Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 77.56
Liaison John Pumilio
Submission Date Oct. 11, 2022

STARS v2.2

Colgate University
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.83 / 3.00 John Pumilio
Director of Sustainability
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory within the previous three years that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
Yes

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:

Colgate's Office of Sustainability created a spreadsheet specific to the university's data collection process while maintaining consistency over time. We use SiMAPs embedded emission factors and also submit our annual GHG inventory to Second Nature and SiMAP.


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 GHG inventory verification process:

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


Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
---

Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion 7,628.20 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) 778.36 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
8,406.56 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
13,826 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:
Yes or No Weight in MTCO2e
Business travel Yes 160.69 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting Yes 1,257 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services Yes 33 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 Yes 68.65 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations Yes 116 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources Yes -3,778 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
-2,142.66 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:

Colgate's Scope 3 emissions include emissions from faculty/staff commuting, free shuttle transportation (Colgate Cruiser), varsity athletics ground/air travel, employee business ground travel, all Colgate-sponsored air travel, solid waste, and paper consumption from departmental purchasing and orders through the university's print shop.


Has the institution completed an inventory within the previous three years to quantify its air pollutant emissions?:
Yes

Annual weight of emissions for::
Weight of Emissions
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) 12.40 Tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) 0.05 Tons
Carbon monoxide (CO) 20.10 Tons
Particulate matter (PM) 12.70 Tons
Ozone (O3) 0 Tons
Lead (Pb) 0 Tons
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) 0 Tons
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) 0 Tons
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations 0 Tons

Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
Yes or No
Major stationary sources Yes
Area sources Yes
Mobile sources No
Commuting No
Off-site electricity production No

A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:

Colgate's wood boiler and fuel oil boilers are tested regularly for carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx) and particulates. The university reports well below the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and EPA guidelines.


Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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:

Colgate also completes a forest carbon inventory and manages its 1,059 acres of forested lands for carbon sequestration. Based on the university's calculations from 174 sample plots, the university's forests sequester 3,778 tons of carbon each year.


Colgate also completes a forest carbon inventory and manages its 1,059 acres of forested lands for carbon sequestration. Based on the university's calculations from 174 sample plots, the university's forests sequester 3,778 tons of carbon each year.

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.