The University of Eastern Finland’s carbon footprint has shrunk, according to a recent calculation. The university’s overall carbon footprint in 2022 accounted for 86% of the 2019 emissions.
“As expected, our emissions have increased since the pandemic, but they’ve nevertheless remained below the initial level of 2019,” Sustainable Development Specialist Maiju Eskelinen says.
The carbon footprint of facilities and travel have shrunk the most. The carbon footprint of restaurant services has also decreased due to reduced customer volumes in campus restaurants. The carbon footprint of procurements has remained fairly unchanged throughout the review period, while the carbon footprint of laboratories has grown. However, inflation may increase the calculated emissions from procurements and laboratories.
The smaller carbon footprint of facilities is explained especially by a wider adoption of renewable sources of energy in district heating. On the Joensuu Campus, heating has been fully renewable since 2022.
The 2022 carbon footprint of travel accounted for 63% of the level of 2019.
“Travel returned pretty much to normal in 2022, so hopefully the smaller carbon footprint is an indication of people travelling more efficiently. Perhaps the pandemic has shown us that not every meeting needs to be attended in person. However, it takes several years of monitoring to see the real impact and trends,” Eskelinen says.
Summary of carbon footprint: Carbon neutral UEF 2025 – Summary of Carbon Footprint 2019–2022 (to be published in June-July).
For further information, please contact:
Sustainable Development Specialist Maiju Eskelinen, https://uefconnect.uef.fi/en/person/maiju.eskelinen/
For more information on sustainable development actions at the University of Eastern Finland, please see: https://www.uef.fi/en/sustainable-development
