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Queen’s may have grown a lot over the past 10 years, but one thing that hasn’t are its campus carbon emissions.

The newly published 2017 Carbon Footprint Report heralds big reductions across campus. The total emissions in 2017 were the lowest reported on Queen’s campus since 2008, with a 10-year total reductions rate now up to 30 percent.

Queen’s drove this decrease primarily by enacting energy reduction projects (CAPit projects) that reduced building level electricity and heating loads. A temperate summer in 2017 also reduced cooling loads. Find out more about CAPit projects and its second phase underway this year at the on Oct. 2.

“Creating a culture of sustainability at Queen’s is a key priority across the university,” says Donna Janiec, Vice-Principal (Finance and Administration). “The 2017 Carbon Footprint Report illustrates the hard work done so far in keeping our commitment to reducing greenhouse gases.”

The Carbon Footprint Report tracks yearly progress on greenhouse gas emissions for the 2020, 2030, and 2040 goals of the Climate Action Plan. The report includes the type of emissions reported on, the method for calculating them, a breakdown of the total 2017 emissions, and a discussion of how and why the numbers have changed from year to year.

The Climate Action Plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2008 levels by 35 percent by 2020, 70 percent by 2030 and net zero by 2040. Even with the increasing energy demand created by new buildings and an increasing student and staff population, the 30 percent decrease in carbon emissions since 2008 is a promising sign that Queen’s will achieve its 2020 Climate Action Plan goals.

 “Over the last four years, the university has invested over $15 Million into energy conservation projects and we are seeing the benefits from those projects reflected in our carbon footprint,” says Nathan Splinter, Manager, Energy and Sustainability. “These projects have helped move the university closer to our Climate Action Plan goals.”

Read the full 2017 Carbon Footprint Report on the Queen’s Sustainability website.

To learn more about the Climate Action Plan and what Queen’s is doing to reduce its impact on the environment, check out the schedule of events for Sustainability Week, Sept. 30 to Oct. 4.