Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	71.29
Liaison	Holly Andersen
Submission Date	March 30, 2022

STARS v2.2

Bennington College
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	6.12 / 8.00

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion	1,572.33 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	1,859.40 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources	104.70 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	93.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity	43.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	700 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	2,025 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Total	1,720.63 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	4,677.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Institution-catalyzed carbon offsets generated	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
Carbon storage from non-additional sequestration	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon sold or transferred	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Net carbon sinks	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the carbon sinks, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):

We have working on reporting this since 2013. The work is completed by students on campus and has gotten better and more inclusive in each cycle, that is why we have the same base year, it is comparing apples to oranges if we use previous years data. Before last year, the last inventory we performed was in 2015. You can see the information Here: https://reporting.secondnature.org/ghg/ghg-public!3435

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions	1,720.63 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	4,677.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):

	Performance year	Baseline year
Start date	July 1, 2020	Oct. 1, 2013
End date	June 30, 2021	Oct. 1, 2014

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:

The College signed the American College and University President's climate commitment in 2015, though we started to try and capture our carbon footprint starting in 2011. This work has been on-going and sporadic based on student interest.

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Number of students resident on-site	503	600
Number of employees resident on-site	24	250
Number of other individuals resident on-site	39	10
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	841	646
Full-time equivalent of employees	312	115
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	136	0
Weighted Campus Users	933.50	860

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user	1.84 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	5.44 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:

66.11

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:

46,946.77 Gross square meters

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:

	Floor area
Laboratory space	517 Square meters
Healthcare space	128.86 Square meters
Other energy intensive space	2,421.89 Square meters

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:

50,660.38 Gross square meters

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:

0.03 MtCO2e per square meter

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:

Beyond plastics, through CAPA, is the URL listed below. We are working with Efficiency Vermont on their Continuous Energy Improvement pilot program, changing people's behaviors around energy. We continuously work in energy saving work whenever we perform a capital project.

Website URL where information about the institution's GHG emissions is available:

https://www.bennington.edu/news-and-features/beyond-plastics-project-launched

Additional documentation to support the submission:

---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

For Scope 2 emissions, all of our purchased electricity is carbon neutral. This language is from GMP website "Our annual mix is 100% carbon free and more than 68% renewable. We work hard to make sure customers have clean, cost-effective, reliable power. Most of our energy supply is hydro power, from both small local hydro facilities in Vermont and large sources in Quebec. GMP pledged to be 100% carbon free by 2025, and met that target in 2020, as we continue to increase local and regional renewable energy sources." There website is https://greenmountainpower.com/energy-mix/.

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.

STARS v2.2

Bennington College OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Bennington College
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions