Carbon Footprint of High Institute of Public Health Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: Carbon footprint is a widely used tool to measure the impact of human activities on global warming . The lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly changed energy consumption forms and decreased CO 2 emissions worldwide. This research is a trial to elaborate the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the carbon footprint of the High Institute of Public Health (HIPH). Objective(s): The present study aimed at measuring the amount of water, electricity, fuel, and paper consumption by HIPH before and during the emergence of COVID-19 and assessing the carbon footprint of the HIPH population inside the building through the same period. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was done using a pre-designed questionnaire targeting 10 % of the HIPH population before and during the pandemic. Bills of water, electricity, paper, and fuel consumption were used to calculate the carbon footprint for one year before and one year during COVID-19. Results : Online responses increased during COVID-19 emergence (69.2% during COVID-19 pandemic versus 44.1% before COVID-19 pandemic). Females were more than 2/3 of the respondents (70.6%). There was a significant difference in traveling outside Egypt before and during COVID-19 (χ2=12.794, p -value=0.002). A significant reduction in the average time spent in front of the computer at HIPH was found during the emergence of COVID-19 as most of the work became from home (χ2= 18.443, p -value= 0.001). Significant reduction in the consumption of hot drinks, cold drinks, bottled water and food inside the HIPH was noticed (χ2=50.219, p -value<0.0001; χ2=12.030, p -value=0.017; χ2=15.945, p -value=0.004; χ2=72.929, p -value<0.0001 respectively). The carbon footprint of HIPH in the period from July 2018 to June 2019 was 79.43MT of CO 2 e. In the period from July 2020 to June 2021, it was 59.85MT of CO 2 e with a 25% reduction in the emission. Conclusion: The carbon footprint of HIPH was reduced during the lockdown period compared to that before the epidemic. So, efforts should be gathered to hasten the reduction of carbon footprint through encouraging online teaching and changing lifestyle.