Estonian University of Life Sciences reduces carbon emissions by 15% in one year

While the university's greenhouse gas emissions amounted to 6,713.67 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2024, they fell by 1,023.84 tonnes in 2025. The average greenhouse gas footprint per employee was 4.99 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2025, compared with 5.96 tonnes per employee a year earlier.

According to Sille Rebane, head of the green university strategy at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, the university measures its emissions using a widely recognised methodology that divides emissions into three scopes.

"At first glance, the results may seem like a complex collection of figures, but they provide us with valuable insight into where we need to focus our efforts in order to achieve our goal of being a leader in sustainability and of operating as a green university with the smallest possible ecological footprint in both infrastructure development and organisational culture," she said.

Major progress achieved through climate-friendly F-gases

Scope 1 covers emissions from energy generated by the university, emissions from the university's own vehicle fleet, and fugitive emissions from equipment, including F-gases.

"This is where we achieved our greatest progress over the past year. Emissions from F-gases fell by 96%, from 528.27 tonnes to 21.20 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent," explained Sirli Pehme, sustainability analyst at the Estonian University of Life Sciences and author of the report.