected from various sources, including energy consumption records, transportation data, waste management, and other relevant factors contributing to the university’s carbon emissions.

Scope 1: Direct Emissions

Scope 1 emissions encompass direct greenhouse gas emissions that occur from sources that are owned or controlled by the university. In the carbon footprint assessment, the following sources were included under Scope 1:

1. On-Site Combustion: This includes emissions from combustion of natural gas and other fossil fuels used for heating, hot water production, and power generation within university facilities.
2. University-Owned Vehicles: Emissions from university-owned vehicles used for transportation, maintenance, and other operational purposes were considered under Scope 1.

Scope 2: Indirect Emissions from Energy Purchased

Scope 2 emissions cover indirect greenhouse gas emissions associated with the consumption of purchased electricity, heat, or steam. In the carbon footprint assessment, the following sources were included under Scope 2:

1. Electricity Consumption: Emissions resulting from electricity purchased from the grid to power university buildings and facilities.

Scope 3: Other Indirect Emissions

Scope 3 emissions include all other indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur as a result of the university’s activities but are not directly owned or controlled by the institution. In the carbon footprint assessment, the following sources were included under Scope 3:

1. Employee Commuting: Emissions from faculty, staff, and student commuting to and from the university using personal vehicles or public transportation.
2. Upstream Transportation and Distribution: Emissions associated with the transportation and distribution of goods and services purchased by the university.
3. Waste Generation and Disposal: Emissions from waste generation and disposal activities, including landfill methane emissions.
4. Travel and Transport: Emissions from university-related travel, including air travel, train travel, and other transportation used for academic and administrative purposes.

RESULTS

The results of the carbon footprint assessment indicate that IUL is making significant progress in reducing its carbon footprint. During the reporting period, the university successfully decreased its carbon emissions. This achievement can be attributed to several sustainable practices and initiatives implemented across the campus.

 

Scope	2021	2022
Scope 1	8.942,60	6.381,45
Scope 2	21.462,24	15.060,22
Scope 3	5.365,56	4.084,13
Total Carbon Footprint	35.770,40	25.525,80

 

	2021	2022
Population	2.932	2.934
Net emissions per population	12,2	8,7

 

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO CARBON FOOTPRINT REDUCTION

1. Energy Efficiency: IUL has prioritized energy efficiency measures, which have resulted in reduced energy consumption and subsequently lowered carbon emissions. The adoption of energy-efficient lighting, HVAC systems, and other energy-saving technologies has played a crucial role in this accomplishment.
2. Renewable Energy Sources: IUL’s efforts to integrate renewable energy sources, such as solar panels and wind turbines, have contributed significantly to reducing reliance on fossil fuels and mitigating carbon emissions.
3. Sustainable Transportation: IUL has encouraged the use of sustainable transportation methods, such as promoting carpooling, cycling, and public transportation, which has helped reduce the carbon footprint associated with commuting to and from the campus.
4. Waste Management and Recycling: Improved waste management practices, including recycling and waste reduction initiatives, have led to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from waste disposal.

CONCLUSION

The Islamic University of Lebanon (IUL) has demonstrated its commitment to sustainability and climate action by successfully reducing its carbon footprint during the reporting period. The implementation of energy-efficient technologies, the integration of renewable energy sources, and the promotion of sustainable practices have all contributed to this positive outcome.

IUL’s dedication to environmental responsibility is commendable and sets an example for other institutions in the region to follow. As the university continues to prioritize sustainability, it is anticipated that its carbon footprint reduction efforts will further strengthen, contributing to a greener and more sustainable future for Lebanon and the broader region.

Commitment to carbon neutral university

IUL encourage the community, staff, students and Alumni to reduce their carbon footprint by different ways including

Participating in tree planting days held annually across the different campuses

Funding innovative sustainable ideas

Helping to reduce waste to landfill by supporting recycling systems installed across IUL facilities.Commitment to achieve carbon neutrality at the university: Achieved already in (indicate year)

1. The national greenhouse gas inventory of 2015

The preparation process of the national Greenhouse Gas inventory Introduction Lebanon has produced three National Communications (NC) (submitted in 1999, 2011 and 2016) and two Biennial Update Reports (BUR), submitted in 2015 and 2017, each containing a national Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory. The last GHG inventory, reported as part of Lebanon’s 2nd BUR, covers a time series from 1994-2013 and was compiled using the Revised 1996 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. The inventory in the current BUR extends the time series analysis to 2015 and uses for the first time the 2006 IPCC Guidelines. The inventory was compiled using the IPCC software version 2.54. Cycle and institutional arrangements The GHG inventory is an integral part of the BUR3/4NC project funded through the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) enabling activity and managed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Lebanon. The Government of Lebanon (GoL) through the Ministry of Environment (MoE) provides in kind support for the project. The overall coordination of the project is handled by the climate change office, which is part of the Service of Environmental Technology at MoE. The Ministry is the institution responsible for the preparation and submission of BURs and National Communications to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The GHG inventory compilation team is located at the climate change office and is financed on a project basis. The retention of the compilation team therefore depends on the ability to continue finding international funding. Although the current BUR is being submitted in October 2019, the completion of administrative procedures to access the GEF fund dedicated to the project was completed in June 2019 due to delays in issuance of grant approval Decree, which has put the team on a very tight deadline.

