| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 54.65 |
| Liaison | Kelly Nowicki |
| Submission Date | May 20, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.32 / 10.00 |
Rob
Tyser Professor Biology |
Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions?:
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?:
A brief description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory:
Scope 1 data sources: natural gas (Xcel Energy and UW-L heating plant records), distillate oil & coal (UW-L heating plant records)
Scope 2 data source: Xcel Energy records)
Scope 3 data sources: student survey, faculty survey, reviewed travel expense reports
Data were input into v7 Clean Air/Cool Planet's (CACP) carbon calculator.
Regarding Scope 2: A large fraction of electricity from Xcel Energy is generated from renewable sources. Xcel provides lbs generated per C02 generated MWH per year, which we used to calculate MT CO2 for our baseline and performance years. CO2 emissions calculated in this manner were 75% (baseline year) and 68 % (performance year) of those determined from CACP. We used these percentages to adjust Scope 2 emissions accordingly.
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 internal and/or external verification process:
Dan Sweetman (Facilities Planning and Management) reviewed the data and process used.
Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion | 16,513 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 17,774 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 199 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 167.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity | 15,241 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 16,631 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 | 779.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 705.20 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:
Wisconsin Act 141 directs the Department of Administration (DOA) to purchase renewable electrical energy. The DOA disperses the renewable energy credits (REC’s) to state institutions and apportions part of the credit to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UW-L). The RECs for UW-L are dispersed proportionally based on electrical consumption.
Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of residential students | 3,507 | 2,885 |
| Number of residential employees | 15 | 12 |
| Number of in-patient hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Full-time equivalent enrollment | 10,187 | 9,649 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 1,099 | 966 |
| Full-time equivalent of distance education students | 286.45 | 168.09 |
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, 2010 | June 30, 2011 |
A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
Records are available back to FY2010. We decided to use FY2011 as our baseline year, because in FY2010 two residences were eliminated and two large campus buildings were being constructed. Our energy use patterns in FY2011 are more representative.
Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
| Floor Area | |
| Laboratory space | 327,500 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 33,600 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space | 469,300 Square feet |
Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year::
| Emissions | |
| Business travel | 2,101 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Commuting | 5,570 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":
Students from two UW-L courses (BUS 230 and ENV 301) surveyed UW-L students and faculty regarding their commuting patterns. ENV 301 students also reviewed travel expense reports submitted by faculty/staff to estimate "financed travel" emissions.
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:
Electricity provider (Xcel Energy) web site regarding carbon emissions:
http://www.xcelenergy.com/staticfiles/
xe-responsive/Admin/Managed%20Documents%20&%20PDFs/2014_CO2_Worksheet.pdf
Electricity provider (Xcel Energy) web site regarding carbon emissions:
http://www.xcelenergy.com/staticfiles/
xe-responsive/Admin/Managed%20Documents%20&%20PDFs/2014_CO2_Worksheet.pdf
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.