IU's Climate Action Plan committed all campuses, including IU Indianapolis, to scope 1 and 2 carbon neutrality by 2040.
IU Indianapolis Sustainability conducts an annual greehouse gas (GHG) emissions assessment of the university's footprint. This analysis includes complete emissions from Scope 1 and 2, as well as data that is readily available from Scope 3.
Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases, or GHG. These gases are present in the atmosphere naturally, keeping our planet's surface at a comfortable temperature. However, human-driven activities like burning fossil fuels have drastically increased the concentration of these GHGs, specifically carbon dioxide and methane. Once in the atmosphere, GHGs act as a blanket, trapping heat in the planet's surface. This trapped heat leads to what is know as global warming - the average global increase in temperature, and consequently, a changing climate.
GHG emissions data is collected and reported using a single metric for ease of understanding, which is metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents or MTCDE. Emissions are reported according to their source and scope. There are three scopes of emissions - scopes 1, 2, and 3. Below are examples of emission sources for each scope.
IU Indianapolis utilizes SIMAP (Sustainability Indicator Management and Analysis Platform) to track its emissions by fiscal year (July 1-June 30). The SIMAP platform was designed by and for higher education and is tailored to university emission sources.
IU Indianapolis's GHG data can be viewed on the Climate Action page.
IU Indianapolis Sustainability
IU Indianapolis Sustainability
Health Sciences Building
1050 Wishard Blvd, Room 4018
Indianapolis, IN 46202
sustindy@iu.edu
317.278.1308
