| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.39 |
| Liaison | Marianne Martin |
| Submission Date | Sept. 22, 2021 |
University of Colorado Boulder
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.73 / 3.00 |
Bryan
Birosak Director of Utility Services Facilities Management |
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:
Master spreadsheet created with all required data; distributed to those who had the data; follow up to acquire data; compilation of the data into the spreadsheet then entered into the Second Nature reporting form
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 | 45,056 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) | 1,811 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 | 79,082 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Imported thermal energy | 0 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 | Yes |
19,923
Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Date Revised: March 3, 2023
|
| Commuting | Yes | 20,856 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Purchased goods and services | No | --- |
| Capital goods | No | --- |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | No | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Waste generated in operations | Yes | 861 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources | No | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
Scope 3 GHG emissions were calculated using various custom tools: GHG emissions from business travel is calculated using air miles travelled, as provided by Christopherson Business Travel, in conjunction with iBank Travel Management © Cornerstone Information Systems; GHG from commuting is calculated using institutional data provided by the UCB Office of Data Analytics (ODA) and applying it to commute mode data generated by various surveys of faculty, staff, and students, including those conducted as part of the 2019 Transportation Master Plan. Conversion factors match those provided by the TMP consultant, Fehr & Peers; GHG associated with waste generated in operations is calculated using scale-based weight tickets provided by Facilities Management and conversion factors provided by the USEPA (Documentation Chapters for Greenhouse Gas Emission, Energy and Economic Factors Used in the Waste Reduction Model (WARM) | US EPA).
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) | 59.51 Tons |
| Sulfur oxides (SOx) | 10.37 Tons |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 16.17 Tons |
| Particulate matter (PM) | 2.70 Tons |
| Ozone (O3) | --- |
| Lead (Pb) | --- |
| Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) | 0 Tons |
| Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) | --- |
| Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations | 1.74 Tons |
Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
| Yes or No | |
| Major stationary sources | Yes |
| Area sources | No |
| Mobile sources | No |
| Commuting | No |
| Off-site electricity production | No |
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
Please note Utilities only manages the air emissions for the district energy plants. Utilities does not maintain a “CU Boulder air emissions inventory”.
The District Energy Plants at CU Boulder utilize industrial grade Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems (CEMS) that are 3rd party certified in accordance with our air permit and all regulatory requirements. The custom CEMS are outfitted with facility specific instrumentation (gas analyzers, flow monitors, etc), sample handling systems, gas calibration systems, and a Data Acquisition and Handling System (DAHS) for the collection and reporting of data.
The CEMS DAHS provides the data for the Stars Report.
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:
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.