American University in Cairo
OP-6: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory in this report uses the Clean Air-Cool Planet Carbon Calculator (CA-CP), a tool widely adopted by universities, to quantify emissions from Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), and Nitrous Oxide (N2O). The American University in Cairo (AUC) customized the tool to suit local conditions, including creating emission factors for Egypt and AUC's Central Utility Plant (CUP), and addressing emissions from water supply, a key concern in arid Egypt. The calculations are reported in Metric Tons (MT) of Carbon Dioxide equivalents (CO2e), allowing for a standardized comparison of the gases' global warming potential.

Basic methodology for calculating emissions:

Units of energy (kWh) or distance (km) or weight (kg) X Emissions factors = CO2e emissions in Metric Tons

Emissions Factors: An Emissions Factor (EF) is the amount of CO2 released per unit of energy, distance, or weight. Emissions factors are either taken from international research efforts (such as for refrigerants) or calculated using AUC-specific conditions (such as HVAC). Generally speaking, this methodology is based on the widely accepted CA-CP model (Clean Air – Cool Plant Calculator)

Methodology Used for Transportation 

• Commuting by Private Car, Bus, and Carpooling

The AUC transportation website displays the 13 current bus routes on Google Maps and calculates trip lengths. The number of times each route was driven during each year was multiplied by the route’s trip length to estimate the annual kilometers traveled by full-size diesel coach buses and microbuses. These kilometer totals were then multiplied by the pertinent emissions factors provided in Section 4.2.5.
AUC’s Office of Transportation Services collects bus trip data daily, providing more accurate measurements of distances traveled. Even so, the results presented for AY 12 through AY 22 are estimates since there are still some gaps in the data that require interpolation from the available information.Total annual car commuting distances were adjusted for carpooling by survey responses and further adjusted for lower commuting populations during the winter session, summer session, and holidays. In AY 21, estimates were further adjusted to account for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the commuting campus population. The adjusted kilometer totals were then multiplied by the pertinent emissions factors provided in Section 4.2.5.

• Air Travel

The AUC’s Office of Travel and Business Support coordinates business travel trips. All business flights booked through the Office are compiled in a database. Only business (non-personal) flights were examined. Flight distances were obtained preliminarily from third-party travel agents, then verified against great circle routes. After determining the km traveled, each flight was classified for emissions factor purposes by its length (Short-, Medium- or Long-Haul) and its booking class (First, Business, or Economy). Then, flights were subdivided into Short-Haul (≤785 km), Medium Haul (between 785 km and 3,700 km), and Long-Haul (≥3,700 km). The total km for each flight category was then multiplied by the pertinent Emissions Factor.

• University Fleet 

Emissions factors (EF) were based on the types of vehicles and the liters of fuel consumed. For the gasoline vehicle fleet, an average EF for gasoline cars was used. For the diesel fleet, made up almost entirely of microbuses, an average EF for diesel light-duty trucks (vans) was used. The total amounts of fuel used were multiplied by their respective EF.

Methodology Used for Solid Waste Disposal 

To estimate the tonnage of solid waste produced in AY 22, two one-week sampling assessments were conducted. Waste leaving campus was weighed every day for one week during a non-peak time (Summer semester) and a peak time (Fall semester). Solid waste tonnages were measured by weighing the trash trucks when loaded and when emptied, then calculating the differences in weights. 
Throughout the year, and even throughout the week, there are days of low population density on campus (less than half of the student body and a fluctuating amount of staff and faculty) and days of high population density (most students, staff, and faculty are present). Based on the University’s academic calendars and online transportation surveys, we estimate that the New Cairo Campus is densely populated 30% of the time and lightly populated 70% of the time. This fluctuation causes variations in the amount of solid waste produced per day. To account for this difference, a yearly average was calculated. 
To estimate the tonnage of solid waste produced in AY 20 and AY 21, the impact of COVID-19 had to be accounted for. In AY 20, waste leaving campus was weighed every day for one week during the Fall semester, before COVID-19, and one week during the remote working and online teaching period on campus. Based on the University’s calendar and the timing of COVID-19, we estimate that the New Cairo Campus was densely populated at 25% of AY 20 and lightly populated at 75% of AY 20. 

Methodology Used for Paper Use 

The research team reviewed all paper purchase invoices and weighed samples of each type of paper. More than 99% of the paper that AUC purchases are uncoated; hence, we decided to use the uncoated paper emission factor for all paper. None of the paper used at AUC is recycled in origin.

