Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.78
Liaison Amber Saxton
Submission Date Sept. 9, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

George Mason University
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.19 / 10.00 Tyler Orton
Projects Innovation Coordinator
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:

George Mason University Office of Sustainability staff provides data to an external consultant, Sightlines, to verify and calculate campus emissions. Sightlines uses the Clean Air-Cool Planet calculator to determine the carbon emissions.


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:

The Greenhouse Gas emissions are validated both internally and externally. Each year after the inventory is completed a meeting is held with internal stakeholders to validate the information that they provided. Externally, the consultant, Sightlines verifies and processes the data to ensure accuracy.


Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 24,020 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 15,069 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 993 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1,718 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 46,004 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 45,018 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 4,600 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

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

A brief description of the composting and carbon storage program:
---

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

Mason purchased carbon offsets for 10% of Mason's emissions from electricity for FY13 from a Green-E certified vendor.


Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 6,023 3,995
Number of residential employees 103 0
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 26,850 20,682
Full-time equivalent of employees 4,348.40 2,906
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, 2012 June 30, 2013
Baseline Year July 1, 2005 June 30, 2006

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

The Greenhouse Gas emissions baseline was adopted in 2006, the year that President Merten signed the ACUPCC.


Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
8,309,768 Square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 488,335 Square feet
Healthcare space 0 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 56,000 Square feet

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year::
Emissions
Business travel 6,403 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 20,724 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services 347 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 4,386 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations 45 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories (please specify below) ---

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

A copy of the most recent GHG emissions inventory:
---

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

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Information is for FY 2013


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.