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ScienceDirect Procedia Environmental Sciences 38 (2017) 890 – 897

International Conference on Sustainable Synergies from Buildings to the Urban Scale, SBE16

Assessing the Sustainability of the University of Western Macedonia G. Malandrakisa, G. Panarasb,*, P. Papadopoulouc a University of Western Macedonia, Department of Primary Education, Florina, Greece University of Western Macedonia, Mechanical Engineering Department, Kozani, Greece c University of Western Macedonia, Department of Early Childhood Education, Florina, Greece b

Abstract The proposed work aims at assessing the sustainability of the University of Western Macedonia and, more specifically, of the Departments located in the town of Florina, Northern Greece; these refer to the School of Education, School of Fine Arts and the former Department of Balkan Studies which has been recently moved to the University of Macedonia located in Thessaloniki. The assessment concerns the period of 2000-2013 and is implemented on the three pillars of sustainability, thus considering an environmental, social and economic point of view. Each pillar is divided into categories and furthermore into indices. The analysis presented in this work focuses on environmental issues, such as the use of water and waste management, while providing special emphasis on the energy use. More specifically, the consumption per academic year of electrical energy and oil for covering the respective demand is quantified, allowing the estimation of greenhouse gases emissions. In addition, issues related with the social factor are included, mainly embracing aspects of the scientific, educational and social contribution of Florina's Departments to the local, regional and international community. Moreover, economic issues related with the expenses of the institution and potential revenues are also discussed. The analysis borrows elements from the international experience, noting that systematic research on this field is not common on a national level. Within this context, the analysis aims at establishing a baseline of data, facilitating future actions towards sustainability. After all, a sustainable character of the University would raise public awareness in the respective issues, offering the public the opportunity to become familiar with the concept of sustainability through educational and demonstration activities, while enhancing the role of the UOWM as a key factor in the socio-economic environment of the wider area. ©2017 2017The TheAuthors. Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license © Published by Elsevier B.V. This (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of SBE16. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of SBE16. Keywords: Sustainability; ecological footprint; energy use; water use; waste management

* Corresponding author. Email address: [email protected]

1878-0296 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of SBE16. doi:10.1016/j.proenv.2017.03.176

G. Malandrakis et al. / Procedia Environmental Sciences 38 (2017) 890 – 897

1. Introduction The concept of sustainability is inextricably linked to that of sustainable development, which has been introduced through the Brundtland report1, as “the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. The sustainability spreads over three pillars, the environmental, the economic and the social one. Through their mission, the Universities can promote the concept of sustainability through their curriculum vitae2,3 while also operating themselves as an example of sustainability, promoting scientific research within the field of sustainability science and exporting this experience to societal and local stakeholders4. In the websites of the Universities, worldwide, one may find several studies and presentations demonstrating the sustainability policy and potential of them, mainly addressing environmental issues, while also considering social and economic ones. Moreover, the UN has launched the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative 5, providing higher education institutions with a unique interface between education, science, and policy making. Within this context, the Universities in Greece present specific initiatives, like adoptions of environmental policies, implementation of relevant projects as well as participation in activities or working groups related with sustainable development, ecological footprint and the environment. Typical is the case of the Direction of “Energy Design and Sustainable Development” of the Postgraduate Program “Environmental Engineering and Science” provided by the Environmental Engineering Dpt. of the Democritus University of Thrace, or the Postgraduate Program “Environment and Development” of the National Technical University of Athens, coordinated by the School of Rural and Surveying Engineering. The University of the Aegean presents considerable work on the issues of sustainability, including Renewable Energy Sources, education, etc., while the Economical University of Athens has been implementing since 2008 a strategy aiming at the development of a series of activities towards sustainability and the contribution of the academic community to the limitation of the ecological footprint of the University. Special mention should be made of the activities initiated by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), as well as by the University of Patras. More specifically, AUTH presents considerable work regarding waste management (recycling, dangerous waste, e.g. including asbestos, medical waste, etc.), efficient energy management and RES penetration, sustainable mobility and cultivation as well as organization of a market for biological products. Moreover, the administration provides financial support to the departments operating a center of integrated environmental management, organizing also contests, lectures, seminars on the specific field, as well as eco-fests. Within the context of the Green University, the University of Patras has created a Committee of Environmental Management, aiming at the systematic recording, coordination, ranking, and determination of the future environmental policy. The Committee has created a framework for the setting of targets and evaluation indicators, the highlighting of the green activities, the assessment of the electrical consumption of each building, as well as the initiation of publicity actions through the collaboration with the Municipality, the Periphery and the Government. In the relevant literature, one may also find studies regarding sustainability in the Greek Universities. PitsiavaLatinopoulou et al.6 present a work on the mobility of the staff of AUTH to and from the campus, investigating ways for the decrease of the ecological footprint. Jones et al. 7 contribute to the discussion regarding the fact that the concept of social capital influences the attitude of students towards activities of environmental management in the Universities, while on a relevant basis, Jones and Evaggelinos8 discuss the influence of social factors on the concept of social capital acting as a critical parameter for the initiation of sustainability activities in the Universities. The proposed work aims at assessing the sustainability of the University of Western Macedonia and more specifically of the Departments located in the town of Florina, Northern Greece; these refer to the School of Education, School of Fine Arts and the former Department of Balkan Studies which has been recently moved to the University of Macedonia, located in Thessaloniki. The analysis presented in this work focuses on environmental issues, such as the use of water and waste management, while providing special emphasis on the energy use. The consumption per academic year of electrical energy and oil for covering the respective demand is quantified, allowing the estimation of greenhouse gases emissions. In addition, issues related with the social factor are included, mainly embracing aspects of the scientific, educational and social contribution of Florina's Departments to the local, regional and international community, while economic issues related with the expenses of the institution and

