| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.90 |
| Liaison | Deborah Steinberg |
| Submission Date | Dec. 6, 2021 |
Carnegie Mellon University
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
6.15 / 8.00 |
Martin
Altschul Director of Strategic Facilities Initiatives of FMCS Facilities Management Services |
Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion | 34,064.51 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 35,852.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 1,026.79 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 713 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity | 0.02 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 58,093.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Total | 35,091.32 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 94,658.60 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 | --- |
| 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):
Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Adjusted net GHG emissions | 35,091.32 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 94,658.60 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 | July 1, 2004 |
| End date | June 30, 2021 | June 30, 2005 |
A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
Baseline of FY 2005 was adopted after a CACP analysis was done for that year.
Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 3,924 | 3,744 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 12,193.80 | 8,803.40 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 5,192.10 | 3,978.30 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 323 | 106.50 |
| Weighted Campus Users | 13,778.18 | 10,442.40 |
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 | 2.55 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 9.06 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
| Floor area | |
| Laboratory space | 1,204,572 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 46,051.80 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space | 405,457.80 Square feet |
EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:
A significant Scope 1 reduction occurred in 2009 when the Bellefield Boiler Plant, partially owned by CMU, converted from coal and natural gas operation to 100% natural gas firing. The reduction in Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity is due to the purchase of RECs to offset 100% of our electricity purchases.
Website URL where information about the institution's GHG emissions is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Carnegie Mellon University's GHG emissions inventory was first initiated by an undergraduate research study in spring of 2007 in cooperation with few graduate students and faculty members using the Clean Air-Cool Planet calculator. The student project was expanded, corrected, and refined by the Green Practices intern Andrew Ko, university engineer, Martin Altschul and the university environmental coordinator, Barbara Kviz. The University's GHG emission inventory was calculated from 1995-present, to also reflect the pre and post 2006 regional EPA emissions factor reclassification. EPA eGrid pre-2006 subregion was corrected from prior submissions. Per EPA documentation Duquesne Light and Pittsburgh were considered to be in ECAR Ohio Valley. For our Scope 3 transportation accounting we have relied on very small sample sizes historically. For this submission we have decided not to include those emissions, because we are uncertain of their accuracy. We continue to study the problem and hope to report on scope 3 emissions on future GHG reports.
It should be noted that the emission numbers reflect the University's growth and rebuilding efforts since year 2005.
Carnegie Mellon University's GHG emissions inventory was first initiated by an undergraduate research study in spring of 2007 in cooperation with few graduate students and faculty members using the Clean Air-Cool Planet calculator. The student project was expanded, corrected, and refined by the Green Practices intern Andrew Ko, university engineer, Martin Altschul and the university environmental coordinator, Barbara Kviz. The University's GHG emission inventory was calculated from 1995-present, to also reflect the pre and post 2006 regional EPA emissions factor reclassification. EPA eGrid pre-2006 subregion was corrected from prior submissions. Per EPA documentation Duquesne Light and Pittsburgh were considered to be in ECAR Ohio Valley. For our Scope 3 transportation accounting we have relied on very small sample sizes historically. For this submission we have decided not to include those emissions, because we are uncertain of their accuracy. We continue to study the problem and hope to report on scope 3 emissions on future GHG reports.
It should be noted that the emission numbers reflect the University's growth and rebuilding efforts since year 2005.
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.