What does Bentley's Carbon Footprint Look Like?
Bentley's Carbon Footprint 2012/2013
A carbon footprint is the measure of the total number of greenhouse gases released by an organization/business/country in one year. Below, we've broken down Bentley's FY2012 carbon footprint to show which operations generate greenhouse gases on our campus. As can be seen from the pie chart below, electricity use in campus buildings is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases at Bentley.
Bentley’s carbon footprint accounts for greenhouse gas emissions from a number of different sources associated with the institution’s operations. These sources are categorized as "Scope 1", "Scope 2" and "Scope 3" emissions. The World Resources Institute (WRI) defines Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions in their Greenhouse Gas Protocol as the “direct” and “indirect” Greenhouse gas emissions from an institution’s operations. Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions as defined by the WRI are detailed in the diagram below.
Bentley’s Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions are described in the following table.
| Scope 1 Emissions | Scope 2 Emissions | Scope 3 Emissions |
| "Direct" emissions from activites on Bentley's campus. | "Indirect" emissions from utility energy production. | "Indirect" emissions from transpoartion and waste disposal. |
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Emissions from on-site combustion of natural gas from heat & hot water boilers. Emissions from driving University owned-vehicles. |
Emissions generated at regional power plants associated with supplying the University with electrcity from the electrical grid. |
Emissions from vehicles driven by Faculty, Staff & Student commuters. Emissioons from employee & study abroad airline travel. |