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potential revenues are also discussed. Within this context, the analysis aims at establishing a baseline of data, facilitating future actions towards sustainability. 2. The University of Western Macedonia The University of Western Macedonia was established in 2003, including in the initial organization the four Departments of the AUTH located in Florina (3) and Kozani (1) in Northern Greece. Currently, the University has six Departments, three of them located in Florina and three in Kozani. These are the School of Education, including the Departments of Elementary and Early Childhood Education, the School of Fine Arts in Florina, and the Polytechnic School in Kozani, including the Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, and Environmental Engineering. Until recently (year 2013), the Department of Balkan Studies was hosted in Florina; now it has moved to the University of Macedonia which is located in Thessaloniki. The University of Western Macedonia is a small University (the academic staff comprises around 70 professors), aiming at promoting education and research in the wider area, while taking advantage of its highly qualified personnel involved in a broad spectrum of scientific fields. The University is located in the Periphery of Western Macedonia, which is characterized as the “energy heart” of Greece due to the presence of the major coal-fired (lignite) electrical power production units. The presence of the units has strengthened the economy of the Periphery on one hand, while applying considerable pressure on the ecosystem and on the environmental resources of the wider area. The upcoming transition to the post-lignite period, through the gradual deactivation of most of the conventional units, constitutes a major challenge for the Periphery of Western Macedonia. Apart from the energy units, the Periphery presents agricultural activities, referring amongst others to the cultivation of the spice saffron (crocus Kozanis), as well as tourism activities, mainly referring to the ski resorts and the visiting of the lakes located in the area. The University presents a considerable potential towards sustainability, given the presence of the Polytechnic School as well as of the School of Education. The Polytechnic School aims at dealing with the particularities and problems related with the presence of intense industrial activity on the energy sector, presenting excellence on the management of energy resources with a view to its institutional, organizational and financial effects, energy technology (production, conversion, transfer, storage and use of conventional and renewable energy sources) and environmental impact. The School of Education is largely active on the theoretical analysis of the concept of sustainability, the interrelation of the concept of sustainability with education, while aiming at raising public awareness in the respective issues and exporting its experience on the physical and socio-economic environment of the wider area. 3. The methodology applied – selection of sustainable indicators The proposed study investigates the sustainability of the Dpts. located in Florina, examining the type of activities with the greater impact on a social, economical and environmental framework, while also investigating ways of minimizing the impact of the specific activities. Within this context, special effort has been made on the selection of the required data, contributing to the comprehension of the substantial contents of ecological footprint. The information collected refers to the social impact of the educational work of the University in the society of Florina, as well as to the wider academic community, regarding the transportation of students, waste and water management, and electrical energy and oil consumption. The elaboration of the respective data would contribute to the calculation of the ecological footprint of the premises of the University in Florina. The selection of sustainable indicators has been performed with regard to their contribution in the activities of the University; indicators are divided into the following categories: 1. Social pillar, including: a) demographic data, i.e. the number of active students, on both undergraduate and postgraduate levels b) academic and social activities-events organized by the University with reference to the concept of sustainability

