Assessing the Effects of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on the Environmental Footprint of a Swiss University of Applied Sciences

Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, this study analysed the university's direct and indirect emissions during a regular year of operation (2019) and compared them with those generated during the lockdown periods in 2020. For the activity areas mobility, energy, waste, IT & paper, gastronomy, and water, specific, primary bottom-up inventory data was gathered before and during the pandemic. The data was assessed with 15 environmental impact assessment methods of the environmental footprint framework. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the environmental footprint of a University of Applied Sciences in 2019 and 2020, including the effects of the lockdown periods. The study identifies the main sources of emissions and assesses the pandemic-related effects. The results of a regular year of operation (2019) depict that student and employee commuting, and business travel contributed with 86% largely to the total global warming potential of 2’572 t CO2-eq. The pandemic-induced changes in commuting and business travel resulted in a 60% reduction leading to a drop to 1’075 t CO2-eq (2020). In contrast, the environmental footprint due to energy consumption remained almost on the same level, irrespective of the absences on-site in 2020. This study has the potential to shape post-pandemic environmental efforts in Higher Education Institutions and contribute to a much-needed baseline against which mitigation efforts can be compared to. Unlike other studies, this study goes beyond the carbon footprint and expands the discussion to additional environmental and human health impact categories by applying the environmental footprint framework.