Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.45
Liaison Yumiko Jakobcic
Submission Date March 3, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Grand Valley State University
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.99 / 10.00 Yumiko Jakobcic
Campus Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability Practices
"---" 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 No
Capital goods No
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 No
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:

GVSU utilizes the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment ACUPCC Reporting System to generate our GHG inventory. This year we used Clean Air Cool Planet version 9.0.


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:

As part of our internal verification process, the data is provided by various departments and then analyzed by the Office of Sustainability Practices. We also had our Scope 1 and Scope 2 data audited by an external third party as part of our partnership with Chevrolet's Campus Clean Energy Efficiency Campaign.


Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 14,438 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 14,369 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 376 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 546 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 40,400 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 41,579 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 880 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 768 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 181 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 181 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 1,127 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:

GVSU maintains a 7 acre arboretum that holds 700 trees, as well as 16 additional gardens and vacant land that hold an additional 4,100 trees. There are also 10 acres managed as wetland woodlots on the golf course.


A brief description of the composting and carbon storage program:

N/A


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

We have purchased green-e recs for green power to add LEED points for new building construction seeking certification. The purchased offsets were for the Kleiner, Holton-Hooker, and the Marketplace.


Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 6,223 5,662
Number of residential employees 26 25
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 24,415 23,674
Full-time equivalent of employees 2,416 1,879
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 836 371.50

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, 2005 June 30, 2006

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

GVSU's President signed the ACUPCC agreement in 2007 because sustainability is one of the university's seven formal values.


Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
5,665,417 Square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 100,067 Square feet
Healthcare space 1,739 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 191,283 Square feet

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year::
Emissions
Business travel 2,707 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 26,636 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services ---
Capital goods ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 ---
Waste generated in operations 8.20 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":

N/A


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:

GVSU has committed to limiting GHG emissions across all major fronts. This includes construction and maintenance of buildings according to LEED standards and the promotion of sustainable transportation options.


Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

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.