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2. Environmental pillar, including the following indicators: a) Potable water consumption b) Electrical energy consumption and carbon emissions c) Oil consumption and carbon emissions d) Carbon emissions related with the routes of the urban buses to and from the University e) Amounts of waste 3. Economical pillar, including the following indicators a) Electrical consumption cost b) Oil consumption cost c) Student transportation cost 4. Results 4.1. Social indicators 4.1.1. Number of students The number of the registered and graduated students has been detected through the data presented in the SelfEvaluation Report of the University9, as well as through collaboration with the administrative office of each Department. In table 1, one may see the exact numbers through years 2005 to 2013. Table 1. Number of registered and graduated students of the premises of the UOWM in Florina.

Number of Students Academic Year

Undergraduate registered

Undergraduate graduated

Postgraduate registered

Postgraduate Graduated

PhD candidates

PhD graduated

2005-2006

1435

212

117

16

46

5

2006-2007

1561

231

174

34

56

3

2007-2008

1737

285

205

35

63

6

2008-2009

1900

291

305

67

72

2

2009-2010

2069

276

399

125

55

10

2010-2011

2211

367

440

181

63

5

2011-2012

2285

372

400

91

123

3

2012-2013

1613

0

265

0

106

0

Commenting on the above data, one should note that the number of undergraduate students has decreased by a percentage in the order of 30% after the academic year 2012-13, as the Balkan Studies Department has moved to another University. Since then, the number of undergraduate students has remained rather stable. The three departments remaining at the University present the same order of undergraduate students, referring to 619, 540 and 454 students for the Primary Education, Early Childhood Education and the Fine Arts School respectively. The considerable increase of the number of postgraduate students is related with the gradual set in operation of new post-graduate programs. By that time, the University offers eight postgraduate programs. In order to calculate the relevant indicators per student, the total number of students has been used. Given that postgraduate programs are offered throughout two working days, a weight factor of 0.4 has been used, with regard to the number of undergraduate and PhD students.

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4.2. Social - Scientific activities and publications The University presents strong bonds with the local society, as verified through the type and number of activities recorded through the survey. The activities aim at exporting the experience of the University in the wider area, mainly referring to educational and cultural issues, as well as to the exploitation of the existent infrastructures. The developed bunch of activities contributes to the assignment of the University as a key factor in the socio-economic environment of the wider area, while also enhancing the education offered to the students in sectors which can be of great use to them through their integration to the productive society. The data have been collected through investigation in the websites of the departments, the CVs of the Academic Staff, announcements/posters at the University, in the relevant inventory of the University, as well as through communication members of the academic community and the administration. The activities have been categorized as follows: x Scientific activities (conferences, seminars) x Long-term educational activities (educational activities organized in schools, laboratories and training programs and seminars related with the curriculum of each department; their duration reaches a period of 7 months; distance-learning programs are also included) x Short-term educational activities (lectures, seminars, training programs; their duration is 1-8 days x Research Programs (European or national) x Postgraduate Programs (by this time eight programs operate) x Laboratories (organized within the framework of the educational activities, seminars and training programs of the University) x Innovations and international distinctions (participation in national or international competitions and exhibitions, organization of an educational network in Western Macedonia, writing of school books and of the relevant educational material, organization of the professional training program of the University students). x Hosting events (events organized at the premises of the University by student associations or external cultural, athletic and social groups). The elaborated data present an increasing trend with regard to the number of respective activities, demonstrating the extrovert character of the University. Some decrease is observed with regard to the participation in research programs, especially after the year 2009; this can be attributed to the general trend regarding research funding on a national level, due to the economic crisis, and on a European level as well. 4.3. Environmental indicators 4.3.1. Potable water

amount of water [m3]

amount of water [m3/student]

The data for the potable water consumption of the University have been provided by the Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Company of Florina (DEYAF). In Figure 1, one may see the total consumption of water for the Annual water consumption academic years 2004-2005 to 2012-2013; the absolute 2500 2.0 consumption, as well as the consumption per student are consumption per student 1.8 abolute consumption presented. The data refer to the water consumed through the 2000 1.6 1.4 academic activities and do not include student hostel facilities. A 1500 1.2 fluctuation around the value of 1 m3/student may be observed, 1.0 1000 0.8 noting that this value is rather low with regard to similar studies in 0.6 international literature. Typical is the case of the Universities the 0.4 500 0.2 of Plymouth10 and Exeter11 indicating target values of 6.8 0.0 0 m3/student for academic facilities. 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Moreover, the trend of per capita consumption remains the same Academic year [-] to that of absolute water consumption, as shown in Figure 1. Fig. 1. Annual water consumption per student.

