Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 69.28
Liaison Margaret Bounds
Submission Date June 18, 2021

STARS v2.2

Connecticut College
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.82 / 8.00 Margaret Bounds
Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:
Performance year Baseline year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 8,381.29 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 8,438.43 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 159.61 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 279.84 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity 1,826.24 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 7,089.75 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 10,367.14 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 15,808.02 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:
Performance year Baseline year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased 307 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 307 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 307 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent ---
Carbon sold or transferred 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Net carbon sinks 307 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 307 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the carbon sinks, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):

Connecticut College has a 25-year contract with Reforest the Tropics for a 40-acre carbon offset forest in Costa Rica. The most recent report found an average of 307 MTCO2e was sequestered since the planting. The contract was signed in 1999.


Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance year Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions 10,060.14 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 15,501.02 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 July 1, 2016 July 1, 2004
End date June 30, 2017 June 30, 2005

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:

We adopted 2005 as our baseline year for GHG emissions reductions to align with the baseline year set in the Paris Climate Agreement. This baseline was adopted alongside the adoption of our Campus Sustainability Plan in 2018. We now have a campus goal to reduce our emissions by 40% from 2005 levels by 2030.


Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance year Baseline year
Number of students resident on-site 1,245.53 1,764
Number of employees resident on-site 14 60
Number of other individuals resident on-site 7 56
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 1,833 1,857.70
Full-time equivalent of employees 682.30 670.30
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 0 0
Weighted Campus Users 2,208.36 2,408

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 4.56 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 6.44 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
29.23

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
1,427,164 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 30,148 Square feet
Healthcare space 0 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 4,252 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
1,491,712 Gross square feet

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
0.01 MtCO2e per square foot

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:

In Fall 2019 the College installed a natural gas fuel cell to provide approximately 80% of the main campus meter electricity use. This accounts for the large shift away from Scope 2 emissions. Since 2005 the College switched from fuel oil to natural gas in our steam plant, which significantly reduced emissions. We have also done lighting upgrades, kitchen ventilation improvements, and other energy efficiency projects to reduce emissions.

We recognize that the data for this credit has been strongly impacted by the campus closure in mid-March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We have decided to report on FY2020 for all of our credits to maintain consistency in reporting. We were forecasting a decline in emissions prior to the closure (due to the installation of a fuel cell, a small reduction in buildings, and other efficiency programs), but we did have 3 months of less campus usage than would be typical in this fiscal year. To help compensate, we reported a weighted average of students resident on site. See note below for more details.


Website URL where information about the institution's GHG emissions is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The number of students resident onsite for our performance year (FY2020) was modified to take into account the campus closure on March 15 due to Covid 19. A weighted average was calculated assuming we had 1,699 students onsite for 29 weeks (August 26-March 15) and 50 students onsite for 11 weeks (March 15-May 30).


The number of students resident onsite for our performance year (FY2020) was modified to take into account the campus closure on March 15 due to Covid 19. A weighted average was calculated assuming we had 1,699 students onsite for 29 weeks (August 26-March 15) and 50 students onsite for 11 weeks (March 15-May 30).

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.