Carbon Reduction Plan

Related Carbon Report - 23/24Link opens in a new window Published 7th April 2025

Commitment to achieving Net Zero

The University of Warwick is commited to acheiving Net Zero emissions by 2050 The University of Warwick is commited to acheiving Net Zero emissions for Scope 1 and 2 by 2030

Baseline Emissions Footprint

Baseline emissions are a record of the greenhouse gases that have been produced in the past and were produced prior to the introduction of any strategies to reduce emissions. Baseline emissions are the reference point against which emissions reduction can be measured.

The baseline reporting year of 2018/19 has been determined due to being the last year of business unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the data sources have increased since 2018/19, where data is available, the historic data has been updated, requiring re-calculation of the baseline figures. The annual reporting aims to ensure that comparable figures are available.

The increase in travel based emissions is a known area of risk with the international nature of the business, and since 2019/20 there has been a Travel Management Company to support with travel requirements for staff.
To decarbonise campus operations the Energy Strategy commits to transitioning away from Gas to REGO Electricity.
Our downstream transport emissions are from all aspects of student travel, including daily commuting, and travel to and from home. As the University's International strategy evolves there is an expectation that this category will fluctuate.
Since March 2020 there has been a hybrid working model across the University, to calculate home working impact for staff and post-graduate researchers the 2021 Homeworking white paper is used.

		Baseline Year 2018/19	Current Year 2023/24
Total Emissions (tCO2e)		225,356	198,925 `11.73% reduction`

Scope 1 (tCO2e)		29,850	24,273 `18.68% reduction`
Scope 2 [Location Based] (tCO2e)		9,316	9,713 `4.26% increase`
Scope 3 (tCO2e)	Category 1, 2 and 4	127,482	86,515 `32.14% reduction`
	Category 3	5,888	7,098 `20.54% increase`
	Category 5	462	113 `75.45% reduction`
	Category 6	4,303	10,123 `135.25% increase`
	Category 7	16,195	9,182 `43.3% reduction`
	Category 9	39,937	60,917 `52.53% increase`
	Category 13	364	477 `31.19% increase`

Emissions Reduction Targets

In order to continue our progress to achieving Net Zero, we adopted the following carbon reduction targets in the Way to Sustainable Strategy [2022].

We project that Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions will decrease by 80% by 2030 and 20% by 2025. The 2030 budget for Scope 1 is 5,972 tCO2e.

Progress against these targets can be seen in the graphs below:

Target: Reduce the University’s Scope 1 emissions by 20% by 2025 and by 80% by 2030 based on a 2018/19 baseline year.

The carbon intensity of our operations is measured per FTE and per m² to allow for expansion of the operation within the ongoing reporting.

Target: Reduce the University’s Scope 1 emissions by 20% by 2025 and by 80% by 2030 based on a 2018/19 baseline year.

With a reduction of 18.68% by July 2024, the 2025 target is still seen as realistic and achievable.

Target: Reduce the University’s Scope 1 emissions by 20% by 2025 and by 80% by 2030 based on a 2018/19 baseline year.

Carbon Reduction Projects

Scope 1 and Scope 2

Energy Strategy

Overall, we are looking to deliver a pathway of incremental, “no-regret” projects that will help the University achieve Net Zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 (direct emissions and the energy we buy).

Gas

In 23/24 our Scope 1 emissions were 24,273 tCO2e, an 18.9% reduction compared to the previous year and 17.5% compared to our baseline 2018/19.

This is primarily due to a significant decrease in the amount of natural gas burned in our energy centres. Use of gas-fired Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engines in these energy centres has been reduced to limit Scope 1 emissions, and we now purchase a greater proportion of our electricity from renewable sources.

Electricity

Since October 2021, all directly purchased electricity comes from 100% REGO-backed renewable supplies. There has also been significant investment in photovoltaic arrays across campus rooftops to support self generation of electricity.

This means that market-based emissions from the purchase of electricity remain very low. Recognising the location basis mix that is utilised at point of use, our location-based Scope 2 emissions were 9,713 tCO2e in 23/24, a 34.2% increase on 22/23, and a 4.3% increase on 18/19.