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200

80

180

70

160

60

140

50

120

40

100

30

80

amount of energy

20

60

Carbon emissions

10

40 2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

CO2 emissions [kg/student]

340 360 320 energy 320 300 CO2 280 280 240 260 200 240 220 160 200 120 180 80 160 40 140 120 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

amount of oil [l/student]

Electrical energy

amount of CO2 emissions [kg/student]

amount of energy [m3/student]

4.3.2. Electrical Energy The electrical energy consumption data have been collected through the respective bills of the University. As can be seen in Figure 2a, the consumption per student presents a decrease throughout the years 2005 to 2009, while after the year 2011 the consumption increases. This increase is related to the fact of the set in operation of the Fine Arts Dpt., strengthened by the loss of a considerable number of students due to the transfer of the Balkan Studies Dpt. on a per capita basis. Moreover, one should note that the absence of advanced automatic control systems does not allow the implementation of energy saving measures and the consequent matching of the limited demand to the actual Oil consumption. 220 90

0 2013

Academic year [-]

Academic year [-]

Fig. 2. Energy consumption: (a). electrical energy, b): oil.

4.3.3. Oil The data for oil consumption refer to the recordings of the administration office. The amount of oil decreases; the same is valid for the absolute amount also. A study of the external temperature throughout the respective years did not reveal any systematic decrease, justifying the observed behavior. Nevertheless, the economic crisis can be considered a primary factor for the decrease in oil consumption, as the available budget of the University was significantly decreased, combined with the at least two-fold increase of the net oil price (from about 0.65 euro/l in 2011 to 1.36 euro/l in 2013) . 4.3.4. Carbon emissions of urban buses The carbon emissions throughout the routes of the urban buses carrying the students to and from the University have been calculated. The following assumptions have been made: 9 months per academic year, 5 days per week for transportation, 6.5 km of distance for each route (both ways), 122.7 gr CO2 per km and passenger12. A total number of 157.9 kg CO2 / student/ year has been calculated, remaining stable since 2005 as the number of regular routes has not changed. The number is rather low, compared to the one provided in the work of Kihara and Inoue13, indicating 500 kg CO2 per student for public transportation. 4.3.5. Total carbon emissions In Figures 2a and 2b the carbon emissions related to the electrical energy and oil consumption are presented. By adding the ones attributed to the urban buses one may draw some conclusions for the carbon footprint of the university. In the work of Vasquez et al. 14 “scope 1” activities refer to direct emissions form fuel consumption, as well as from transportation and fugitive emissions. The latter does not apply to our case, as the presence of heat pumps at the campus is negligible. Moreover, “scope 2” emissions refer to electrical energy consumption.

