Digital carbon footprint and decarbonisation: our innovative initiative at Corvinus

At the core of our initiative is the ambition to make the environmental impacts of our digital operations measurable and interpretable, while embedding them closely into our educational and research activities. In this way, the project simultaneously supports our institutional sustainability goals and our educational innovation, offering our students the opportunity to learn the foundations of sustainable digital operations through real-world data. 

Key results of the digital carbon audit 

The results of the audit highlight the growing importance of digital operations. During the analysed period, the carbon footprint of our website reached 5.03 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, while total energy consumption amounted to 20.6 MWh. 

Per page view: 

• carbon emissions: 0.79 g CO₂e (rating: C)  
• energy consumption: 3.2 Wh (rating: C)  
• water usage: 0.86 ml (rating: C)  

The analysis also revealed that emissions are highly concentrated: a relatively small number of high-traffic pages account for a disproportionate share of the total carbon footprint. In particular, our homepage alone is responsible for nearly one quarter of total emissions, primarily due to large media elements—especially video content—and the associated data transfer. 

The measurement and audit of our digital carbon footprint were carried out with the professional support of Carbon.Crane Zrt. The Hungarian climate technology startup, specialising in the measurement of digital environmental impacts, provided a reliable basis—through its ISO 14067 validated and Bureau Veritas-certified solution—for accurately assessing the environmental impacts of our digital operations and identifying key intervention points. 

The collaboration is also formalised through an official agreement that goes beyond the audit process: Carbon.Crane is involved in our ESG programmes as a professional and educational partner, supports curriculum development, participates in practice-oriented education, and collaborates with us on joint research, publications, events, and awareness-raising initiatives. 

Identified reduction opportunities 

The audit not only revealed challenges but also significant opportunities for improvement. At the level of the entire website, we identified an estimated reduction potential of approximately 21%, which could translate into more than one tonne of CO₂ savings annually, alongside a substantial reduction in energy consumption. 

The most impactful interventions are related to content optimisation, including reducing the size and improving the management of images and videos, optimising data transfer and loading processes, as well as improving infrastructure and hosting solutions. 

These measures are relatively easy to implement and provide cost-effective ways to reduce digital emissions. 

Integration into education 

Our students actively participated in the audit and measurement process: they conducted their own analyses on university and sectoral websites and developed benchmarks based on their findings. In this way, the initiative is directly embedded into education. 

This “learning by doing” approach enables students not only to acquire theoretical knowledge but also to develop practical, labour market-relevant skills. As a result, the assessment of digital carbon footprint and the mindset of sustainable digital operations have been integrated into our ESG-related educational activities. 

The CarbonClass programme has been incorporated into both our ESG postgraduate programme and our ESG consultant specialised training programme, allowing students and professional participants to gain hands-on experience with digital sustainability through real data and case studies. 

Upon successful completion, participants receive a digital certificate that can also be displayed on professional platforms. 

Strategic and institutional impact 

With this approach, we are not only improving our own institutional operations, but also equipping our students and professional partners with knowledge and a mindset in which digital innovation and environmental responsibility are closely interconnected.