Methodology for Calculating Carbon Emissions Attributable to Domestic Water Supply and Treated Wastewater Supply

AUC has continued to improve the management of its water supply since AY 12. Notable water efficiency initiatives include smart flushing technology across campus, low-flow faucets and showerheads, and more water-efficient plants in campus landscaping. The most significant factor is the use of treated wastewater for irrigation. Recycling water in this manner not only helps alleviate regional water scarcity but also results in energy savings and fewer carbon emissions as well. This is due principally to a lower energy pumping factor for each cubic meter of treated wastewater compared to domestic water. Chemonics Egypt has contributed to AUC’s carbon footprint reports by mapping the domestic water supply route from 
the source and analyzing energy consumption to AUC. Chemonics concluded that 2.55 kWh of electricity is required to bring each cubic meter of domestic water from the Ismailiya Canal to the New Cairo Campus (see Appendix 5). After AUC switched to using treated wastewater for irrigation, Chemonics did a second study on the New Cairo municipal wastewater treatment system and determined that the energy needed to deliver treated wastewater to the New Cairo Campus is only 1.49 kWh/m3 (see Appendix 6). Thus, this leads to savings in energy consumption from that of domestic water of more than 40%.6
The University has also improved its water consumption data collection and management practices from the Base Year AY 12 to AY 22. Yearly recalibration of the meters and the gradual switch to digital meters allow us to produce increasingly detailed monthly records of both domestic and treated wastewater consumption.

To calculate the carbon emissions sequestered by trees and groundcover, the number of trees was multiplied by their respective emissions offset rates, and the groundcover area was multiplied by its offset rate. AUC’s campus has 7,893 trees, including 1,155 date palms and 6,738 assumed to be Valencia orange trees. The campus also has 21.10 acres of groundcover. The carbon sequestration rates for date palms were obtained from the U.S. Forest Service Tree Carbon Calculator (USDA, 2013), and for orange trees, from a 2012 study on tree plantations (Kongsager et al., 2012). All landscaping and composting data for AUC’s New Cairo Campus was provided by the Landscape Unit of the Office of Facilities and Operations.

Of all the countries in the Arab world, Egypt is the most vulnerable to global warming. The rising sea 
level predicted by climate change models threatens to flood large swaths of the Delta, Egypt’s 
breadbasket (see Figure 2), undermining Egypt’s food security and threatening the livelihoods of millions 
of agricultural workers. Key population centers are also at risk, most notably the cities of Alexandria and 
Port Said. Additionally, rising mean temperatures will have a negative impact on Egypt’s ability to grow 
enough food to feed its burgeoning population, causing further disruptions in the agricultural sector that 
presently employs over 30% of the workforce. Not least among the threats is the potential impact on 
rainfall patterns in highland Ethiopia, the source of over 80% of the Nile River flow reaching Egypt. 
Given Egypt’s near total dependence on the Nile for its fresh water, either a reduction in average 
precipitation or a greater variation in annual rainfall in Ethiopia would seriously challenge the 
sustainability of Egyptian society. 

The potentially stark consequences of climate change for Egypt led The American University in Cairo to 
undertake the first carbon footprint study in 2011 of an institution of higher education in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The study also responds to a concern about the sustainability of AUC’s own 
operations after the University moved most of its activities from a small 90-year-old campus in 
Downtown Cairo to a new 260-acre campus in the sprawling desert suburb of New Cairo, about 35 km to 
the southeast of the Downtown campus. 

Carbon footprints are widely used as a measure of the impact of human activities on global warming. A carbon footprint calculates net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over time, typically one or more years. The World Resources Institute describes the term as “a representation of the effect you, or your 
organization, have on the climate in terms of the total amount of greenhouse gases produced (measured in units of carbon dioxide). A carbon footprint offers a means to identify carbon emission sources, and to 
evaluate progress in the reduction of these emissions. In AUC’s case, a principal goal of the study is to 
develop information that can be used to mitigate climate change by reducing AUC’s own greenhouse gas 
emissions. A second important goal is to strengthen the University’s finances for the long term by 
permanently reducing its appetite for carbon-based energy sources like natural gas, electricity, gasoline 
and diesel fuel that must be purchased from third parties. Finally, our footprint study is designed to 
provide a replicable model and methods that can be adopted by other institutions of higher education in 
the MENA region to calculate and evaluate their own carbon emissions.