Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 72.56
Liaison Natalie Hayes
Submission Date June 22, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Bentley University
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 9.83 / 10.00 Natalie Hayes
Associate Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions?:
Yes

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 3 GHG emissions from any of the following categories?:
Yes or No
Business travel Yes
Commuting Yes
Purchased goods and services Yes
Capital goods No
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 Yes
Waste generated in operations Yes

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from other categories?:
No

A brief description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory:

Bentley employs Sightlines, a facilities asset advising firm which conducts our GHG emissions analysis independently using the Clean Air Cool Planet Campus Calculator. The Office of Sustainability staff collects data from various university offices which is submitted to Sightline for the carbon footprint calculation process.


Has the GHG emissions inventory been validated internally by personnel who are independent of the GHG accounting and reporting process and/or verified by an independent, external third party?:
Yes

A brief description of the internal and/or external verification process:
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Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 3,493 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 3,345.20 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 70 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 58 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 7,030 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 10,357 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Institution-catalyzed carbon offsets generated 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon sequestration due to land that the institution manages specifically for sequestration 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon storage from on-site composting 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased 10,610 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the institution-catalyzed carbon offsets program:

N/A


A brief description of the carbon sequestration program and reporting protocol used:

N/A


A brief description of the composting and carbon storage program:
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A brief description of the purchased carbon offsets, including third party verifier(s) and contract timeframes:

Bentley purchases 25 Megawatts of green-e certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) to offset the university's Scope 2 purchased electricity emissions. This is the amount of electricity that Bentley uses per year on average. This purchase was made through Renewable Choice Energy.

Bentley also purchased 3,337 MTCDE offsets from a landfill methane gas capture project in Massachusetts. This purchase is used to offset the GHGs generated from faculty, staff air travel and student study abroad air travel.


Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 3,337 3,330
Number of residential employees 14 12
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 5,227 4,989
Full-time equivalent of employees 974 779
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 0 0

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016
Baseline Year July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:

Bentley's climate action plan was written and completed in FY2009 using data accumulated in the years prior. FY2008 was the year in which the Office of Sustainability felt that the university had the most accurate greenhouse gas emissions data.


Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
1,948,044 Square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 3,500 Square feet
Healthcare space 0 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 5,009 Square feet

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year::
Emissions
Business travel 577 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 3,653 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services 114 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories (please specify below) 3,599 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the sources included in Scope 3 GHG emissions from "other categories":

Study Abroad Air Travel: 2,889 MTCDE
Wastewater Emissions: 22.0 MTCDE
Solid waste -22 MTCDE
Scope II T&D Line Losses 710.0 MTCDE


A copy of the most recent GHG emissions inventory:
The website URL where the GHG emissions inventory is posted:
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A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:

Energy Conservation and Efficiency
GHGs from electricity use on campus have been reduced by 30% as compared to the 2008 baseline. Facilities Management and the Office of Sustainability work together on the following initiatives:
1. Energy Task Force founded in 2016 to manage all the energy efficiency projects going on in myriad parts of facilities management.
(a) Upgrading mechanical equipment to high efficiency models
(b) High efficiency light projects including occupancy sensors
(c) Digital controls projects including upgrades to the campus-wide energy management system
(d) Sound energy management using demand-controlled HVAC and building scheduling
2. Two solar projects that should be built in summer of 2017.
3. Preliminary study on ground source heat pumps.
4. Energy conservation education

Alternative Commuting
1.The Office of Sustainability has worked to expand education and programs about carbon-free commuting and public transportation. Since FY2012 people taking these alternative commuting methods has increased by 14%.

Renewable Energy Certificates
(1) Bentley purchases 25 MW of wind power via green-e certified renewable energy certificates. This is equal to 100% of the university's annual electricity needs.

Carbon Offsets for Air Travel
(1) Bentley purchases 3,337 MTCDE of carbon offsets from a methane capture project at a local landfill. This is used to offset business and study abroad air travel.


Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.