Overall Rating	Silver - expired
Overall Score	53.77
Liaison	Stephen Ellis
Submission Date	Oct. 7, 2021

STARS v2.2

Boston University
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	4.50 / 8.00	Stephen Ellis Director, Data Analytics BU Sustainability

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

Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions

Gross GHG emissions

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

	Performance year	Baseline year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion	43,854 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent Date Revised: Dec. 2, 2024 Boston University requested that AASHE Staff correct a mistake in this reporting field for the reason specified below. Previous Value: 43677 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent Explanation: Facilities Management, Business Affairs, and Sustainability identified properties with the utilities that either had faulty meters or incorrect values and have since corrected these values.	58,825 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources	1,710 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent Date Revised: Dec. 2, 2024 Boston University requested that AASHE Staff correct a mistake in this reporting field for the reason specified below. Previous Value: 1566 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent Explanation: Facilities Management, Business Affairs, and Sustainability identified properties with the utilities that either had faulty meters or incorrect values and have since corrected these values.	1,802 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity	51,122 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent Date Revised: Dec. 2, 2024 Boston University requested that AASHE Staff correct a mistake in this reporting field for the reason specified below. Previous Value: 42626 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent Explanation: Facilities Management, Business Affairs, and Sustainability identified properties with the utilities that either had faulty meters or incorrect values and have since corrected these values.	91,795 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy	9,652 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent Date Revised: Dec. 2, 2024 Boston University requested that AASHE Staff correct a mistake in this reporting field for the reason specified below. Previous Value: 11286 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent Explanation: Facilities Management, Business Affairs, and Sustainability identified properties with the utilities that either had faulty meters or incorrect values and have since corrected these values.	13,013 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Total	106,338 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	165,435 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Carbon sinks

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

If total performance year carbon sinks are greater than zero, provide:

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

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Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions	106,338 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	165,435 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Performance and baseline periods

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

	Performance year	Baseline year
Start date	July 1, 2019	July 1, 2005
End date	June 30, 2020	June 30, 2006

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

In an effort to capture a more complete picture of our emissions, we have included fleet, fugitive, and shuttle emissions for the first time under Scope 1 - other sources. These figures had not been included in the past because of missing or incorrect data dating back to FY 2006. Historically, the boundary for the University's STARS reports has been limited to the Charles River and Medical Campuses. This year, for the first time we have been able to capture emissions data from facilities off campus within New England. We intend to include Global Programs when that data becomes available in the coming years. In addition, on June 1, 2018, Wheelock College merged with BU, becoming the Fenway Campus; this campus will also be included in our institutional boundary for the last month of the 2018 fiscal year (FY). We intend to include Global Programs when that data becomes available in the coming years.

Part 1. Reduction in GHG emissions per person

Weighted campus users

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Number of students resident on-site	11,439	11,185
Number of employees resident on-site	172	181
Number of other individuals resident on-site	0	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	27,832	24,623
Full-time equivalent of employees	9,633	8,439
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	882	1,605
Weighted Campus Users	30,340	26,434.25

Metrics used in scoring for Part 1

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	3.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	6.26 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

44.00

Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area

Performance year floor area

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:

15,221,297 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:

	Floor area
Laboratory space	672,331.80 Square feet
Healthcare space	70,684.20 Square feet
Other energy intensive space	226,335.50 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:

16,933,664.50 Gross square feet

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

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

0.01 MtCO2e per square foot

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

BU's initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can be found at the following two websites:
1. BU's Climate Action Plan: http://www.bu.edu/climateactionplan/
2. BU Sustainability's Climate Action website: http://www.bu.edu/sustainability/what-were-doing/climate-action

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

http://www.bu.edu/sustainability/what-were-doing/climate-action

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

This represents FY2020 BU Metrics.

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.