Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 72.18
Liaison Ryan Todd
Submission Date May 9, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

California State University, Sacramento
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.11 / 10.00 Nathaniel Martin
Energy Coordinator
Facilities Management—Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions?:
Yes

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 3 GHG emissions from any of the following categories?:
Yes or No
Business travel No
Commuting No
Purchased goods and services No
Capital goods No
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 No
Waste generated in operations No

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from other categories?:
No

A brief description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory:

Our campus tracks all utilities and reports associated GHG emission to The Office of the Chancellor for the California State University (CSU) system. As a point of reference, all GHG emissions were certified starting in 2006 through CSU.
We currently use the 2007 Emission Rates from table 14.1 US Emission Factors by eGRID Subregion. Source: US EPA eGRID2010 Version 1.0 (2007 data) for all none electric energy usage.
For electrical usage, our campus now uses the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) 2012 Emission Factors.
The table data of conversions factors used in our report are listed below:
Utilities Conversion Factor
SMUD kWh 626.110
Natural Gas Therm(s) 52.78
Petro Diesel Gallons 9.96
CNG 23.598
Propane Gallons 5.67
Gasoline Gallons 8.55


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 internal and/or external verification process:

The GHG inventory was conducted in house by Facilities Management’s Sustainability department. The validation process was reviewed and checked by several internally and compared against purchased utility invoices. This data has also been sent to CSU system wide reporting requirements.


Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 19,157 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 21,506 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 12,499 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 12,260 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Institution-catalyzed carbon offsets generated 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon sequestration due to land that the institution manages specifically for sequestration 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
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the institution-catalyzed carbon offsets program:

N/A


A brief description of the carbon sequestration program and reporting protocol used:

N/A


A brief description of the composting and carbon storage program:

N/A


A brief description of the purchased carbon offsets, including third party verifier(s) and contract timeframes:

N/A


Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 1,700 1,700
Number of residential employees 49 49
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 25,229 24,237
Full-time equivalent of employees 1,860 1,801
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 9,532 12,372

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year Aug. 1, 2014 July 31, 2015
Baseline Year Aug. 1, 2013 July 31, 2014

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

Since this is the first time Sac State is completing the STARS report, the performance year was chosen based on the most recent 12 month period prior to starting work on the STARS report. Sac State started working on the STARS report in September 2015. The baseline year was determined by choosing the next 12 month period prior to the performance year so that the data being looked at for both date ranges would include the last 2 years to include the campus’ most recent sustainability efforts and achievements.


Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
5,166,951 Square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 246,317 Square feet
Healthcare space 145,843 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 782,784 Square feet

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year::
Emissions
Business travel ---
Commuting ---
Purchased goods and services ---
Capital goods ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 ---
Waste generated in operations ---
Other categories (please specify below) ---

A brief description of the sources included in Scope 3 GHG emissions from "other categories":
---

A copy of the most recent GHG emissions inventory:
The website URL where the GHG emissions inventory is posted:
---

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:

The Department of Energy awarded the grant to SMUD in fall of 2009 to help fund the Smart Grid project. In May 2013, Sac State completed the Smart Grid Grant project. Each element listed below helps reduces GHG emissions for our campus and included the following:
Smart Electric Meters:
Installation of 58 smart electric meters was completed in campus buildings (including non-State buildings); these meters report to an Energy Information System software.
Energy Management and Control Systems (EMCS):
Replacement of the old and outdated EMCS occurred in 38 buildings with nearly 37,000 monitoring and control points. This allowed for central real time monitoring and control of environmental conditions within each of the buildings and the ability to control and minimize energy consumption.
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations:
Installation of 14 electric vehicle charging stations was completed on campus and is also available for public use. There are four stations located in Parking Structure 1, seven located in Parking Structure 2, and three located in Parking Lot 1.
Renewable Energy Projects - Photovoltaic (PV):
Sac State implemented two PV solar panel projects totaling a maximum capacity of 500 kW. They were both roof mounted PV systems located on the Library (272 kW) and The WELL (228 kW). Both projects were completed in March 2013 as Power Purchase Agreements.
Lighting Projects:
LED Street Lighting Project:
Sac State has replaced the existing High Pressure Sodium cobra head street lighting fixtures with energy efficient LED street lights. The project has resulted in 54% energy savings, reduced maintenance costs, and better lighting quality and color.
Gym LED Lighting Retrofit:
Sac State replaced 30 existing High Pressure Sodium lights in Yosemite Hall’s North Gym with 20 LED lamps with individual occupancy sensors that resulted in 73% energy savings, reduced maintenance cost due to longer lamp life, and better lighting quality.
Pathway Lighting Project:
Sac State has an ongoing project to replace the existing High Pressure Sodium pathway lights with Induction lamps, which has resulted in 43% energy savings and reduced maintenance costs due to longer lamp life.


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.