Climate protection concept – What is that?
In preparation for the climate action plan at FAU, we are drawing up a report on the current situation and taking a critical and comprehensive approach to analyze our energy and greenhouse gas balance. Our findings will help us to analyze the potential for reducing greenhouse gases (GHG emissions). Furthermore, our climate protection team are working on calculating reduced emissions targets, defining strategies for climate protection and setting priorities for action. We are consulting with all stakeholders to draw up a catalog of measures for reducing emissions with short-term (< three years), mid-term (three to seven years) and long-term (7 years+) targets. Following our goal of making protecting the environment a priority at FAU, our climate protection plan includes a marketing and awareness strategy, long-term measures and quality assurance, allowing us to monitor our performance.
Drawing up a climate action plan allows us to track the volume of GHG emissions generated in the various areas, and to make a plan for which measures and reduction pathways can be introduced to reduce these emissions in future. The climate action plan therefore provides the basis for systematically introducing measures to reduce emissions in all areas in which FAU emits greenhouse gases and to monitor and quantify the success of these measures.
Components of the climate action plan
Analysis of the current situation & GHG balance
The first part of the climate action plan consists of a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the situation as it stands at FAU at present.
The qualitative analysis of the current situation involves determining and summarizing the framework conditions of relevance for the environment such as taking stock of our buildings and energy supply. In addition, all activities taken to date within the context of climate action are analyzed and recorded.
The quantitative analysis of the current situation records energy consumption in an energy and greenhouse gas balance and calculates the greenhouse gas emissions generated by FAU. In order to ensure that our GHG balance is as comprehensive and honest as possible, we consider direct emissions (scope 1), indirect emissions related to energy (scope 2) and indirect emissions not related to energy (scope 3). The GHG balance is the basis for all other parts of the climate action plan.
Potential
The potential analysis involves analyzing the existing potential for saving emissions that is feasible in light of the current technical and economical situation as well as the potential for increasing energy efficiency in all relevant areas.
Scenarios are calculated for future emission levels based on the determined potential, the GHG balance and statutory provisions.
Objectives
Based on the potential analysis and plausible scenarios, our team is working on defining specific short-term, medium-term and long-term goals for reducing greenhouse gases and specific strategies for action tailored to the various areas of action.
Catalog of measures
The catalog of measures lies at the heart of the climate action plan. It sets out measures to be implemented in the short term (up to 3 years), in the medium term (three to seven years) and in the long term (more than 7 years), aimed at contributing to the systematic reduction of emissions at FAU.
The measures are drafted in various formats encouraging active participation:
- Bilateral discussions between the climate action team and experts for the individual fields of action at FAU
- Drafting and assessing the feasibility of measures in various working groups involving experts
- Collecting proposals in the idea box on the page “Climate action plan – what are your ideas?” Feel free to share your ideas with us!
Long-term measures
Our consolidation strategy takes a long-term view of how climate action can become an integral feature at FAU once the action plan has been drawn up and how the topic can be integrated in our organization and institutional structures. Structures and processes are described that should either be established in future or that have been created during the work on drawing up the climate action plan and should be continued in future.
Quality assurance
A quality assurance strategy sets out measures for monitoring progress in implementing the climate action plan (top-down and bottom-up).
In the case of top-down controlling, regular monitoring of the greenhouse gas balance tracks the development of emissions levels and monitors to what extent the agreed reduction pathway is being followed.
In the case of bottom-up controlling, we check whether the individual measures really are making an effective contribution to reducing GHG emissions.
Communication
The communication strategy describes how FAU ought to publicize the content of the climate action plan and is aimed at ensuring that the vast majority of people at FAU support and become actively involved in implementing the measures defined in the climate action plan.