 The BUR and GHG inventory team consists of two members, of which one has been involved in the compilation of the GHG inventories submitted in 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and the other in the 2015, 2016, 2017 inventories. Both staff members are working on other climate-related topics, i.e. are not devoted to GHG inventory compilation full time. Both experts have a good understanding of the IPCC methodologies, and one of the experts has served as a UNFCCC reviewer for National GHG Inventories (Energy Sector) and has participated in a number of reviews, including as lead reviewer.

Previous GHG inventory compilation cycles were supported by consultants, e.g. for data collection, results analysis and drafting of GHG inventory chapters. The present inventory has been completely compiled in-house, using external international and national reviewers for quality assurance only. Despite the extensive involvement of the BUR/NC compilation team, consultants’ previous work was not always sufficiently documented to be able to build on the findings in consequent GHG inventory cycles. This situation compromised:

1) the time efficiency of updating GHG inventories for a few years, as a lot of efforts are deployed to find the sources of data and the right contact persons,

2) the accuracy of some figures as the efforts to replicate approaches used by consultants were not always successful, hence the need to use expert judgement or extrapolation methodologies. This situation is gradually improving as GHG inventory compilation activities are being taken up by the Ministry of Environment – Climate Change Office, and as the latter has initiated several data sharing agreements with relevant institutions. Intensive stakeholders and key data holders consultations are conducted during the process, building on existing institutional arrangements.

During the GHG inventory preparation process, attempts to abide by a pre-defined GHG inventory cycle have been compromised by various delays in access to funding, access to data, or enabling political environment. These delays affect the approach of data collection, which is mostly undertaken on an ad-hoc manner (as opposed to having a restrained data collection phase) and decrease the time spend and efforts invested in improving methodologies, data validation, Quality Assurance/ Quality Control (QA/QC) and uncertainty analysis.

Figure 4 summarizes the institutional interactions in place to collect, verify and input data. For the first time during the compilation of a GHG inventory, appropriate and comprehensive data collection templates were established and adopted upstream (more details in section 1.3 below) and data sharing agreements with data providers were initiated.

Data sharing modality for the energy sector:

 The Management of Information System for Climate Action (MISCA) A pilot information management system has been established in 2017 to facilitate the sharing of activity data between the inventory compilation team at the Ministry of Environment and different experts at the Ministry of Energy and Water. The Management of Information System for Climate Action (MISCA) has been developed based on the 2006 IPCC guidelines where activity data, emission factors and other energy-related parameters are entered as input and GHG emissions (using both the reference and sectoral approach), indirect emissions and emission trends are computed and published as outputs. All calculations are based on tier 1 methodology, with fuel- specific Net Calorific Values (NCV).

The system includes different level of users, who are the operators within the platform. They are category- related with different rights within each category: the super administrator is responsible for entering emission factors and parameters and has the permission to access and edit all worksheets; the data entry operator is responsible for entering the activity data; the data validation operator is in Lebanon’s Third Biennial Update Report to the UNFCCC 16 charge of QA/QC; and the data release operator is a high-level official in charge of releasing the data. The system is composed of “grids”, which are the working units within the platform and based on which the calculation is done. Sessions are opened every year (around April) and include a new cycle of data entry, data validation and data calculation for all grids for a specific year.

The system is currently hosted on a cloud but will eventually be transferred to the servers of the Ministry of Environment. MISCA has only been developed for the energy sector so far with the aim to expand it to include other IPCC sectors and national partners relevant to them. In addition, MISCA has a key function related to tracking implementation of mitigation actions and Lebanon’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). A memorandum of understanding has been developed to institutionalize the sharing of data, and accordingly, training sessions and one-on-one mentoring sessions have been organized to build the capacity of the different users to use the system.

MISCA has been tested using information of the energy GHG inventory for the year 2015. Concurrently, emission calculation has also been performed using the IPCC software to validate the results and identify bugs and errors in the pilot version of MISCA. A list of improvements to be made to MISCA is being compiled in order to operationalize this platform as soon as possible.

Since the foundation of its campus in Wardanieh in 2016, the university has committed itself to achieve carbon neutrality by adopting vast green spaces due to their importance in reducing the carbon level and increasing the oxygen level.

The university has also adopted public transportation for students, keeping car parks away from buildings, and adopting renewable energy as a primary source in securing electric power.