Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 72.89
Liaison Tom Twist
Submission Date Nov. 8, 2023

STARS v2.2

Bates College
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.35 / 3.00 Tom Twist
Sustainability Manager
Facilities
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Greenhouse gas emissions inventory

Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory within the previous three years that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
Yes

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:
Bates College carbon inventories are completed both in-house and by outside contractors. Our outside contractor, Atrius, helps us aggregate the data from our various fuels.

Our most recent FY 2022 carbon inventory has been completed in-house, working with the students, faculty, and the facilities department. We have taken energy usage data and standardized the methodology from years past. Our emissions factors are from the EPA's GHG Emissions Hub. Our scope 3 emissions were collected for commuting by creating a GIS map of staff and faculty homes (anonymously) and taking an average of miles commuted, days commuted, and vehicle mpg. We also keep track of our waste stream tonnage, again using EPA emission factors, using our bills for our tipping fees. All travel data - commuting, staff, faculty, and student study abroad trips - were also calculated using the EPA GHG Emissions Hub. busines travel data was aquired via credit card receipts, cleaned using Google CoLab, and calculated with ArcGIS.

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the GHG inventory verification process:
For our most recent carbon inventory, we had the Committee for Environmental Responsibility, the Director of Facilities, and the Chief Financial Officer review the emissions inventory. These groups are independent from the carbon reporting, which takes place under the Sustainability Office. We have also sent our inventory for verification to other peer NESCAC schools, one example being the faculty of Smith College, who are working on compiling a resource for colleges on the path to carbon neutrality.

Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
---

Scope 1 GHG emissions
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion 5,743 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) 169 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
5,912 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 2 GHG emissions
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity 4,518 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
4,518 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

GHG emissions from biomass combustion
Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
1,555 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 3 GHG emissions
Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:
Yes or No Weight in MTCO2e
Business travel Yes 163.90 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting --- 2,177 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services --- ---
Capital goods --- ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 Yes 124.18 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations Yes 97 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources --- ---

Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
2,562.08 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
Bates accounts for all businees travel, study abroad travel, and faculty ans staff commuting under Scope III emissions. Business travel is obtained from credit card receipts, cleaned with Google CoLab, and calculated with ArcGIS for miles and the EPA emissions factors for CO2e tonnes. Study abroad data are obtained from our study abroad office, and commuter data are obtained from HR with the names dissociated from the addresses. We also take responsibility for our waste stream emissions, with data obtained from our waste providers.

Part 2. Air pollutant emissions inventory

Has the institution completed an inventory within the previous three years to quantify its air pollutant emissions?:
Yes

Annual weight of emissions for::
Weight of Emissions
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) 31.50 Tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) 55.80 Tons
Carbon monoxide (CO) 11.60 Tons
Particulate matter (PM) 7.20 Tons
Ozone (O3) 0 Tons
Lead (Pb) 0 Tons
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) 0 Tons
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) 0 Tons
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations 2.30 Tons

Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
Yes or No
Major stationary sources Yes
Area sources ---
Mobile sources ---
Commuting ---
Off-site electricity production ---

None
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
Annual requirement for the State of Maine, data obtained from our Environmental Health and Safety Department.

Optional Fields

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:
Information provided is from License A-373-71-K-A, annual permitted emissions.

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.