Calculating the biodiversity footprint provides a new way of looking at the impact of an organisation's activities on biodiversity, both locally and globally. The calculation combines the biodiversity and carbon footprints and highlights which of the University's activities leave the largest footprint.
Nature degradation or biodiversity loss has emerged as a global challenge alongside climate change. Calculating carbon footprints has helped organisations become aware of their main sources of emissions and identify ways to reduce them. The carbon footprint of the University of Turku has been monitored since 2018, but now the University’s biodiversity footprint has also been assessed for the first time in collaboration with the University of Jyväskylä.
By calculating its biodiversity footprint, the University of Turku is taking an important step towards more effective biodiversity actions by examining the impact of its own activities.
“Calculating and understanding the biodiversity footprint of our University's own activities is important to us. Universities are key players in tackling the climate and environmental crises. The models we develop can also be applied in companies and other organisations," says Vice Rector Mika Hannula who chairs the University's Steering Group for Sustainable Development.
“The assessment of the biodiversity footprint shows the impact of the activities of the University of Turku in 2022. It is important to establish a baseline so that we can continue to monitor the development of our biodiversity footprint. Calculation methods and policies for understanding and mitigating biodiversity loss are constantly evolving, and the University of Turku is committed to being at the forefront of nature-positive universities as a member of the Nature Positive Universities network,” says Professor Ilari Sääksjärvi, Director of the Biodiversity Unit at the University of Turku.
Impact of purchased energy and research activities highlighted
The calculation was based on a method developed by researchers of the resource wisdom community JYU.Wisdom at the University of Jyväskylä, which uses scientific databases, the organisation's financial accounting, and other consumption data in the calculation. A biodiversity equivalent (Bde) has been developed for the biodiversity footprint and it gives a theoretical proportion of species that are likely to disappear globally.
“We have been calculating our carbon footprint since 2018. The current calculation also includes the carbon footprint, but the method of calculation differs somewhat from the one we used before. Although both methods base the calculation of the carbon footprint on the GHG Protocol scope, there are differences in the categories included in the calculation and the applied emission factors. This is good to keep in mind when looking at the results," says Development Specialist Petteri Siika-aho, who coordinates the University's carbon footprint calculation and leads the national Finn-ARMA carbon footprint calculation working group.
Most of the University's biodiversity footprint is made up of purchased energy and research activities including equipment and services, while the carbon footprint is dominated by research activities and business travel. Research equipment and materials are essential for a long-term effort to develop more sustainable solutions for the future. Conference travel is also a part of academic work, although it has declined as the use of remote access has become more common.
“In the national public discussion, the focus has shifted from figures related to tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents to a more holistic view of environmental impacts. Therefore, we want to make sure that we are taking the correct measures for both the climate and nature," says Siika-aho.
Biodiversity and sustainability is University’s strategic multidisciplinary theme
Biodiversity and sustainability is one of the multidisciplinary research themes in the strategy of the University of Turku. The University has a multidisciplinary Biodiversity Unit, whose research and teaching is related to biodiversity and the prevention of biodiversity loss. In addition, the University of Turku is a founding member of the global Nature Positive Universities network, which aims to promote biodiversity research and education, support nature restoration in the higher education sector, and deepen dialogue and knowledge sharing between universities.
“In addition to the University's own strategy, our commitment to the Nature Positive Universities network requires us to promote biodiversity research, set targets for our activities, monitor their implementation, and report on them annually. In addition to calculating the biodiversity footprint in collaboration with the University of Jyväskylä, we have also mapped the biodiversity on the Turku campus area in the BioBlitz event," says Sääksjärvi.
