4.2 2023-2024 ACHIEVEMENTS ENVIRONMENT With a view to reducing the environmental footprint of its activities, ULiège undertook a number of projects in the 2023-24 academic year to reduce the carbon impact of its financial investments, reduce energy consumption, encourage soft mobility, manage its green spaces in an eco-responsible manner, reduce waste and promote sustainable food in its canteens. THE INSTITUTION’S CARBON FOOTPRINT IN 2022 1 unit created by the IPCC, a measure used to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which allows different GHGs to be compared and added together by reducing them to the same reference unit: that of carbon dioxide (CO₂), the main gas responsible for global warming. 2 The reduction in emissions between these two reference dates must be assessed with caution, given the uncertainty inherent in the quality of the data and the GHG Protocol calculation methodology. The uncertainty assessed for the carbon balance for each year is significant (~50%) and varies greatly from one category of emissions to another (low for energy, high for purchases or investments, for example): it is linked to the uncertainties associated with the emission factors. In 2023-24, the University compared its carbon footprint in 2022 with that for 2019: this shows a change from 94.5 kilo tonnes of CO2 1 equivalent (k t CO 2e) in 2019 to 83.5 k t CO2e in 2022. The main sources of emissions remain the same: purchases (over 50%), mobility (around 25%) and energy (18%). The apparent reduction2 of ~12% between 2019 and 2022 is mainly due to the reduction in purchasing. In 2022, the impact of the university’s investments - which are added to its activities - has also been calculated, with a total of 90.4 k t CO2e. This carbon footprint now guides strategic decisions, particularly in the areas of international mobility, home-campus mobility, purchasing and energy, while explicitly targeting less carbon-intensive sectors for investments, as set out in our charter on financial investments. durable@uliege.be KEY FIGURES > 477 600 km Nearly 150 items repaired by the Repair Café at Sart Tilman between its opening in October 2023 and August 2024 the institution’s estimated carbon footprint in 2022 number of km cycled by staff in 2023 83,5 k tCO2e 34 | ACTIVITY REPORT SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSITION AT ULIÈGE | 2023 – 2024
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