One of the main thrusts of our ‘Horizons’ strategy is based on our actions to promote our campus. A sustainable campus that exemplifies our commitment to setting an example. This means implementing a low-carbon strategy aimed at reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, adapting our campus to future environmental impacts and reducing other environmental impacts (notably biodiversity and resources).
Why a low-carbon strategy?
A global observation
The increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs), particularly CO2, in the atmosphere has already led to global warming of more than 1.1°C compared with the pre-industrial era, and could reach +6 to +7°C by the end of the century (by way of comparison, the last ice age was only 4 to 5°C colder than the pre-industrial era).
The consequences of this sudden rise in temperature are threatening the development of our societies. To reduce global warming and its impact as much as possible, it is therefore imperative that we limit our greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible.
With this in mind, the French government has adopted a strategy (SNBC) and has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels, with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. At international level, the Paris Agreement, signed by 195 countries in 2015, aims to keep global warming “well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels and to continue action to limit the rise in temperatures to 1.5°C”. These two agreements mean that we must reduce our GHG emissions by 5 to 10% per year (depending on the scenarios and assumptions) from now on.
A regulatory obligation
Public institutions are legally required to publish their GHG emissions report every three years. In other words, they must measure the GHG emissions generated by all their activities.
Our response: an annual carbon report
Aware of this global situation, we have not waited for the regulatory obligation of 2023 to carry out our GHG assessment, from 2019, in order to objectify all of our high emission activities and identify the various levers for reducing them. At ISAE-SUPAERO, we have gone even further, as part of our “Horizons” plan, by calculating and publishing our GHG emissions balance every year.
Our carbon assessment was carried out over a wide area, including international mobility (students and staff). We have identified six priority areas:
- purchasing
- mobility
- energy
- food
- digital,
- fixed assets.
Since 2019, we have been carrying out an annual carbon footprint and calculating the quantities of greenhouse gases emitted by all our activities, according to 6 categories:
- purchasing
- travel
- energy
- fixed assets
- refrigeration production
- waste.
This allows us to monitor our emissions as closely as possible and to direct our actions to limit them.
Our results
Our work is bearing fruit and our actions are moving in the right direction, since thanks to numerous efforts, our institute's emissions have been falling since 2019. In 2023, ISAE-SUPAERO emitted 8,925 tCO2e. This is equivalent to driving around the world 1,160 times. This is the average annual carbon footprint of 990 French people. Our target for 2023 was to emit less than 9,200 tCO2e, so we've achieved our goal!
Marie-Hélène Baroux Director General ISAE-SUPAERO
Our purchases
4,910 tCO2e | 55%
The emissions linked to our purchases are mainly due to the extraction of raw materials, the energy spent on manufacturing and transport.
This item includes all the data for which we do not have quantitative information and for which we therefore use monetary data. In other words, we translate euros spent directly into quantities of CO2e emitted. This method is not very reliable. This item also includes meals. In 2023, 175,000 meals were consumed, emitting 476 kgCO2e.
Our commitments to reduce this item
- Systematically ask suppliers to provide an assessment of the GHG emissions associated with their offers.
- Rely as much as possible (and always more) on physical data rather than monetary data to obtain more reliable data.
- Within each purchasing segment, identify purchases with a high GHG impact, propose actions to reduce this impact and implement them in our purchasing action plan.
Where we travel
1,665 tCO2e | 19%
All our journeys count and have a major impact on the school’s overall carbon footprint: commuting, business travel and student travel (home, work experience, etc.).
Our commitments to reduce this impact
- Encourage the use of alternative modes of transport: cycling, car-pooling, public transport, train.
- Encourage videoconferencing.
- Organise an inter-departmental competition / CO2e emissions per person.
- Restrict work placements to Europe.
Our energy
930 tCO2e | 10%
Around 60% of our energy emissions are linked to heat consumption, around 38% to electricity consumption for servers, IT equipment, scientific equipment, lighting, etc, and 2% to gas consumption by the restaurant.
Between 2019 and 2023, our emissions from heating will fall from 1.6 tCO2e to 0.33 tCO2e. This is due to the fact that we are switching from gas boilers to the district heating network and to the use of waste heat. Since 2022, our school has been connected to the Plaine Campus heating network. This network takes advantage of the heat generated by waste incineration at the Mirail waste recovery plant and by the Espace Clément Ader supercomputer.
