Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 76.02
Liaison Megan Litke
Submission Date Sept. 17, 2024

STARS v3.0

American University
OP-6: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 14.09 / 16.00 Lia Gomez
Sustainability Analyst
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

6.1 Greenhouse gas emissions inventory and disclosure

Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions inventory
Has the institution completed an inventory within the previous three years to quantify its scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions?:
Yes

Copy of the institution’s GHG emissions inventory:
---

Online location of the institution’s GHG emissions inventory:
https://unhsimap.org/public/institution/157

Performance year for scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
2023

Description of the methodology or calculator used to conduct the scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions inventory:

Designated contacts in various campus departments are emailed for GHG inventory data. The collected data is shared with Gordian. Gordian enters the data into the University of New Hampshire's SIMAP calculator. Gordian provides third party review and analysis of all data.

SIMAP® is a carbon and nitrogen-accounting platform that can track, analyze, and improve your campus-wide sustainability. SIMAP's algorithms help universities: 

  • Create a baseline
  • Benchmark GHG performance
  • Create GHG reports
  • Set GHG goals

The small descrepency between the online emissions inventory and the numbers entered here are because Airlie Farms are not included in the scope of our STARS report but are included in our Second Nature reporting. 


Scope 1 GHG emissions

If claiming points for a scope 1 and scope 2 GHG inventory, the following information is required:

Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion:
8,736.55 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 1 GHG emissions from mobile combustion:
514.83 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 1 GHG process emissions:
1.51 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 1 GHG fugitive emissions:
670.74 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 2 GHG emissions

If claiming points for a scope 1 and scope 2 GHG inventory, the following information is required:

Which of the following methods were used to quantify the institution’s scope 2 GHG emissions?:
Market-based

Scope 2 GHG emissions from off-site sources of electricity (market-based):
0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

If using a location-based or dual reporting method, the following field is also required:

Scope 2 GHG emissions from off-site sources of electricity (location-based):
---

Scope 2 GHG emissions from off-site sources of heating and cooling:
---

The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:

Annual scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
9,923.63 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Biogenic emissions 

If claiming points for a scope 1 and scope 2 GHG inventory, the following information is required: 

Does the institution’s GHG emissions accounting method separate out biogenic emissions for disclosure purposes?:
Yes

GHG emissions from biogenic sources:
67.95 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 3 GHG emissions
Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions from business travel?:
Full accounting

Scope 3 GHG emissions from business travel:
10,053.25 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions from commuting?:
Full accounting

Scope 3 GHG emissions from commuting:
4,408.53 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services?:
Partial accounting

Scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services:
20.92 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions from capital goods?:
Not at all

Scope 3 GHG emissions from capital goods:
---

Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions from fuel- and energy-related activities not included in scope 1 or scope 2?:
Full accounting

Scope 3 GHG emissions from fuel- and energy-related activities not included in scope 1 or scope 2:
3,455.91 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions from upstream transportation and distribution?:
Not at all

Scope 3 GHG emissions from upstream transportation and distribution:
---

Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions from waste generated in operations?:
Full accounting

Scope 3 GHG emissions from waste generated in operations:
729.95 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions in all other applicable categories identified in the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard?:
Not at all

Scope 3 GHG emissions from other applicable categories identified in the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard:
---

If any scope 3 activities have been quantified, the following field is also required:

Description of the methodologies used to identify and account for the institution’s relevant scope 3 activities:

American University currently excludes certain Scope 3 emissions categories outlined in the GHG Protocol, such as capital goods, purchased goods and services, and upstream leased assets. AU has used Second Nature reporting guidelines and is exploring expanding the categories included.


The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:

Points earned for indicator OP 6.1:
3

6.2 Greenhouse gas emissions per square meter

Peer group:
Doctoral universities and research institutions

Gross floor area of building space:
352,140.18 Square meters

The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following two figures:

Annual scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of floor area:
28.18 Kilograms per square meter

Points earned for indicator OP 6.2:
3.43

6.3 Greenhouse gas emissions per person

Full-time equivalent student enrollment:
11,199

Full-time equivalent of employees:
2,952

The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following three figures:

Full-time equivalent students and employees:
14,151

Annual scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per person:
701.27 Kilograms of CO2 equivalent

Points earned for indicator OP 6.3:
3.66

6.4 Adjusted net greenhouse gas emissions

Carbon sinks

Report figures for the performance year. If claiming points for a scope 1 and scope 2 GHG inventory, the following information is required. Non-additional sequestration does not qualify as a carbon sink for scoring purposes, but may be reported in the optional field provided. 

Third party certified carbon offsets:
32,250 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Description of the institution’s third party certified carbon offsets:

AU uses a group of faculty, staff, and students in the offsets advisory group to work on RFPs and review options for offsets. For FY23 two offset projects were selected:

Cookstove and Safe Drinking Water in Kenya Project certified using GS (GS 11294)

Industrial Gases HFC Reclaimation Project in the US certified using ACR (ACR 818)


Carbon storage from on-site composting:
33.69 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Description of the institution’s carbon storage from on-site composting:

AU send compostable materials to a facility in Maryland and also purchases compost to apply on campus from the facility. 


Carbon sold or transferred:
---

Carbon storage from non-additional sequestration on institution-owned land:
34.54 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Baseline emissions
Does the institution have baseline scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions data?:
Yes

Copy of the institution’s baseline GHG emissions inventory:
Annual_Report_2005_1.csv

Online location of the institution’s baseline GHG emissions inventory:
https://unhsimap.org/public/institution/157

Baseline year for scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
2005

Narrative outlining when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:

The GHG emissions baseline of 2005 was selected when American University first committed to working toward Carbon Neutrality by signing the ACUPCC in 2009.


Baseline scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
35,281.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following four figures:

Net carbon sinks:
32,255.51 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Adjusted net scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from baseline:
100

Points earned for indicator OP 6.4:
4

Optional documentation

Notes about the information provided for this credit:

AU acheived carbon neutrality in 2018. Information and links to news articles are available here: https://www.american.edu/about/sustainability/carbon-neutrality.cfm 

 


Additional documentation for this credit:
---

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.