| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 79.37 |
| Liaison | Jillian Leach |
| Submission Date | March 4, 2022 |
California State University, Chico
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.29 / 3.00 |
Gregory
Wiggins Climate & Energy Analyst Facilities Management & Services |
Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory within the previous three years that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
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:
The document attached above is from a 2020 publish document of our GHG emissions up to FY2018. Data has been compiled for FY20-21 for submission in Second Nature, but has not been published to a specific document as of yet. The STARS reported for this submission is from FY20-21 data.
CSU, Chico is a signatory to Second Nature's Climate Leadership Commitment and tracks and reports GHG emissions as required by the CLC. The University of New Hampshire's Campus Carbon Calculator (most recently version 9) is used to convert the primary form inputs into estimates of greenhouse gas emissions.
Scope 3 emissions sources:
Staff / Faculty / Student Commuting - captured by survey with >5% student response rate and a ~50% staff / faculty response rate.
Sponsored Travel - for state sponsored travel data on distance travelled and mode is pulled from each submitted travel expense claim and organized into a spreadsheet; for travel billed against a research foundation project copies of travel expense claims are copied and audited by ISD staff.
Solid Waste - tonnage of landfilled waste is tracked by Facilities Management and Services for mandated state reporting.
Wastewater - estimated as 80% of purchased / metered potable water.
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?:
A brief description of the GHG inventory verification process:
The emissions inventorying process is conducted biennially by staff in the Office of Energy and Sustainability. Various staff from Facilities Management and Services and Pacific Gas and Electric have reviewed / verified different components of the data set and process.
Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Stationary combustion | 4,449.78 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) | 370.90 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Imported electricity | 4,769 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Imported thermal energy | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:
| Yes or No | Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Business travel | Yes | 736.65 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Commuting | Yes | 11,913.36 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Purchased goods and services | No | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Capital goods | No | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | No | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Waste generated in operations | Yes | 13,321 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources | Yes | 1,393.22 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
Given the Nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, commuting data from 2019 has been used for the purposes of this report in order to depict what campus looks like during normal operations. This data does not include bus usage, as there is currently none gathered.
Commuting emissions are calculated using an administered transportation survey in which respondents are asked how far they travel to get to campus, how many trips they regularly make, and what mode of transit they use to get there. This information is then used to estimate the total commuting impact.
This data is only as good as the survey responses received and in spring 2019, there were only 1,487 responses out of a total of 17,819 campus users. In the recommendations chapter is a solution to continue to refine this data in order to have a more accurate reflection of commuting related emissions by understanding better exactly how far students, faculty, and staff are traveling to get to campus.
Measurement of campus sponsored travel has become more sophisticated in recent years with the implementation of the travel management system, Concur, which tracks modes of transit and distances traveled. There are still less sophisticated measurements of campus sponsored travel which are measured through mileage reimbursements. Campus sponsored travel includes not only state supported travel but Associated Students and Chico State Enterprises travel.
Material that is sent to landfill is quantified through waste disposal utility invoices and standard EPA landfill emissions factors.
Waste water is not specifically metered however, incoming water deliveries are measured by the utility. Based on this incoming water, we can estimate the amount of water used in various applications including the amount that leaves through wastewater plumbing.
Has the institution completed an inventory within the previous three years to quantify its air pollutant emissions?:
Annual weight of emissions for::
| Weight of Emissions | |
| Nitrogen oxides (NOx) | --- |
| Sulfur oxides (SOx) | --- |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | --- |
| Particulate matter (PM) | --- |
| Ozone (O3) | --- |
| Lead (Pb) | --- |
| Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) | --- |
| Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) | --- |
| Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations | --- |
Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
| Yes or No | |
| Major stationary sources | --- |
| Area sources | --- |
| Mobile sources | --- |
| Commuting | --- |
| Off-site electricity production | --- |
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
N/A
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:
emissions factors taken from Second Nature at: https://unhsimap.org/cmap/resources/references/53 & https://unhsimap.org/2019table
emissions factors taken from Second Nature at: https://unhsimap.org/cmap/resources/references/53 & https://unhsimap.org/2019table
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.