| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 73.23 |
| Liaison | Heather Albert-Knopp |
| Submission Date | Feb. 28, 2022 |
College of the Atlantic
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.77 / 3.00 |
Andrea
Russell Sustainability Coordinator and Community Energy Center Program Manager -- |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1. Greenhouse gas emissions inventory
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:
We used the Clean Air-Cool Planet carbon calculator to inventory our GHG emissions beginning in 2006. In FY-16, COA migrated to CA-CP’s online version (The Campus Carbon Calculator), and in FY-17 upgraded to the latest iteration: SIMAP. Information is collected from our heating fuel and electricity providers and from our business office regarding business travel. Commuter surveys have been used to gather information from students, faculty and staff on commuting distances and frequency. Demographic information comes from the college's Common Data Set. Note: The 'Performance' year is FY-21 (July 1, 2020-June 30, 2021) and the 'Base' year is 2005.
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?:
No
A brief description of the GHG inventory verification process:
Student Summer Energy Fellows work in conjunction with faculty and staff to collect data related to GHG emissions and complete a yearly inventory using the online SIMAP calculator. Work-study students and staff continue uploading the information and manually double-check all data during the academic year.
Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
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Scope 1 GHG emissions
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Stationary combustion | 477.40 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) | 83.56 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
560.96
Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Imported electricity | 141.51 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Imported thermal energy | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
141.51
Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
GHG emissions from biomass combustion
47.41
Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 3 GHG emissions
| Yes or No | Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Business travel | Yes | 2.63 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Commuting | Yes | 213.67 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Purchased goods and services | Yes | 1.76 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 | 24.26 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Waste generated in operations | Yes | 21.28 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources | No | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
263.60
Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
Our Scope 3 emissions include commuter data, COA-financed air travel, transmission & distribution losses, paper purchases, waste, and wastewater for the given fiscal year.
Commuting: We performed a commuter survey of all COA community members to obtain their travel history for the performance year. The response rate for faculty and staff was 37%, and the response rate for students was 52%. We believe these responses are a good representation of modes of commuting. About half of students live on campus, so they commute by walking, although some own cars. The other half live mostly within walking distance of the campus, since Bar Harbor has a small business district with apartments that students rent. We have a van shuttle, known as "Day Bus" and "Night Bus", which transports students to and from downtown Bar Harbor (and which has high ridership during the cold Maine winters).
COA-financed air travel: We collected reports of all air travel purchases from our business office, then calculated airline miles traveled based on the destination information for each trip.
T&D losses: We used the standard formula in SIMAP for electricity T&D losses.
T&D loss emissions = scope 2 purchased electricity emissions * (T&D loss factor / (1 – T&D loss factor)). We do not purchase steam or chilled water.
Paper purchases: We requested a report from our vendor for all paper purchases. Being such a small school, all of our paper comes from one vendor.
Waste: We conduct a waste audit every fall, and use this data to calculate COA’s waste.
On-campus compost: We have several composting toilets, and keep records of when they are turned and harvested.
Wastewater: We collected all sewer bills from our business office, then added the total gallons.
Commuting: We performed a commuter survey of all COA community members to obtain their travel history for the performance year. The response rate for faculty and staff was 37%, and the response rate for students was 52%. We believe these responses are a good representation of modes of commuting. About half of students live on campus, so they commute by walking, although some own cars. The other half live mostly within walking distance of the campus, since Bar Harbor has a small business district with apartments that students rent. We have a van shuttle, known as "Day Bus" and "Night Bus", which transports students to and from downtown Bar Harbor (and which has high ridership during the cold Maine winters).
COA-financed air travel: We collected reports of all air travel purchases from our business office, then calculated airline miles traveled based on the destination information for each trip.
T&D losses: We used the standard formula in SIMAP for electricity T&D losses.
T&D loss emissions = scope 2 purchased electricity emissions * (T&D loss factor / (1 – T&D loss factor)). We do not purchase steam or chilled water.
Paper purchases: We requested a report from our vendor for all paper purchases. Being such a small school, all of our paper comes from one vendor.
Waste: We conduct a waste audit every fall, and use this data to calculate COA’s waste.
On-campus compost: We have several composting toilets, and keep records of when they are turned and harvested.
Wastewater: We collected all sewer bills from our business office, then added the total gallons.
Part 2. Air pollutant emissions inventory
No
Annual weight of emissions for::
| Weight of Emissions | |
| Nitrogen oxides (NOx) | 0 Metric tons |
| Sulfur oxides (SOx) | 0 Metric tons |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 0 Metric tons |
| Particulate matter (PM) | 0 Metric tons |
| Ozone (O3) | 0 Metric tons |
| Lead (Pb) | 0 Metric tons |
| Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) | 0 Metric tons |
| Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) | 0 Metric tons |
| Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations | 0 Metric tons |
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 | --- |
None
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
Based on EPA emissions rules, we have no stationary sources of significant air emissions on campus. We have a comprehensive list of all of our boilers, furnaces and generators, the largest of which is an H.B. Smith 19 Series 9, 1992, 863,000 BTU/hr oil boiler. The majority of boilers are of residential scale. COA’s most recently constructed building, the 29,000 square foot Davis Center for Human Ecology, is entirely electric.
Optional Fields
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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:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.