| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 48.69 |
| Liaison | Tina Evans |
| Submission Date | Aug. 20, 2024 |
Colorado Mountain College
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.30 / 8.00 |
Adrian
Fielder Assistant Dean of Instruction Spring Valley |
Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion | 1,976.62 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 1,719.94 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 595.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 2,280.94 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity | 3,154.42 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 6,645.84 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 | 5,726.64 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 10,646.72 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 | --- | --- |
| 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):
CMC does not have any carbon sinks in the performance year or the baseline year.
Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Adjusted net GHG emissions | 5,726.64 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 10,646.72 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 | Jan. 1, 2022 | Jan. 1, 2014 |
| End date | Dec. 31, 2022 | Dec. 31, 2014 |
A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
In 2016, the college sought the assistance of Hunter Lovins' firm Natural Capitalism Solutions to quantify CMC's 2014 GHG emissions, along with a larger set of recommendations for the college called the Sustainability Action Plan. This was our first complete GHG inventory, and the process of working with Hunter and her group set us up well to conduct our own inventories moving forward. Here is a copy of that 2014 GHG baseline inventory.
This time frame also allows us to quanitfy the impact of changes to our operating procedures and within our operating environment occuring between 2014-2022. The most significant of those environmental changes has been the rapidity with which our regional electricity grid (WECC Rockies) has integrated renewable energy sources, bringing us from one of the dirtiest grids in the country (owing to the large proportion coming from Wyoming coal) into the top third cleanest grids in little more than a decade. The utility-scale photovoltaic power plant at CMC's Spring Valley campus (a 4.5-MW array with 15 MWh of battery storage resulting from a public-private partnership among CMC, Holy Cross Energy and Amaresco, Inc.) is a prime example of this energy transition. While the GHG emissions reductions from that PV array will not appear until our 2023 GHG Inventory (to be conducted fall 2024), it is but one of many renewable energy projects installed on the WECC Rockies grid since 2014, and this progress greatly reduced the emissions impact resultings from each electron we used in 2022 compared to eight years previously.
At the same time, two internal procedures adopted by the college since 2014 also appear to have contributed to our overall and net emissions. First, in 2016, CMC (which covers multiple campuses across an area larger than Maryland) reduced the types and the amount of mileage considered eligible for college-provided transport while also encouraging our institution to have more meetings virtually, and those changes appear to have contributed to a 90% reduction in the carbon footprint from our vehicle fleet from 2014-2022 (from 2,252 MTCO2e to 233 MTCO2e). Even more significantly (in terms of both net and raw emissions), the college aggressively acted on our 2009 sustainability pledge to the Presidents' Climate Commitment by replacing old HVAC infrastructure in favor or more efficient units and by adopting more efficient ways of utilizing energy in our buildings (Active Energy Management SOPs).
Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 531 | 436 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 92 | 49 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 43 | 47 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 2,922 | 3,503 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 601 | 676 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 393 | 717 |
| Weighted Campus Users | 2,546.25 | 2,764.75 |
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 | 2.25 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 3.85 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 | 6,580 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 2,412 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space | 10,567 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:
These reductions were achieved through two primary efforts. The first, initiated by the college itself, were energy efficiency measures, such as: a) replacing old boilers with more efficient units; b) installing new efficiency-maximizing units such as split-system chillers to augment existing HVAC systems; c) allocating human resources and software monitoring systems to better schedule and monitor heating and cooling systems; d) installing motion-sensor lighting fixtures to reduce the amount of time lights are on without need; e) replacing old bulbs with LEDs; and f) building a culture of energy saving by promoting practices like unplugging appliances when not in use to avoid vampire loads. The second main source of these reductions was beyond the college: the systematic greening of our regional electricity grid (WECC Rockies) that has replaced much coal-based electricity with renewable sources such as wind and solar.
Please note that the figure listed above for Weighted Campus Users during our performance year of 2022 (2546.25) is different from the figure listed in PRE-5 for Weighted Campus Users (2594.5) because PRE-5 reflects our current data (for 2024), but the performance year being used here is 2022.
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:
Attached is our 2014 GHG Inventory, conducted by Natural Capitalism Solutions in 2016.
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.