Potential for carbon storage in school infrastructure as a sustainability strategy: a case study

Abstract

Wood plays a fundamental role in mitigating climate change due to its ability to fix and store carbon dioxide (CO₂). This study estimated the carbon stored in wood products at Eduardo Mondlane Secondary School in Maputo, Mozambique. Simple random sampling was adopted in five classrooms, measuring the dimensions and humidity of furniture (desks, doors, windows, blackboards, tables, and chairs) to calculate volumes, apparent densities, and CO₂ stocks, according to the EN 16449:2014 standard. The results revealed that mixed desks (wood and metal, type 1) store an average of 308.56 kg of CO₂ each, while solid wood desks (type 2) accumulate 511.08 kg. Doors stand out with 1,834.68 kg of CO₂ per unit, compared to 23.54 kg in blackboards. In the real-world school setting, the total carbon stock reaches 244,091 kg of CO2, equivalent to 290.58 kg/m² (considering 56 m² per classroom). It is concluded t