The document discusses the American University in Cairo's (AUC) carbon footprint and efforts to increase sustainability on campus. It provides information about AUC's carbon emissions for the 2015 academic year, which totaled 42,808 metric tons. The largest contributors were HVAC, transportation, and electricity. The carbon footprint is equivalent to emissions from 99,553 barrels of oil burned or carbon sequestered by 1,097,642 trees over 10 years. The document encourages the AUC community to adopt sustainable practices to reduce the university's environmental impact.

1. To learn more about Office of Sustainability, visit
aucegypt.edu/about/sustainable-auc/sustainable-campus
The transparent section of the AUC Library (more than 40 percent of the building volume) represents the volume of greenhouse gases
(principally carbon dioxide) emitted by AUC per day in the academic year 2015.
September 1, 2014 - August 31, 2015

2. ONE DAY
OFAUCEMISSIONS
CARBONFOOTPRINT
2016

3. It is a tool to assess the impact of an organization or activity on the
environment by measuring the amount of greenhouse gases — the
cause of global warming — emitted into the atmosphere each year.
At AUC, the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions are heating
ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), transportation, electrical
equipment, refrigerant leakage, water supply, domestic hot water,
lighting and solid waste disposal.
The University’s carbon footprint estimates the quantities of
greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere as a result of its
normal operations, including operating the campus and commuting
by faculty, students and staff. It is expressed in metric tons of carbon
dioxide equivalent.
WHAT IS A
CARBON
FOOTPRINT?

4. AUC’S AY2015
CARBON FOOTPRINT
24,00022,00020,00018,00016,00014,00012,00010,0008,0006,0004,0002,0000
HVAC and Domestic Hot Water
(Ventilation, air conditioning, heating
and domestic hot water)
Paper
Water Supply
(Consumption by Buildings
and Irrigation, by HVAC)
Solid Waste Disposal
39.20%
Electricity
(Lighting and equipment
other than HVAC)
19.37%
Transportation
(Car, bus, air travel, University fleet
and sponsored trips)
36.26%
1.10%
0.64%
1.31%
Refrigerant Leakage 2.03%
Information collected for AUC’s forthcoming Spring 2017 Carbon Footprint Report,
a project of the Office of Sustainability.
metric tons of carbon
dioxide equivalent42,808
aucegypt.edu/about/sustainable-auc/sustainable-campus

5. 2015
42,808
DID YOU KNOW
ACADEMIC YEAR
metric tons of carbon dioxide
= 99,553
= 1,097,642 10 years
barrels of oil burned
(30.4 million liters of oil)
trees for
carbon sequestered by growing
FACTS ABOUT AUC’S CARBON FOOTPRINT

6. Commuters driving
cars to campus
metric tons
11,477Carbon emission
per AUC student
metric tons7.1
39%Heating, ventilation and
air conditioning (HVAC)
19%
Car drivers
carpooling
to AUC
Electricity used for
lighting and powering
equipment
}ONLY
11%
OR
30%Commuting
by bus or car
aucegypt.edu/about/sustainable-auc/sustainable-campus

7. TOP YOU CAN
HELP AUC’S CARBON FOOTPRINT
WAYS10
Do not heat or
cool spaces that
are not being used
Ride the bus
to campus
1 2
3 4
5
REDUCE
Only put empty plastic
water bottles in the
plastic recycling bins6
Turn off
electrical equipment
when not in use
7
9 Bring your own
thermos for coffee at
campus cafes
10
Fill up on water from
the water fountainTurn off lights
before
you leave
8
Think before you print –
use both sides of
the paper
}
Share rides
with friends
Reuse unfinished notebooks
for the next semester

8. wn
Dear AUC community,
Since the establishment of the Office of Sustainability in 2011, The American University in Cairo has
accomplished great strides in improving its energy efficiency to manage a campus of more than 6,000
students in a desert climate. Egypt ranks among the top 10 countries in the world that are most susceptible
to climate change, which makes AUC’s emphasis on sustainability especially timely. Today, with the
publication of the fifth continuous year of the University’s carbon footprint data, we are proud to continue
our tradition of developing, implementing, testing and assessing workable solutions to the challenges of
sustainable development in Egypt’s special environment.
This project is part of the first attempt in the region to measure a University’s impact on climate change.
Although the data is informative, effectively combating climate change requires the effort of individuals.
We hope that the results in this pamphlet will educate, encourage and inspire the AUC community to
incorporate sustainable practices into their everyday lives.
Brian MacDougall
EVP for Administration and Finance
The American University in Cairo
aucegypt.edu/about/sustainable-auc/sustainable-campus