Energy and Emissions

Corpus Christi College aspires to achieve total net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest, with the interim target of reducing peak emissions by 50% by 2030. Corpus was one of the earliest Oxford Colleges to set an official carbon target and is now in discussions about more ambitious targets, considering the nature of our climate emergency.

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The graph above shows our currently estimated emissions for 2022 and 2023 by scope. Our Scope 1 direct emissions fell from 328 tonnes Carbon Dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) in 2022 to 296 tCO2e in 2023. Our Scope 2 indirect emissions related to electricity production rose from 193 tCO2e in 2022 to 225 tCO2e in 2023. However, our scope 2 emissions were offset by our long-standing procurement of renewable electricity, as made visible through the Scope 2 negative emissions above. Our covered scope 3 emissions rose from 777 tCO2e to 787 tCO2e over this time period. For more information about what we mean by Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, click here.

While our Scope 1 and 2 emissions and our Scope 3 emissions for utilities and waste are complete, the figures for procurement and travel are initial estimates. We are working on including more of our scope 3 emissions as better data becomes available. The graph above shows the currently estimated makeup of Corpus Christi College emissions by category of activity across all scopes. We expect procurement to be a larger part of our emissions and have not accounted for our endowment in these figures as yet. Unless otherwise stated, the conversion factors for emissions are based on the government’s official figures for the given year (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023).

Scope 1 emissions

Gas

Corpus Christi College reduced its gas consumption by 10.68% between 2022 and 2023. As visible in the graph below the College’s gas consumption was 161,611 m3 in 2022 and fell to 144,352 m3 in 2023.

Thus, the College’s scope 1 emissions from gas fell from 326 tCO2e in 2022 to 294 tCO2e in 2023. In addition, our gas use caused upstream scope 3 emissions of 55 tCO2e in 2022 and 49 tCO2e in 2023. This means that gas use accounted for over 31% of our estimated emissions as visible in the second graph. We are working to remove these emissions by degasifying our buildings.

Diesel

The College owns a diesel van which we have estimated produces annual emissions of 2 tCO2e based on estimates of its fuel consumption. There are plans to replace this van with an electric van.

Scope 2 emissions

Electricity

Corpus Christi College has a long-standing commitment to purchasing renewable electricity. By doing so, we have been able to avoid 225 tCO2e in 2023 and 193 tCO2e in 2022. Nonetheless, our electricity use in 2023 caused upstream emissions amounting to 74 tCO2e, or nearly 7% of our total emissions.

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We are also in the process of negotiating a sustainable energy project of national importance which will be used to deliver green power to UK research infrastructure in Oxfordshire. The College will, we hope, be able to take green power from this site using battery and solar arrays enabling us to audit the source of electricity used by the College. This is an innovative 21^st century use of agricultural lands given to us by our Founders with the intention of sustaining the medieval College foundation.

“EcoSync is allowing us to easily stop heating unoccupied rooms and set empty rooms to a freeze protection setting during vacations. We hope this will reduce our gas use and thus our carbon emissions, taking us closer to decarbonisation."

Peter Nitsche-Whitfield, Former Sustainability Officer

Scope 3 emissions

We are tracking our scope 3 emissions related to water and waste and have our initial estimates related to procurement and deliveries as well as student and business travel.

Water

In 2023, Corpus’ water use caused about 10 tCO2e, falling from 13 tCO2e in 2022.

Waste

All our dry mixed recycling, food recycling, general waste, glass recycling and cardboard recycling is weighed on collection at our Main Site, Lampl and Walton Street, allowing us to track our waste monthly.

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Emissions from our weighed waste caused 1 tCO2e downstream emissions in 2023. These emissions figures only account for waste collection, as emissions from recycling are taken account for in procurement in the government’s conversion figures. While this is less than a tenth of a percent of our total emissions, we are nonetheless committed to reducing this as it has wider impacts in terms of resource use and pollution.

Procurement

Our waste figures highlight the amounts of materials produced for us, with around 20 tCO2e upstream emissions related to the production of items that ended up in our dry mixed recycling, glass and paper waste. Using the same method, our food emissions were at least 66 tCO2e in 2023. Our IT procurement was also responsible for around 4 tCO2e in 2023, based on conversion figures from a recent study (Lövehagen et al., 2023). These procurement emissions are only an initial estimate with large gaps in data remaining. Thus, the proportion of our total emissions will be substantially higher than the 8% currently allocated to procurement.

Transport and Travel

Our transport and travel emissions were estimated at 566 tCO2e in 2023 and 559 tCO2e in 2022. While there is a lot of uncertainty associated to these figures, the scale of these emissions is important to note.

Emissions from deliveries were estimated at 7 tCO2e in both 2022 and 2023. Our food supplier Food Quad provides us with emissions figures for their deliveries, which amounted to 4 tCO2e in both years. Using a conversion factor from the HECSET Tool for postal services, we get a figure of about 3 tCO2e for couriers and postage. Emissions from flights for College business amounted to 10 tCO2e in 2023 and 2 tCO2e in 2022.

Based on emissions of student travel in comparable colleges, our student travel accounted for approximately 547 tCO2e per year, which alone is more than half of our total estimated emissions in 2023.

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Energy and Emissions

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Scope 1 emissions

Scope 2 emissions