Overall Rating	Gold - expired
Overall Score	72.19
Liaison	John Pumilio
Submission Date	Aug. 11, 2017
Executive Letter	Download

STARS v2.1

Colgate University
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	8.56 / 10.00

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

Part 1

Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :

Yes

Does the institution’s GHG emissions inventory include all, some or none of its Scope 3 GHG emissions from the following categories?:

	All, Some, or None
Business travel	All
Commuting	All
Purchased goods and services	Some
Capital goods	None
Waste generated in operations	All
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2	None
Other categories	Some

A copy of the most recent GHG emissions inventory:

2016 Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report.pdf

A brief description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory, including how the institution accounted for each category of Scope 3 emissions reported above:

Colgate's Office of Sustainability created a spreadsheet specific to our data collection process for the purposes of simplifying the reporting process. We modeled it off of UNH's and Sightlines online Campus Carbon Calculator and use their embedded emission factors.

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:

Colgate University works with Competitive Energy Services (CES) to validate and audit our annual greenhouse gas inventory.

Documentation to support the internal and/or external verification process:

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Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 and Part 3 of this credit? (reductions in Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions):

Yes

Part 2

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion	7,019.06 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	6,138 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources	648 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	1,443.08 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity	1,715 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	1,885 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Total	9,382.06 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	9,466.08 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

	Start Date	End Date
Performance Year	July 1, 2015	June 30, 2016
Baseline Year	June 1, 2009	May 30, 2010

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted (e.g. in sustainability plans and policies or in the context of other reporting obligations):

Our baseline was established with the hiring of our Director of Sustainability and with our first greenhouse gas inventory after signing the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment in 2009. Before this, Colgate did not measure our greenhouse gas footprint (comprehensively).

Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased (exclude purchased RECs/GOs)	5,000 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 sequestration due to land that the institution manages specifically for sequestration	1,578 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 offsets included above for which the emissions reductions have been sold or transferred by the institution	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Net carbon offsets	6,578 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

A brief description of the offsets in each category reported above, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):

In FY 2012, Colgate entered into an agreement with Patagonia Sur for the purchase of 5,000 tons of offsets per year for 15 years. The project is a reforestation project in The Patagonia Sur Nature Reserve in the Palena province of southern Chile. Over the course of 15 years, approximately 225,000 native trees will be planted on roughly 428 acres of land which will become the Colgate University Forest. The Patagonia Sur reforestation project achieved Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) certification in 2012. Importantly, the agreement creates academic opportunities for students and faculty to conduct research within the Colgate Forest and The Patagonia Sur Nature Reserve in general. Additionally, Colgate’s local forest has been certified by the American Tree Farm System for long-term sustainable management. These trees have been inventoried and sequester 1,578.0 MTeCO2 annually. We actively manage these forests, as outlined in our land-stewardship plan. This plan has 5 goals: teaching and research; outdoor recreation and aesthetic value; conservation of ecosystems services and biodiversity; timber production; and carbon sequestration. We adhere to this plan to manage our forest for sequestration. More information can be found here: http://www.colgate.edu/distinctly-colgate/sustainability/climate-action-planning/forest-management-land-use

The reporting fields in the table below are reserved for institutions that have NOT already accounted for renewable energy purchases (including RECs and GOs) in their Scope 2 GHG emissions calculations. Other institutions - including all SIMAP users - should report zero ('0') to avoid double-counting.

Emissions reductions attributable to Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) or Guarantee of Origin (GO) purchases:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Emissions reductions attributable to REC/GO purchases	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the purchased RECs/GOs including vendor, project source and verification program:

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Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions	2,804.06 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	9,466.08 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	2,437	2,184
Number of employees resident on-site	4	6
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds	0	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	2,865	2,784
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty)	962	968
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	0	0
Weighted campus users	3,480.50	3,361.50

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	0.81 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	2.82 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

71.39

Part 3

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:

225,011.07 Gross square meters

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:

	Floor Area
Laboratory space	11,242.38 Square meters
Healthcare space	204.57 Square meters
Other energy intensive space	5,457.31 Square meters

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:

253,362.27 Gross square meters

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

0 MtCO2e per square meter

Optional Fields

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:

	Emissions
Business travel	4,249 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting	1,324 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services	113 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2	317 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

In 2009, we signed the ACUPCC (Second Nature's Carbon Commitment) and committed to carbon neutrality by 2019 with the final approval of our 2011 Sustainability and Climate Action Plan. The Plan identified 27 carbon mitigation projects that we have been implementing systematically. To date, we have installed solar thermal and geothermal energy systems, replaced fuel oil #6 with natural gas, built and renovated buildings that have achieved LEED certification, completed energy conservation measures in our existing buildings (e.g., HVAC upgrades, variable speed drives, LED lighting upgrades, etc.). We have installed electric vehicle charging stations, purchased hybrid and electric vehicles for our vehicle fleet, installed low-flow shower heads throughout campus, introduced an on-campus composting program, expanded our bike share program, introduced student and staff educational programming, among others. As a result of these actions, 2016 was the lowest amount of heat energy and electricity we have used on campus since we started recording institutional data.

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:

http://www.colgate.edu/green

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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