13.4 Commitment to Carbon Neutral University
13.4.1 COMMITMENT TO CARBON NEUTRAL UNIVERSITY
Benguet State University, with its four-fold functions (instruction, research, extension and production), is committed in making its internal operations conducive for climate action by:
- Calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from our operations.
- Estimating the carbon stock and carbon sequestration of its land areas and forest reserves
- Enhancing the carbon sink potential of the university thru adopt-a-forest schemes and research linkages
BSU’s Carbon Sink Commitment is an integral part of its corporate response to climate change.
BSU’s carbon sink commitment encourages more efficient instruction, research, extension and production operations that help mitigate climate change. It is also consistent with BSU’s strategy of instructing and empowering its students and staff towards awareness and action on limiting and responding to challenges brought by climate change and to ensure that BSU’s projects are environmentally and socially sustainable. This factsheet focuses on the carbon footprint of the BSU’s internal operations.
Calculating our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
The diesel consumption of the university is mainly for local travel to fulfill its four-fold function namely instruction, research, extension and production. The monthly diesel consumption 1,520 – 9,084 L with higher values in March, October and November and least during December. The total diesel consumption of the university for year 2023 is 7,514 L that is equivalent to CO2 emission of 203.50 Mg C.
Another direct CO2 emission of the university is the use of LPG in the canteen, bakery and food processing centers being maintained by the university. The total LPG used for year 2023 is 6,335 L which is equivalent to 9.57 Mg CO2 emission
For 2023, BSU used 1,008.99 MWh of electrical energy for its different operations. The monthly electric consumption did not vary greatly ranging at 74.38 – 101.58 MWh. Lowest electricity use was recorded in the third quarter of the year, with the lowest in September. The total electric consumption of the university was equivalent to 1,092 Mg CO2 emission. From these values, it could be readily deduced that majority of the university’s CO2 emission is coming from electric consumption (83.7%) followed by diesel consumption (15.6%) and least from LPG use (0.7%).
Calculating the BSU’s Carbon Stock and Carbon Sequestration
Four major carbon pools were identified to occur in BSU La Trinidad campus namely tree carbon, shrub/ understory, herb and litter and soil carbon (Figure 2).
Tree carbon includes both above-ground and below-ground carbon. Combining all the carbon pools, the total carbon stock was estimated with the lowest carbon stock recorded in BSU Main Campus at 20.07 Mg/ha while the forest reserves had 119.96 – 191.19 Mg/ha. The same trend with tree carbon was observed wherein IHFSA Forest Reserve upper and middle stations had significantly highest carbon stock. This is due to the fact that tree carbon contributes 87% of the total carbon pool, followed by soil (7.83%), shrub/ understory (4.75%) and least in herbs and litter (0.08%).
Multiplying the carbon stock with the total land area of the sampling stations, the carbon stocks of the different land areas of BSU were determined. The IHFSA and CSAC Forest Reserve recorded the highest carbon stock at 7,075 and 5,690 Mg C. On the other hand, the BSU Main Campus had highest land area but only contributes to 1,685 Mg C which is expected since this area contains the building, open-ground and agricultural areas of the university but with interspersed tree lines. Over-all, the BSU La Trinidad campus had an estimated carbon stock of 15,660.08 Mg C.
The carbon sequestration was estimated from the carbon stock by considering the growth rate of the trees (Figure 3D). Following the trend of the carbon stock, the IHFSA and CSAC Forest Reserve recorded the highest carbon sequestration at 1,643 and 1321 Mg CO2/yr. Over-all, the BSU La Trinidad campus had an estimated carbon sequestration of 3,636.26 Mg CO2/yr.
Carbon stock helps mitigate climate change by providing a safe replacement for atmospheric carbon dioxide. The impact of climate change on ecosystems can also be determined using carbon stock studies. This is crucial for assessing how ecosystems will be affected by global warming and identifying vulnerable areas that may become a cause for concern. Identifying suitable areas for enhanced sequestration (carbon capture) will help mitigate ongoing human-induced carbon emissions. This information can create effective policies that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon storage locations should also be identified to help implement forest management strategies that encourage the growth of specific forests capable of storing large amounts of carbon (Pechanec et al. 2022).
Trees are the major carbon pool in Benguet State University land areas. About 87% of the carbon mass in its forest reserves was stored in the trees, with the soil accounting for about 8%. On the other hand, the understory and litter contributed the least to the carbon stock, with only 1% based on the gathered data. These results are consistent with a study conducted in a pine forest in Buguias, Benguet and Alapang Communal Forest wherein majority of the carbon was stored in trees and soil (Parao et al. 2015; Pocyoy and Napaldet, 2024).
The average carbon storage in the forest reserve of the university is 151 Mg C/ha. This lower compared to the nearby Alapang Forest with 192.54 Mg C /ha. Our result is lower than the national average of 250 Mg C/ha for natural forests (Medina et al. 2020) and the carbon stocks of 418 Mg C/ha reported in the Mount Makiling Forest Reserve (Lasco et al. 2004). On the other hand, the carbon stock of BSU land areas is higher compared to those documented by Pascua et al. (2021) on Isabela State University Wildlife Sanctuary (ISUWS), with 47.50 Mg C/ha. This result shows that the university’s forest reserves play a crucial role in the climate change issue as they can act as sinks of atmospheric CO2 (Lasco et al. 2002; Watson et al. 2000). Achieving a balance between carbon stock and CO2 emission is essential for minimizing global warming.
Carbon-stock assessment is necessary for the creation of stored carbon and carbon-sequestration maps, which are useful tools for providing decision-making support to prevent carbon-rich ecosystems from becoming carbon sources as a consequence of inappropriate management or land-cover changes, e.g., deforestation (Powlson et al. 2012). Carbon stock and sequestration belong to the regulating service categories by terrestrial ecosystems, according to The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity and The Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES), respectively. They are perhaps the most recognized among all ecosystem services (Eggleston et al. 2006). The estimation of the carbon stock of BSU land areas in this study provides baseline information that can create effective policies that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the locality up to national level. Also, results show that the land areas of university are important carbon sink in the locality that would offset the CO2 emission from its different operations.
Total CO2 Emissions vis-à-vis CO2 Sequestration in Benguet State University
Over-all, the university’s CO2 emission amounted to 1,306.05 Mg/yr which is much lower than the 3,636.26 Mg CO2/yr sequestered by its land areas and forest reserves (Figure 3). This shows that the university is more than carbon neutral but is actually carbon sink. The land area of the university, including its forest reserve, is sequestering 2,330 Mg CO2/ year more than the CO2 emission from its operations
Enhancing BSU’s carbon sink potential
The university plans to further improve the carbon sink potential of its land areas (Figure 4) by continuous maintenance of its forest and tree planting activities in its idle land. Also, the university had partnered with different local government units in Benguet for the Adopt-A-Forest Program. These adopted forests serve as research and extension areas for conservation by the university. Currently, the university has active collaboration with La Trinidad local government unit (LGU) for the conservation of the four remaining communal forest namely Alapang, Alno, Puguis and Shilan Communal Forests. Hence, the carbon stock and sequestration of these forests could be co-claimed by the university and partner LGU as carbon credits. The university had already initial coordination with other LGUs of the province for the adoption of their communal forests.
