Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 66.30
Liaison Stephen Ellis
Submission Date May 31, 2024

STARS v2.2

Boston University
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 6.17 / 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 46,500 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 58,825 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 1,900 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1,802 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 91,795 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy 9,200 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 13,013 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Total 57,600 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):
---

Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance year Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions 57,600 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, 2022 July 1, 2005
End date June 30, 2023 June 30, 2006

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

Beginning in 2019, in an effort to capture a more complete picture of our emissions, we included fleet, fugitive, and shuttle emissions under Scope 1 - other sources. These figures had not been included in the past because of missing or incorrect data dating back to FY2006. Historically, the boundary for the University's STARS reports has been limited to the Charles River and Medical Campuses. For the first time, in 2019, we captured emissions data from facilities off-campus within New England. In addition, on June 1, 2018, Wheelock College merged with BU, becoming the Fenway Campus; this campus is included in our institutional boundary. For consistency, Boston University uses a Fiscal Year 2006 baseline for its sustainability metrics.


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 11,441 11,185
Number of employees resident on-site 191 181
Number of other individuals resident on-site 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 29,964 24,623
Full-time equivalent of employees 9,780 8,439
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 1,505 1,605
Weighted Campus Users 31,587.25 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 1.82 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:
70.86

Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area

Performance year floor area

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
15,591,247 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 657,844.05 Square feet
Healthcare space 79,475.10 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 239,235.20 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
17,305,120.50 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:
0.00 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 website and in the following document:



Website URL where information about the institution's GHG emissions is available:
https://www.bu.edu/sustainability/vision-progress/data-dashboard/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

As part of our Climate Action Plan, BU matches 100% of our scope 2 electricity needs by retiring Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from the BU Wind Farm. This project came online in December 2020 in the middle of FY2021 and reduced our carbon emissions by 58.3%. It has continued since and matched 100% electricity for FY2023. Hence the drop in electricity emissions from previous years is from BU Wind Farm matching electricity by wind power.


This represents FY2023 BU Metrics.


Additional links highlighting BU's Climate Action Plan: Net Zero Direct Emissions: 



  • https://www.bu.edu/sustainability/projects/net-zero-direct-emissions/ Act on Indirect Emissions:

  • https://www.bu.edu/sustainability/projects/act-on-indirect-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.