| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.21 |
| Liaison | Stephen Ellis |
| Submission Date | June 9, 2023 |
Boston University
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.52 / 3.00 |
Stephen
Ellis Director, Data Analytics BU Sustainability |
Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory within the previous three years that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
A copy of the most recent GHG emissions inventory:
A brief description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory:
Boston University (BU) used the University of New Hampshire's Sustainability Indicator Management and Analysis Platform (SIMAP) to calculate greenhouse gas emissions. Prior to BU's FY2018 STARS submission, we used an institutional boundary that included just the Charles River and Medical Campuses. Starting in our FY2018 STARS submission, we have expanded our institutional boundary and associated metrics to off-campus facilities within New England. In addition, since June 1, 2018, Wheelock College merged with BU, becoming the Fenway Campus; this campus is now included in our institutional boundary from the last month of FY2018.
We have uploaded FY 2006 through 2022 data into SIMAP. BU uses an FY2006 baseline year for all sustainability-metric data. We account for Scope 1 emissions of (1) stationary combustion of fossil fuels on campus, (2) transportation-related fossil fuel consumption, (3) emissions from refrigerants & chemicals, and (4) fertilizers, Scope 2 emissions of purchases of (5) electricity and (6) steam.
We included emissions from the Boston University Shuttle (BUS) for the first time in our 2018 STARS submission. In that submission, we included the same amount of emissions in our baseline year (FY2006) as our performance year (FY2016). In our FY2018 STARS submission, we include more precise estimates of the emissions from the BUS. Specifically, we used nearly complete BUS fuel consumption data from FY2013-18 to estimate FY2006-12 using a linear regression model. The FY2013-18 data had 5 months of missing data; we estimated the fuel consumption of these missing months as the average of the other four years of data for the specific month missing.
In FY2021, for the first time, BU has chosen to include scope 3 emissions associated with our waste stream. Specifically, incinerated waste. BU Sustainability undertook a waste emissions project which produced a Waste Calculator to be used to derive BU’s greenhouse gas emissions associated with waste. Through the calculator, raw waste data is disaggregated by material type and stream category, mapped to its corresponding WARM (US EPA’s Waste Reduction Model) material type, and associated with the corresponding emissions factors for each material. This is then summarized in a pivot table that sums the yearly combustion generation—among other factors—by material type.
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?:
A brief description of the GHG inventory verification process:
Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Stationary combustion | 45,700 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) | 1,800 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Imported electricity | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Imported thermal energy | 11,500 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:
| Yes or No | Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Business travel | No | --- |
| Commuting | No | --- |
| Purchased goods and services | No | --- |
| Capital goods | No | --- |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | No | --- |
| Waste generated in operations | Yes | 1,600 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources | No | --- |
Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
The quantification of emissions from Boston University’s waste streams follows a similar method to that utilized for the Carbon Free Boston study as described in its Waste Sector Technical Report and in a related peer-reviewed publication in Waste Management. In this approach material- and waste-treatment-specific emissions factors are applied to BU’s waste generation data.
Emissions factors were extracted from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Waste Reduction Model’s (WARM) version 15 documentation, specifically the Waste Management Practices documentation. These emissions factors have been updated from those used in the Carbon Free Boston study, which used WARM version 14 emissions factors. Emissions factors for avoided emissions from electricity generation were calculated using WARM’s material-specific electricity generation factors (e.g., MWh per ton waste) and emissions factors for regional electricity production (e.g., tonne CO2 per MWh electricity) assuming that electricity generated from combustion displaced marginal, typically natural gas, generators.
Has the institution completed an inventory within the previous three years to quantify its air pollutant emissions?:
Annual weight of emissions for::
| Weight of Emissions | |
| Nitrogen oxides (NOx) | 0 Tons |
| Sulfur oxides (SOx) | --- |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | --- |
| Particulate matter (PM) | --- |
| Ozone (O3) | --- |
| Lead (Pb) | --- |
| Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) | --- |
| Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) | --- |
| Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations | 43,828 Tons |
Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
| Yes or No | |
| Major stationary sources | Yes |
| Area sources | --- |
| Mobile sources | --- |
| Commuting | --- |
| Off-site electricity production | --- |
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
BU inventories all emission-producing equipment in its buildings and calculates potential emissions using emissions guarantees and EPA-approved emission factors for criteria and GHG emissions. Actual emissions are calculated using the fuel use or run times of each piece of emission-producing equipment.
No accounting was conducted for "Refrigerants & Chemicals". As of FY2019, Boston University is no longer required by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) to report on "Refrigerants & Chemicals".
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy (location-based) :
Website URL where information about the institution’s emissions inventories is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
As part of our Climate Action Plan, BU is matching 100% of our scope 2 electricity needs by retiring Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from the BU Wind Farm. This project came online in December 2020 in the middle of FY21 and reduced our carbon emissions by 58.3%. It has continued since and matched 100% electricity for FY22. Hence the drop in electricity emissions from previous years is from BU Wind Farm matching electricity by wind power.
This represents FY2022 BU Metrics.
As part of our Climate Action Plan, BU is matching 100% of our scope 2 electricity needs by retiring Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from the BU Wind Farm. This project came online in December 2020 in the middle of FY21 and reduced our carbon emissions by 58.3%. It has continued since and matched 100% electricity for FY22. Hence the drop in electricity emissions from previous years is from BU Wind Farm matching electricity by wind power.
This represents FY2022 BU Metrics.
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.