Following a resolution of the Senate, the University of Cologne has already begun to determine its energy consumption and CO₂ balance in line with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG) and as part of its sustainability initiative in 2020. Carbon management is established firstly by determining the CO₂ balance with the goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

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The following table and figures show the current status of the determination of the emissions of the University of Cologne for the years 2019 to 2022 according to the supplier information. In this period, the UoC records a decrease in CO₂ emissions of 34%. This decrease is primarily due to the switch to green electricity in 2022 and the energy-saving measures introduced in the same year.

The breakdown of emissions by energy source for 2022 shows that district heating accounts for the largest share of emissions, followed by electricity. Natural gas, heating oil, vehicle fleet and drinking water play a minor role in comparison.

For the university, it can be summarized that one person (employee or student) in 2022 arithmetically causes about 0.215 t CO₂e per year. These figures are put into perspective by the approximately 10.8 t CO₂e per German citizen in private households statistically determined by the Federal Environment Agency (of which 2.2 t for mobility and 0.5 t for electricity).