This increase is due to the additional grid electricity purchased following a reduction in self-generation from gas. The reduction in Scope 1 emissions from gas exceeds Scope 2 increases and, as grid electricity continues to decarbonise, the benefits of “fuel switching” increase.

Water

What are we doing to reduce water consumption?

Behaviour change campaigns.
Automatic leak detection.
Shower and tap flow technology which have reduced shower water usage 12 litres per minute to 6 litres per minute and tap water usage down to 3 litres per minute in areas we currently have them installed.
Installation of dual flush toilets and waterless urinals in the Oculus building.

Scope 3

Travel to campus

Emissions for employee commuting comprise both staff and postgraduate research (PGR) staff emissions. With undergraduate and taught post-graduate students being accounted for in downstream travel, as per sector guidance.

The Transport and Mobility team lead the interventions with Modes of Travel information and work with local councils to ensure a quality of bus service that can support the community. Electric charging is available across campus, supported by reduced parking rates for EVs.

Staff commuting is more carbon intensive than PGR commuting, which from feedback is due to a higher incidence of car ownership. Car sharing is promoted through the Green Rewards app which allows user to connect with colleagues across campus who live near them.

To monitor the uptake in more sustainable modes the intensity is averaged across the population base.

tCO2e per person per year	22/23	23/24
Staff	0.70	0.82
PGR	N/A	0.45

Annual surveys are used to compile qualitative data on how the community commutes to campus, and whilst staff respond at a statistically significant rate, postgraduate students have a constant low response rate.

Quantitative data sources have increased since 22/23 where the introduction of Car Park Automatic Number plate Recognition (ANPR) data provides data to support commuting habits.

Business Travel

Travel for business is a key part of the International Strategy:

"Warwick thrives on our diverse and inclusive global community of students, staff and alumni. We are committed to enriching the international composition, outlook and understanding of our community and to empowering educational and research excellence, innovation and impact through collaboration with a strong network of partners around the globe, so that, together, we can deliver solutions to global challenges and enhance our way of life. We seek to do so in accordance with our values as an institution, our commitment to a sustainable future, and our ambition to be one of the world’s exceptional universities, pointing the way ahead."

Working with a Travel Management Company since March 2019 has allowed for continuous data monitoring and the implementation of departmentally managed travel in areas of high frequency. This has lead to further transparency as to travel requirements and greater implementation of financial procedures which promote lower carbon travel means - such as domestic rail, and economy flights globally.

We also operate a small fleet of electric and hybrid vehicles for local travel - known as the Car Club scheme.

Circular Economy Responsible Procurement

Supplier Assurance, for managed contracts have included social and environmental concerns since prior to the baseline year, these have been strengthened over time to now include Supplier Engagement tools that provide action plans for SMEs to support corporate sustainable reporting, and a Carbon Reproting tool that collates supplier data to support with company reporting.

Supply Chain reporting is currently utilising the DEFRA 110 Domestic Spend Categories model, via a sector wide tool - HESCET. This is known to be a low confidence model, and SIC codes have also been evaluated but as this alignment returns significantly lower reporting values, the decision to align with the sector has been taken.

Work to increase the data confidence level requires the utilisation of the Carbon Reporting tool and, confidence in the provided data. In 23/24 the data was available but not verifiable with multiple years of reporting, so was not utilised in reporting.

Targeted high value and high carbon sectors have contacted in 24/25, with the intention of improving data visibility in the 2/25 reporting year.

Food on Campus

Central campus offers many different food outlets that are run by the teams at Warwick Food and Drink, Warwick Food Group and the Warwick Conferences.

By collaborating across the commercial outlets, the vision is to be sustainable and socially responsible University that showcases local produce, promotes healthier eating options and supports our environment. The collaboration extends to working with the on-site concessions, departmental food offerings and ensuring alignment with the Student Union priorities.

PPN 06/21 Requirement

This Carbon Reduction Plan has been completed in accordance with PPN 06/21 and associated guidance and reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans.

Emissions have been reported and recorded in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the GHG Reporting Protocol corporate standard 13 and uses the appropriate Government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting.

Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions have been reported in accordance with SECR requirements, and the required subset of Scope 3 emissions have been reported in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard.