Configured for Stellenbosch University
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Carbon Footprint Programme
Measurement infrastructure for the eight themes of SU's Environmental Sustainability Plan, 2020–2025.
Proof of Concept
Total Footprint
101 016 t CO₂e
Reported 2024/25
From Buildings
78%
492 buildings · 799 211 m²
Campus Population
40 381
Staff and students, five campuses
Net Zero Target
2050
Zero waste to landfill by 2028
Where this module fits. The Environmental Sustainability Plan commits SU to “measure transport emissions from student and staff commuting, air travel and vehicle fleet, with targets to reduce GHG emissions” (Travel and mobility, Target 02). SU completed its first transport-emissions baseline in 2024. This calculator provides the air travel component of that measurement, at route level with a full audit trail.
The eight themes
Environmental Sustainability Plan 2020–2025
Each theme becomes a module with its own data source, method and audit trail, consolidating into one inventory. Modules switch on in whatever order suits data availability.
Travel and mobility
Scope 1 & 3
Staff and student commuting, air travel and vehicle fleet. First baseline assessment completed 2024.
Air travel module live
Energy and emissions
Scope 1 & 2
Grid electricity, LPG, generators and fleet fuel. 74 million kWh per year across campuses.
Scope 2 −20% vs 2019 by 2029
Sustainable buildings
Scope 1 & 2
492 buildings, 799 211 m². Accounts for 78% of the University's total footprint.
19 buildings GBCSA certified
Waste
Scope 3 · Cat 5
Three-bin separation, Material Recovery Facility, composting and e-waste streams.
80% general / 95% food diverted
Water
Scope 3
Potable supply, irrigation and effluent quality across all five campuses.
−40% potable vs 2015 baseline
Goods and services
Scope 3 · Cat 1
Procurement footprint and supplier chain-of-custody credentials.
70% local suppliers by 2024
Biodiversity and land use
Sequestration
Tree management and planting programme, invasive species removal, resilient landscaping.
Carbon sequestration vs 2019
Engagement
Cross-cutting
Behaviour change, Earth Week, training and sustainability reporting across the campus community.
Report on all goals
How it comes together
Every module follows the same path, so adding a theme does not mean rebuilding the reporting layer.
1
Activity data
Travel bookings, fuel cards, metering system, waste manifests and procurement ledgers — imported or entered directly.
2
Module calculation
Each module applies the correct published emission factor and method for its source, recording every assumption made.
3
Consolidated inventory
Results roll up by scope, theme and campus, with the audit trail preserved back to source for verification.
4
Reporting & disclosure
Outputs for the Sustainable Development Annual Report, GHG master plan tracking and external assurance.
Targets this supports
Drawn from the published Plan
Measurement is the precondition for every reduction target. These are the commitments a complete inventory underpins.
Travel
Measure commuting, air travel and fleet emissions
Travel and mobility, Target 02. Baseline established 2024; reduction strategies from 2025 onward. Air travel is live in this tool today.
Scope 1
Reduce vehicle emissions 30% against 2019 by 2026
Energy and emissions, Target 02. Requires fleet fuel data on the same reporting basis as travel.
Scope 2
Reduce electricity emissions 20% against 2019 by 2029
Energy and emissions, Target 03, including self-generation. 500 kWp solar PV installed to date.
Inventory
GHG master plan and carbon reduction strategy
Actions E5–E8: complete a full GHG and carbon footprint audit, then formalise a greenhouse gas programme against it.
2050
Net zero carbon emissions
Long-term institutional commitment, with zero waste to landfill by 2028 as an interim milestone.
Flight Emissions Calculator
Business travel (air) emissions, structured for GHG Protocol Scope 3, Category 6 reporting.
GHG Protocol · Category 6
Add a flight
Distances are calculated as great-circle plus a fixed routing uplift, per standard aviation emissions methodology.
Emission factors & methodology settings
Emission factors: UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting, 2026 edition — the most widely assured published aviation dataset internationally, applied here because South Africa publishes no national equivalent. Each flight is classified automatically and the applied factor is logged per flight and in the CSV export for audit purposes. Reviewed annually each June.
Reporting output
Scope 3, Category 6 — Business Travel (Air). Figures update as flights are added.
Flight
Distance
CO₂e
No flights added yet. Build a route on the left to begin.
Total Scope 3 emissions0 kg CO₂e
— Flight combustion (direct)0 kg
— Well-to-Tank (upstream fuel)0 kg
Total distance flown0 km
Passenger-trips0
Methodology notes
Standard applied: GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard, Category 6 — Business Travel, using the distance-based method.
Distance: great-circle distance between airport coordinates, plus an 8% uplift to account for indirect routing, stacking and non-direct taxiing.
Route classification: each flight is automatically classified as Domestic, Regional, or International, and the matching passenger factor for the cabin class booked is applied. Cabin class matters because premium seating occupies more of the aircraft per passenger.
Indirect (non-CO₂) effects: included by default. Aviation causes warming beyond CO₂ alone — contrails, NOₓ and high-altitude water vapour — and best practice is to account for it. This can be switched off if a specific reporting framework requires direct CO₂/CH₄/N₂O only.
Well-to-Tank (WTT): upstream emissions from producing and distributing jet fuel, shown as a separate line. Some frameworks place this under Category 3 rather than Category 6, so keeping it separable preserves reporting flexibility.
Domestic flights (⚑): South Africa does not publish a national aviation emission factor set. Domestic routes therefore use the closest internationally published equivalent and are flagged, so the assumption is visible and reviewable rather than buried.
Audit trail: the CSV export records the classification, exact factor values, distance, flag status and timestamp for every flight, so each figure traces back to source.
Emission factor source. Factors are drawn from the UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting (2026 edition) — the most widely assured and internationally referenced published aviation dataset, and the set used by CDP and most university disclosures worldwide. It is applied here because no equivalent South African national aviation factor set is published. Factors are reviewed annually on release each June.
Method reference. Approach aligned with the Carbon Footprinting Guide (Lotz & Brent, 4th ed. 2022), produced in collaboration with Stellenbosch University and the Sustainability Institute, and with the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard.
Reporting
Consolidated inventory outputs, disclosure formats and assurance packs.
Planned
Not yet built
Once more than one module is live, this section consolidates results by scope, category, campus and faculty, and produces the export formats needed for annual reporting and external assurance.
Settings
Emission factor sets, reporting boundaries, users and data connections.
Planned
Not yet built
Organisational boundary and consolidation approach, reporting year, factor-set version control, user roles and permissions, and connections to travel, finance and facilities systems.
