Emissions and Air Quality
The burning of fossil fuels for energy emits pollution in the form of gases and particulate matter. These emissions can accelerate climate change and negatively impact air quality and human health. As a step towards mitigating these harmful effects, Georgia Tech tracks greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollutants from campus operations in alignment with the Institute’s Climate Action Plan and the United States’ Clean Air Act.
Georgia Tech's Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Georgia Tech’s Office of Sustainability tracks the primary GHGs identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change:
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
- Methane (CH4)
- Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
- Flourinated gases used in refrigeration
Georgia Tech collects information about these gases using the GHG Protocol’s Scope 1-3 Framework (see below). GHG data is converted into a metric referred to as the carbon dioxide equivalent, or CO2e, which considers the differing global warming potential of each gas over 100 years (GWP 100). Georgia Tech’s total GHG emissions in fiscal year 2022, the most recent inventory year, were 201,682 metric tons of CO2e. Georgia Tech’s top five emissions sources include: 1) purchased electricity; 2) fuels used for heating campus; 3) commuting; 4) upstream fugitive emissions from purchased electricity generation; and 5) business air travel. Emissions are publicly reported through OOS and via the Sustainability Indicator Management and Analysis Platform (SIMAP), a third-party verifying organization.
While Georgia Tech’s GHG inventory focuses on emissions from our own campus, Georgia Tech researchers with Drawdown Georgia are leading the way in tracking emissions across the state of Georgia.
Scopes 1-3 Framework
Scope 1: Direct emissions created by sources that are owned or controlled by Georgia Tech
Campus sources include: Stationary energy (natural gas or propane for heating and cooling), the campus vehicle fleet, and fugitive or escaped emissions.
Scope 2: Emissions from purchased energy
Campus sources include: Purchased electricity from Georgia Power.
Scope 3: Emissions that are indirectly generated by Georgia Tech but are not directly controlled
Campus sources include: Commuting, air travel, procurement and capital goods, electricity and transmission distribution loss, and upstream fugitive emissions.
Air Quality
In addition to GHGs, Georgia Tech tracks other air pollutants in compliance with the Clean Air Act/Title V and Title VI – Protection of Stratospheric Ozone/Refrigerants. Georgia Tech’s Environmental Health and Safety Division manages the Institute’s permitting and reporting. You can read more about our permit and air quality monitoring here.