Net-Zero Heroes? Climate Change Mitigation Efforts and Strategies across Australian Group-of-Eight Universities

Abstract

Businesses are increasingly declaring their operations to be “carbon neutral” or “net-zero”. But how real are these claims? We investigated the climate mitigation efforts of the eight leading universities in Australia and discovered that the actual emission reductions lag behind the net-zero rhetoric. In the last ten years, most universities increased energy consumption, while reported emissions plateaued. The energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of Group-of-Eight (Go8) universities were influenced by size and population growth, climate of the campus location, and energy efficiencies. The Go8 universities experienced, on average, a 25% increase in student numbers in the last decade, and most increased their energy consumption. However, Scope 1 (direct emissions) and Scope 2 (emissions from electricity consumption) remained stable for most universities from 2011 to 2019 and decreased on a per-capita basis, indicating some level of improved efficiencies. Almost all Go8 universities have net-zero commitments and aim to achieve this by similar measures: power purchase agreements (PPAs) for electricity consumption, and carbon offsets for remaining emissions. Most universities lack a strategy for direct or measurable targets regarding energy or emissions reductions along their value chain. Unlike the UK or other countries, Australia has no standardised emission reporting requirements for Scope 3 emissions (other indirect emissions). This has led to rudimentary and haphazard reporting, limiting comparability between universities. Only one university had a more complete Scope 3 inventory, and these Scope 3 emissions were five times greater than their combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions, indicating a potential for substantial under-reporting of emissions. This highlights the need for more rigorous, consistent, and sector-specific emissions accounting, especially on indirect emissions, and for an overhaul of net-zero accreditation.