Emissions and Energy Use
Emissions and Energy Use
Lincoln College’s emissions in 2023 were estimated to be at least 2,057 tCO2e in 2023, as visible in the graph below. This figure covers all our scope one and two emissions and our scope 3 emissions for utilities and waste as well as initial estimates for emissions related to procurement (including food) and transport as well as travel.
Unless otherwise stated the below figures were calculated using the government's conversion factors (Greenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2022, Greenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2023) and our meter readings and estimates where required
Scope 1: only gas remains to be phased out
Lincoln College’s Scope 1 emissions in 2023 were 498 tCO2e. In addition, our gas use caused upstream scope 3 emissions of 82 tCO2e in 2023. This means that gas use accounted for about 580 tCO2e in 2023, which equates to about 29% of our estimated emissions as visible in the graph above. We are working to remove these emissions by degasifying our buildings.
Scope 2: Electricity
Lincoln College has a long-standing commitment to purchasing renewable electricity. By doing so, we have been able to avoid 310 tCO2e in 2023. Nonetheless, our electricity use in 2023 caused upstream emissions amounting to 101 tCO2e, or more than 5% of our total emissions. We are working to reduce this through energy efficiency measures and by producing our own renewable electricity on site by installing solar panels.
Scope 3: Estimating our upstream and downstream emissions
We are also tracking our scope 3 emissions related to water and waste and have our initial estimates related to procurement (including food) and transport as well as student and business travel.
Water
In 2023, Lincoln’s water use caused about 10 tCO2e. The college is committed to reducing water use where possible and has various water-saving devices installed throughout college and is collecting rainwater for watering the gardens.
Waste
All our dry mixed recycling, food recycling, general waste, and glass recycling is weighed on collection at our Main Site, Bear Lane, Museum Road, Little Clarendon Street and the sports ground, allowing us to track our waste monthly. We also collect waste weights for junk and WEEE waste. In 2023 we had more than 75 tonnes of waste, as visible in the graph below.
Emissions from our weighed waste caused 1.57 tCO2e downstream emissions in 2023. These emissions figures only account for waste collection, as emissions from recycling are taken account for in procurement in the government’s conversion figures. While this is less than a tenth of a percent of our total emissions, we are nonetheless committed to reducing this as it has wider impacts in terms of resource use and pollution.
Procurement
Our waste figures highlight the amounts of materials produced for us, with at least 30 tCO2e upstream emissions related to the production of items that ended up in our glass waste and dry mixed recycling. Our IT procurement was also responsible for around 7.3 tCO2e in 2023, based on conversion figures from a recent study (Lövehagen et al., 2023). Furthermore, as is visible in the graph below, our estimated catering emissions amount to 170 tCO2e in 2023, based on conversion figures for meals from a report for UCL’s catering emissions. These procurement emissions are only an initial estimate with large gaps in data remaining. Thus, the proportion of our total emissions will be higher than the 6% currently allocated to procurement.
Transport and travel
An initial estimate of our transport and travel emissions, based on emissions of comparable colleges, lies at 1,157 tCO2e. While there is a lot of uncertainty associated to this figure, the scale of these emissions is important to note as they are higher than all other currently calculated and estimated emissions combined.