ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT ASSESSMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION APPLYING LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK. CASE STUDY: UNIVERSITAT POLITÈCNCIA DE VALÈNCIA

Abstract

Universities from all over the world has recently developed Ecological Footprint to assess their environmental impact. The methodologies applied are variations of the original methodology designed for territories. The analysis of these studies highlight the lack of standardization of the methodology and the lack of comparability with in results. Seeking for a standardized methodology that provides comparable results, an Ecological Footprint Assessment (EFA) methodology based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is proposed. The assessment is applied to case study Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). Results brings out the high impact of the emission component of the EFA – Carbon Footprint – that represents the 85% of EFA. Weaknesses of the methodology are also discussed and the usefulness of a verified Environmental Management System is proven.