Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.57
Liaison Derek Nichols
Submission Date Sept. 16, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University at Buffalo
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.12 / 10.00 Don Erb
Director, Residential Facilities
Campus Living
"---" 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 No

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:

A Spring 2015 Class was created for undergraduates who worked with Credit Owners to collect the GHG Data. The information was vetted and entered into the Clean Air - Cool Planet Carbon Calculator.


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?:
No

A brief description of the internal and/or external verification process:
---

Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 32,216 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 28,978 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 2,136 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 5,086 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 53,609 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 79,113 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 7,617 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1,548 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 0 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:
---

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 7,600 7,450
Number of residential employees 30 30
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 27,536 28,192
Full-time equivalent of employees 7,608 6,090
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, 2013 June 30, 2014
Baseline Year July 1, 2008 June 30, 2009

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

2009 was selected as the baseline year as this was the year the University published it's original Climate Action Plan.


Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
11,186,689 Square feet

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

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year::
Emissions
Business travel 14,061 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 29,357 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 ---
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:

The University has increased it's purchase of Renewable Energy Credits to 35% of its current need. In addition, the University constructed a 750,000KWH solar array on its North Campus which supplies the electrical energy equivalent of several hundred on campus apartments. The institution continues to encourage a bike culture by adding hundreds of bile rack positions around campus including over 125 bike rack positions at its newest student housing complex.


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.