Time Series-Based Carbon Footprint Forecast in a University Campus: ABUAD as a case study

Energy, a product of the process of combustion, is a major source of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. These gases are the causes of global climate change effects. The problem of energy generation in Nigeria has made energy users, majorly industries and universities, to depend solely on the use of fuel-powered energy generators for their daily energy demands. Our universities and colleges could be principal contributors to the problem of climate change considering the huge amount of carbon emissions released from the combustion of fossil fuel by generators to meet the volume of energy demanding activities that take place daily on the campuses. Carbon footprint is the sum of the greenhouse gases emissions released into the atmosphere at a time from an individual, organisation, or institution's daily activities, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). This research work estimated the carbon footprint in a university campus, using Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) as a case study to be 16,946tCO2e. The activities data collected for the estimate, from the institution's maintenance section and the field, was modelled and trained to forecast its future values for three years. The evaluation was done using emissions conversion factors, and MS 360, a Microsoft Excel software package, which is simple and straightforward was used for the forecast. The result of the prediction, which showed that ABUAD's monthly carbon footprint were declining consistently, was used to suggest strategies to further improve on the existing policies on clean environmental sustainability.