Abstract
The environmental and financial drivers for reducing energy consumption and associated CO2 emissions are well established and widely accepted. The UK and Welsh Governments have demonstrated their commitment by setting CO2 reduction targets across the public sector including Higher Education.The literature shows that detailed research has been carried out by SOW Consulting on behalf of the Higher Education Funding Council for England to inform strategic planning but that no such body of under-pinning knowledge is available for the Welsh HE sector. The aim of this study is to identify a cost effective carbon abatement strategy for the HE sector in Wales with the intention of informing future strategic planning.
Using sector specific datasets individual and collective emissions baselines are established for Higher Education Institutions and the Welsh HE Sector respectively. These results are used to benchmark the relative energy efficiency of the Welsh HE Estate, identify good practice and to define a single case study. Cardiff Metropolitan University is highlighted and further noted for their acclaimed use of automatic monitoring and targeting as a means of achieving sustainable behaviour change.
In this thesis HEFCE's assessment of the cost effectiveness of abatement measures and abatement potential is validated from the critical evaluation of the case study.This shows that whilst applying their predictions on a pro-rata basis to the HE sector in Wales was a justifiable approach to identify the individual measures within a cost-effective carbon abatement strategy, the cost of delivering sustainable behaviour change is understated.
| Date of Award | Apr 2013 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Andrew Geens (Supervisor) |