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The Cuajimalpa campus of the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM) is located in the western region of Mexico City. In 2016, its global average population (students, faculty and staff) was around 2750 people. Campus policies include sustainability as one of its main aims. To evaluate and eventually reduce the environmental impact of the campus, its greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory was assessed and the carbon footprint was calculated, using the GHG protocol (GHGP): Scope 1: direct GHG emissions; Scope 2: indirect GHG emissions; and Scope 3: other indirect GHG emissions, on a calendar year basis. Scope 1 includes mobile and stationary sources and leakage of refrigerants; Scope 2 includes electrical energy usage; Scope 3 includes consumption of paper, food, water, gases, cleaning products, solvents, wastewater treatment, municipal and hazardous wastes and academic travel. In 2016, the campus produced around 3000 tons of CO2 equivalent, with Scope 1, 2 and 3 accounting for 4%, 24% and 72%, respectively. Emissions analysis by activity indicated 51% for commuting; 24% for electricity usage; 14% for academic travel; 11% for other activities. The inventory will aid the establishment of policies for reduction and mitigation of GHG, resulting in environmental and potential economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many opportunities for consumers to design their lives more sustainably. While a rapidly growing body of literature has investigated how consumers can reduce carbon footprints in key consumption areas, such as food, housing and mobility, an overall framework that allows structuring those options across all consumption areas is still missing. Hence, this paper presents a novel and systematic framework to identify improvement options that promote climate change mitigation and structure them based on their primary mode of impact on GHG emissions. The framework targets consumer practices and focuses on ambitious, but technically and socioeconomically feasible strategies for consumers to lower their carbon footprint. Four major categories for reducing consumption-based emissions form the basic framework, which are then subdivided into behavioural strategies and sub-strategies. The practical application of the framework is illustrated by using food consumption as an example. Systematically identifying improvement options can advance a holistic understanding of the range of behavioural strategies targeting consumer choices that operate at different stages in the supply chain. It thus provides a starting point for addressing critical questions related to the role of consumers in supporting climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decreasing household size is a global trend, driven by urbanization and multiple other socioeconomic trends. Going solo poses a great environmental challenge, as the possibility to benefit from scale economies in consumption and its greenhouse gas impacts is not taken advantage of. In other words, understanding of intra-household sharing patterns of different consumption categories is increasingly important in climate change mitigation. This paper explores the relationship between household sizes, urban structures, and greenhouse gas impacts of lifestyles. When urban areas grow outwards, the household sizes also grow. As a result of this, the increase in intra-household sharing seems to alleviate the negative GHG implications of urban sprawl, which is highly logical but yet not comprehended. Thus, the rise of collaborative consumption offers potential to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of solo dwellers, and compensate for the lower intra-household sharing with inter-household sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of publicly disclosing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by companies and organizations is gaining momentum and a variety of so called 'GHG Registries' have been developed in countries around the globe, while specific requirements are being adjusted to local circumstances and needs. Different GHG Registries are currently operating worldwide, either as mandatory or as voluntary programs. Israel launched a voluntary initiative in 2010 known as the Israel GHG Reporting and Registering System. The Israel GHG Reporting Protocol was prepared by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Energy and Environment cluster at the Samuel Neaman Institute, in cooperation with a wide range of stakeholders, including other governmental ministries, industry and local government representatives as well as non-governmental organizations. The Israel GHG Protocol is largely based on the World Resources Institute/World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WRI/WBCSD) corporate accounting standard and ISO 14064. While the decision to join the GHG registry in Israel is currently voluntary, once an organization has joined the registry it commits to calculate and report GHG emissions according to the registry's protocol and methodology guidance to allow for consistency in the reported data and for accurate comparison of the results. The Israeli program is intended to help develop capacities and tools for organizations, industry and various other private sector entities to manage their GHG emissions by annually calculating and submitting their emission inventories which will also help them to estimate the potential for emissions reduction. This paper focuses on the analysis of the GHG emission reports submitted for 2010, 2011 and 2012 by participating companies and organizations and on how these data enable the reporting organizations to develop their databases, improve their risk management capabilities and identify opportunities for energy and process efficiency improvements that could lead to GHG emissions reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]