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According to the study of Vasquez et al. 14, “scope 1” emissions range from 0.1-2 tCO2/student, referring to a number of respective studies in the literature for universities around the world. For “scope 2” emissions, the same indicator lies within 0.2-2 tCO2/student. Regarding our case, for the year 2012, 0.322 tCO2/student are referred for “scope 1” uses, while for “scope 2” 0.266 tCO2/student, lying close to the lower boundaries of the respective reference values14 reported just above. 4.3.6. Waste management The University participates on a recycling program organized and operated by the Waste Management Company of the Western Macedonia Periphery. The program includes paper, plastic, aluminum, batteries and electrical/electronic appliances; glass and metal are not included in the program, as their quantity is considered negligible. Moreover, the solid waste is regularly collected by the Municipal Services of Florina responsible for the task. According to the collected data, the amount of solid or recycled waste has remained stable throughout the last academic years; the following values are reported: 81600 kg of solid waste, 6000 kg of paper, 1440 kg of plastic, 100 kg of aluminum. The amount of recycled batteries lies around 20-30 kg throughout the respective academic years, while these appliances are destroyed or temporarily stored even though the capacity for recycling electronic/electrical appliances is available. It is evident that the University produces considerably much solid than recycled waste; in this sense a greater effort for recycling should be made by all members of the academic community. Moreover, the amount of waste per student is in the order of 45 kg for year 2012, rather high compared to the target of 20 kg, set by the University of Plymouth15 for the year 2014. 4.4. Economic indicators The economic indicators refer to the transportation cost, as well as electrical energy and oil cost. As regards transportation, a total number of 200.000 tickets per year has been calculated throughout the years 2005 to 2011, leading to a cost in the order of 50 € per student; this cost presents a gradual decrease mainly due to the increasing number of students in the respective years. The cost of electrical energy has been calculated on a range of 21-28 € / student for the years 2005 to 2011, presenting a gradual decrease; for the year 2012 a value of 42 €/student has been calculated. The increase for the year 2012 is mainly attributed to the transfer of the Balkan Studies, while the electrical energy consumption has remained rather stable. The cost of oil has been calculated in a range of 80-100 € / student, noting that the lowest value refers to the year 2012. This is attributed to the influence of two contradictory factors, the increasing price of oil on one hand and the decrease in the consumption on the other, mainly due to the economic crisis. 5. Conclusions The analysis has presented a systematic effort for the assessment of the sustainability of the UOWM. Given that this issue can be considered new to the specific University, the degree of difficulty regarding the collection and elaboration of reliable data is quite high. The indicators defined for the assessment refer to all three pillars of sustainability, i.e. environmental, economic and social. On an environmental point of view, the carbon emissions lie on the lower level of respective values calculated in similar studies. The relation of the amount of solid and recycled waste reveals a considerable potential for recycling. The economic quantities follow the environmental ones, in terms of the cost of electrical energy, oil consumption and transportation with public means. Considering the fact that the UOWM is a small and rapidly developing university, while the demonstrated activities on sustainability issues are quite many and on the increase throughout the latest years, the effort should focus on the setting of specific quantitative targets towards the enhancement of the university sustainability. This would contribute to the dissemination of the concept of sustainability in all the activities of the University and the awareness and training of the academic staff. Parallel activities would include the set in operation of a website,


demonstrating the actual values of the indicators and the respective goals, as well as the establishment of a sustainability office, responsible for the organization of the activities and the achievement of the targets set. The described path would enhance the role of the UOWM as a key factor in the socio-economic environment of the wider area, demonstrating the use of the ecological footprint as a tool for peripheral development. References 1. UN. Our Common Future / Brundtland Report. World Commission on Environment and Development; 1987 2. Lozano R., Lukman R., Lozano FJ., Huisingh D., Lambrechts W. Declarations for sustainability in higher education: becoming better leaders, through addressing the university system. Journal of Cleaner Production 2013; 48:10-9 3. Sammalisto K., Sundstrom A., Holm T. Implementation of sustainability in universities as perceived by faculty and staff e a model from a Swedish university. Journal of Cleaner Production 2015; 106:45-54 4. Karatzoglou B. An in-depth literature review of the evolving roles and contributions of universities to Education for Sustainable Development. Journal of Cleaner Production 2013; 49:44-53 5. UN. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdinaction/hesi 6. Pitsiava-Latinopoulou M., Basbas S., Gavanas N. Implementation of alternative transport networks in university campuses: The case of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education; 2013; 14(3):310-23 7. Jones N., Roumeliotis S., Iosifides T., Biliraki A., Evaggelinos K. Students' perceptions on environmental management of HEIs and the role of social capital: A case study in the University of the Aegean. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education; 2013; 14(3):278-90 8. Jones N., Evaggelinos K. An analysis of social capital and environmental management of higher education institutions. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education; 2013; 10(4):334-42 9. UOWM. Self-Evaluation Report. Quality Assurance Unit of the UOWM; 2014. 10. University of Plymouth. University of Plymouth - Energy and Water Policy 2015. 11. University of Exeter. University of Exeter Water Targets 2011 to 12. 12. Department of Energy and Climate Change. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. 2012 Guidelines to Defra / DECC’s GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting: Methodology Paper for Emission Factors; 2012. 13.Kihara I., Inoue T. CO2 emissions per individual based on a survey of university students. Applied Energy; 2002; 72: 645-58 14. Vasquez L., Iriarte A., Almeida M., Villalobos P. Evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions and proposals for their reduction at a university campus in Chile. Journal of Cleaner Production 2015; 118:924-930 15. University of Plymouth. University of Plymouth – Waste and Recycling. https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/your-university/sustainability/wasteand-recycling.

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