Pitt Nitrogen Inventory for FY20

Learn about Pitt’s annual Nitrogen Inventory, a complement to the annual greenhouse gas inventory.

For only the second time the University of Pittsburgh has calculated its nitrogen footprint.  This process was completed as part of the University’s annual greenhouse gas inventorying process.  For fiscal year 2020 FY19), Pitt’s gross nitrogen footprint totaled 90.82 metric tons; including 0.08 metric tons offset by composting.  As a result, the University’s official net FY20 nitrogen footprint is 90.74 metric tons, a decrease of 94.52 tons (a 51% from FY19, the first year the Nitrogen inventory was performed).

Pitt used the Sustainability Indicator Management and Analysis Platform (SIMAP) to calculate its nitrogen footprint, which measures “the amount of reactive nitrogen released to the environment from a campus’ resource consumption. Examples of reactive nitrogen include water pollutants nitrate and ammonium, air quality pollutants ammonia and nitrogen oxides, and the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. According to SIMAP, “Reactive nitrogen can result from everyday activities like food service, energy use, transportation, and ground fertilizer. Reducing your nitrogen footprint can provide benefits to air quality, water quality, and climate change.”

Check out the full FY20 Nitrogen Inventory for the University’s Pittsburgh campus.

For comparison, check out Pitt’s FY19 Nitrogen Footprint.