| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67.05 |
| Liaison | Manon Raby |
| Submission Date | May 26, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Concordia University
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
5.88 / 10.00 |
Chantal
Forgues Sustainability Coordinator EHS |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
None
Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions?:
Yes
None
Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 3 GHG emissions from any of the following categories?:
| Yes or No | |
| Business travel | No |
| Commuting | Yes |
| Purchased goods and services | No |
| Capital goods | No |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | Yes |
| Waste generated in operations | Yes |
None
Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from other categories?:
Yes
None
A brief description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory:
In the absence of a regulated methodology for greenhouse gas inventory for higher education institutions in Quebec, the current methodology was inspired from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard . This standard was adopted by the International Standard Organization (ISO) as the basis for its ISO 14064-1: Specification with Guidance at the Organization Level for Quantification and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals.
Boundaries of the Inventory
Prior to creating a greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, boundaries of the institution to be included in the inventory must be defined.
a. Temporal Boundaries
b. Organisational Boundaries
Operational Control Approach
Under the operational control approach, a university accounts all GHG emissions from operations over which it or one of its subsidiaries has control, i.e. it has full authority to introduce and implements operating policies and procedures.
For the purpose of performance tracking, such an approach is the most appropriate since managers can only be held accountable for activities under their control.
In order to determine which types of space should be included in the inventory, all buildings on the university campus have been categorized under four potential types of ownership:
1. Spaces owned and used by Concordia (O/U)
2. Spaces owned by Concordia and leased to an external organisation (O/NU)
3. Spaces not owned but used by Concordia (rented from an external organisation) (NO/U)
4. Spaces whose ownership is shared with an external organisation (SHARED)
A detailed list of categorized buildings is found in Appendix 1.
What’s included in the inventory?
- All spaces owned by the University are included in the GHG inventory, regardless if they are used by Concordia or leased to someone else (category O/U and O/NU). Operations of areas owned by the University but used by tenants can still be controlled through contractual agreements.
- All spaces not owned but used by the University are NOT included in the GHG inventory since the University is contractually restricted and does not have full operational control.
- For areas with a shared ownership between the University and other organisations, proportional responsibility is acknowledged based on the ratio of surface area owned by the University.
c. Operational Boundaries
Types of emissions
Scope 1 – Direct GHG emissions
o Stationary emissions (e.g. buildings heating with natural gas or heating oil)
o Mobile emissions (e.g. operational vehicles fleet and shuttle bus)
o Fugitive emissions (e.g. refrigerant losses)
o Internal composting operations (considered as carbon capture)
o Emissions from physical & chemical processes (e.g. dry ice, gaseous CO2 or CH4)
Scope 2 – Indirect GHG emissions
(from consumption of purchased electricity, heat or steam)
o Electricity purchased from Hydro-Quebec
Scope 3 - Other Indirect GHG emissions
(extraction and production of purchased materials and fuels, transport-related activities in vehicles not owned or controlled by the reporting entity, electricity-related activities (ex.: T&D losses) not covered in Scope 2, outsourced activities, waste disposal, etc.)
o Solid waste sent to landfill (non-hazardous waste)
o Concordia’s community commuting (personal vehicles only, not public transit system)*
o Fossil fuel production (for fuel consumption of vehicles fleet only, not commuting)
o Office paper production (for paper purchased through central purchasing services only)
*This inventory includes emissions occurring from personal transportation only. Emissions from public transit system are not included since they are independent of campus activities.
Assumptions
The following emissions are considered negligible (based on literature review and report of others universities):
1. Emissions from external wastewater treatment ensuing from the university’s operations
2. Emissions from external drinking water production consumed at the university
3. Emissions from the transportation of office paper consumed at the university (but production of paper is included)
4. Emissions from the transportation of waste, recycling, and composting
Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Emission Factor (EF)
- References
Different references exist for the values of Global Warming Potentials (GWP) and Emission Factors (EF). This is mainly due to an ever increasing body of knowledge regarding climate change but also depends on the reference timeframe (e.g. 20-year or 100-year) that is chosen.
For the purpose of this inventory, the following references are used:
Global Warming Potentials (GWP):
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC AR5)
- United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – Ozone Layer Protection
Emission Factors (EF):
- Environment Canada 2015 UNFCCC National Inventory Report (NIR)
- Environment Canada 2013 Canada’s Emissions Trends
- Environment Canada 2009 GHG Calculator for Waste Management
- Natural Resources Canada GHGenius
- United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – Waste Reduction Model (WARM)
See Appendix 2 for GWP and Emission Factor values used in this inventory.
None
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
None
A brief description of the internal and/or external verification process:
The GHG inventory and report was created by the Sustainability Team of the Environmental Health & Safety department.
The GHG inventory report was verified and validated independently by personnel from Facilities Management who are knowledgeable on the different aspects of the GHG inventory (buildings, transports, waste, etc.).
None
Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion | 8,705.72 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 9,354.39 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 711.48 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 795.30 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity | 248.13 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 212.41 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
None
Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| 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 | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Carbon storage from on-site composting | 5.42 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 7.73 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
None
A brief description of the institution-catalyzed carbon offsets program:
N/A
None
A brief description of the carbon sequestration program and reporting protocol used:
N/A
None
A brief description of the composting and carbon storage program:
From 2008 to 2015, Concordia composting operations included an industrial composter, a first for higher education institutions in Quebec. Organic waste was collected from kitchens, cafeterias, restaurants, cafés and various public areas on campus. During that time, more than 450 tonnes of organic waste was diverted from landfills.
A complete description of composting activities at Concordia is available here:
http://www.concordia.ca/campus-life/sustainability/rethinkwaste/compost.html
None
A brief description of the purchased carbon offsets, including third party verifier(s) and contract timeframes:
N/A
None
Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of residential students | 910 | 424 |
| Number of residential employees | 0 | 0 |
| Number of in-patient hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Full-time equivalent enrollment | 27,960 | 26,603 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 4,671 | 4,313 |
| Full-time equivalent of distance education students | 0 | 0 |
None
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | May 1, 2014 | April 30, 2015 |
| Baseline Year | May 1, 2010 | April 30, 2011 |
None
A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
The 2010-11 year was used since it was the performance year for the previous STARS 2012 GHG inventory. It is now logical to use it as the baseline for the current STARS GHG inventory.
None
Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
544,190
Square meters
None
Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
| Floor Area | |
| Laboratory space | 55,705 Square meters |
| Healthcare space | 500 Square meters |
| Other energy intensive space | 11,873 Square meters |
None
Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year::
| Emissions | |
| Business travel | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Commuting | 5,177.20 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Purchased goods and services | 0 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 | 3,814.06 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Waste generated in operations | 4,252.70 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other categories (please specify below) | 112.44 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
None
A brief description of the sources included in Scope 3 GHG emissions from "other categories":
Paper purchasing (subset of "Purchased goods and services")
None
A copy of the most recent GHG emissions inventory:
None
The website URL where the GHG emissions inventory is posted:
None
A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:
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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.