Environmental Assessment of University Campuses: The Case of the University of Navarra in Pamplona (Spain)

Current European environmental sustainability standards call for achieving a reduction in energy consumption and CO2 emissions for a horizon set in the year 2050. It has been verified that buildings and cities have a higher incidence in this regard. It is necessary to have tools for initial assessme...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Arias Royo, Alba Juncal, León Cascante, Iñigo, Oregi Isasi, Xabat, Marieta Gorriti, María Cristina
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Recursos:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/52799
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/52799
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:energy transition
renewable energy
decision support tool
life-cycle assessment
university environmental impact
Descrição
Resumo:Current European environmental sustainability standards call for achieving a reduction in energy consumption and CO2 emissions for a horizon set in the year 2050. It has been verified that buildings and cities have a higher incidence in this regard. It is necessary to have tools for initial assessment that can quickly analyse whether the improvement scenarios put forward by different organisations and governments will be able to meet the goals set at European level. Universities are an important factor for the intended change and therefore offer an excellent environment for testing such tools. A case study focusing on a university in northern Spain is presented, through an evaluation tool using 3D models including life-cycle assessment. Different reform scenarios are evaluated for two key years, 2030 and 2050. The novelty lies in considering, not only the impact of the operational phase but also the impact of the different stages of the life cycle and processes, obtaining an impact value closer to reality. The results indicate that, even with major retrofitting and adaptation efforts, the European targets are difficult to achieve by 2050. Moreover, solutions such as biomass help to achieve greenhouse gas reductions but not to improve energy efficiency.