Greenhouse gas accounting is a key tool for systematically capturing the CO₂e footprint of an organization. All emissions associated with a company’s or institution’s activities are categorized into three groups – known as Scopes.
Scope 1 includes all direct emissions that result directly from the organization’s own activities – for example, from operating heating systems or company vehicles.
Scope 2 covers indirect emissions that arise from the consumption of energy sources such as electricity, heating, cooling, or steam. Even though these emissions are not produced on-site, they are a direct consequence of the institution’s energy use.
Scope 3 takes it a step further: it includes all other indirect emissions across the entire value and usage chain. This includes, among other things, emissions resulting from purchased goods and services, business travel, employee commuting, waste generation, logistics, and the use and disposal of sold products.
This comprehensive accounting approach enables organizations to identify the key emission drivers and to develop targeted measures for reduction.

The university has already accounted for its CO₂ emissions in the Scope 2 category – that is, emissions from purchased energy such as electricity and heat. Between 2018 and 2023, these emissions decreased from 26.537 tons to 14.847 tons – a reduction of 44 %.
The most significant contribution to this substantial reduction came from the switch to green electricity, which was implemented in 2022. In the area of electricity alone, emissions were reduced by 69 %, from 13.007 tons in 2018 to 4.015 tons in 2023.
Energy consumption was also reduced, which had an additional positive effect on the emissions balance: thanks to savings measures, CO₂ emissions from energy use fell by 20 %, from 13.530 tons in 2018 to 10.832 tons in 2023. The peak in heat consumption in 2021 was due to COVID-19 prevention measures: To reduce the risk of infection, a lot of room air was exchanged, leading to increased heat demand.
The university remains committed to climate protection. Its goal is to continue reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistently and to use all available means to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.