American University
OP-5: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction

Note Regarding Scope 2 Emissions Between the 2005 baseline year and the FY 2013 performance year, AU's electricity use was reduced from 54,636,650 kWh to 49,791,980 kWh despite significant growth in campus facilities and campus population. Additionally, the university installed more than 500 kW of solar PV on its rooftops. Some of these PV panels are owned by the university. There are greenhouse gases associated with the power produced by these panels and this is reflected in the above inventory. Most of the panels, however, are owned by a third party from whom the university has agreed to purchase the power produced by the panels for 20 years. The third-party owner retains ownership of the Renewable Energy Certificates associated with this power and therefore the university does not claim this amount of power as being free of GHGs. Furthermore, the university purchased RECs equivalent to 100% of the university's purchased power. STARS reporting guidance requires the use of Greenhouse Gas Protocol's Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standards. According to those standards, and as confirmed in a telephone interview with Mary Sotos from the World Resources Institute, on November 27, 2013, reporters should recognize RECs in reporting their gross scope 2 emissions. In essence, RECs represent power that has zero greenhouse gas emissions and therefore AU's scope 2 emissions total is zero. In addition, AU purchased 9,000 CCBA-certified carbon offsets in 2013, which offset the much of the remaining scope 1 and 2 emissions. POPULATION Population figures for performance year are based on student headcount as of September 28, 2013 (census date of Academic Data Reference Book), and Faculty/Staff headcount as of December 1st, 2013 (census date from Director of Employee Compensation). Population figures for baseline year were calculated using the student headcount as of October 1, 2005 (census date of Academic Data Reference Book), and Faculty/Staff headcount as of September 30, 2005 (census date from Director of Employee Compensation).