Our commitments to reduce this item
- Renovation work: insulation, technical management of the building, relamping, introduction of a system to monitor consumption, heat recovery from the refrigeration units.
- Setting up an energy-saving working group to consider and make proposals on :
- modernisation of the campus (generalisation of automated management of heating, lighting and IT equipment),
- the organisation of working hours and use of premises (distribution of days when the campus is closed, impact of teleworking, use of the most energy-intensive equipment (wind tunnels)),
- empowering teams that consume energy by decentralising the “fluids” budget.
The impact of transport on greenhouse gas emissions
Transport currently accounts for almost 30% of France’s greenhouse gas emissions. According to INSEE and SDES, journeys between home and work alone account for almost 17.4 million tonnes of carbon equivalent emitted each year, or around 13% of transport-related emissions (excluding international air and sea transport). 98% of these emissions are caused by the car.
Our mobility diagnostic
At ISAE-SUPAERO in 2023, our home-to-work journeys accounted for almost 5.5% of the establishment’s emissions. It is the 4th largest source of emissions. This is why it has been essential to act on this lever and reduce the individual use of thermal cars.
At ISAE-SUPAERO, we have commissioned a mobility diagnostic to be carried out in 2022, in order to understand the commuting habits of our students and staff.
Our figures
Our Institute’s staff are fairly active, with 38% of journeys made by bicycle (37% by car, 12% by public transport, 2% car-pooling). These figures reinforce our determination to take action and promote soft mobility on our campus.
Our soft alternatives
The first alternative to the individual use of the internal combustion engine car that we can encourage is cycling. As our Institute is located close to the Canal du Midi, it is very easy to get to by bike, scooter or rollerblade. To encourage the use of bicycles, our school offers a number of facilities (over 500 bicycle parking spaces, repair points, showers, etc.), training in the use of bicycles and road safety by bicycle, etc.
As cycling and transport are not always the best options for some staff, in January 2022 our Institute installed 8 charging points for electric cars, each with 2 charging points, enabling 16 electric vehicles to be charged.
Encouraging sustainable travel on our campus
Our ISAE-SUPAERO campus, located close to the Canal du Midi, offers our staff and students the opportunity to cycle to work or courses.
Today, our school has a fairly active cycling population, representing around 20% of staff/students. This figure can be explained by the layout of the site, including a huge cycle park that benefits everyone, as well as numerous direct access points to the Canal du Midi.
Allons-Y A Vélo
Our school also took part in the "AYAV" (Allons-Y A vélo) operation. This operation offers companies the opportunity to challenge themselves for a week by encouraging as many of their employees as possible to cycle to work.
At ISAE-SUPAERO, we were awarded first prize in 2018.
The AYAV operation was initiated in 2005 by the Association Vélo Toulouse, and is now organised twice a year, in winter and spring, by Deux Pieds Deux Roues and the Maison du Vélo. The campaign is run via a network of motivated representatives in companies, government departments, schools and colleges in the Toulouse region.
Together with our catering service provider, Elior, we have introduced a number of measures aimed at achieving sustainable catering on our campus:
- waste sorting
- regular measurement of food waste
- a vegetarian menu offered every day.
Towards more carbon-free menus
Vegetarian dishes for people who prefer to eat without meat or fish are served daily. This stand attracts almost 35% of users. This action has a significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions, given that a vegetarian meal emits almost 14 times less than a meal with red meat.
In 2024, ISAE-SUPAERO and Elior have experimented with an even more assertive approach to decarbonisation with the 'Good & Green' project!
The ecological transition at ISAE-SUPAERO
The ecological transition is an important and growing issue on our ISAE-SUPAERO campus, with the publication of the “Horizons” roadmap, which puts environmental issues at the heart of our school’s commitment. Against this backdrop of growing environmental awareness, our BDE’s environment department has been organising the annual ‘Green Campus Week’ since 2022.
A week to raise awareness
During this week, our students and staff are invited to take part in workshops, conferences, challenges, etc. The aim of the week is to make participants aware of the ecological emergency and to show that it is possible to have a low-carbon lifestyle without falling into deprivation and frustration.
In 2024
Campus Green Week took place from 8 to 12 January. Lectures were held every evening. Lectures by Arthur Keller, a specialist in systemic risks, and Julien Marcinkowski, an alumnus of ISAE-SUPAERO, in particular, attracted many participants. The challenges were also very popular with both students and teacher-researchers.
In 2025
Campus Green Week took place from 20 to 26 January.
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