Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 76.02
Liaison Stephanie MacPhee
Submission Date July 21, 2021

STARS v2.2

Dalhousie University
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.69 / 3.00 Ray Carrigan
Energy Manager
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Greenhouse gas emissions inventory

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:
The CAN/CSA‐ISO 14064‐1‐06 Greenhouse Gases ‐ Part 1: Specification with Guidance at the Organization Level for Quantification and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals (Adopted ISO 14064-1:2006, first edition, 2006‐03‐01) standard was used as a framework for the GHG inventory report. Calculations were derived from The Climate Registry (TCR) ‐ General Reporting Protocol. Emission factors used were taken from TCR 2020 Default Emission Factors document and the Nova Scotia Power website.

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:
Stantec Consulting validated the GHG report methods and outline.

Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
Scope 1 GHG emissions
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion 26,907 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) 911.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
27,818.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 2 GHG emissions
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity 49,066 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
49,066 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

GHG emissions from biomass combustion
Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
17,456 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 3 GHG emissions
Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:
Yes or No Weight in MTCO2e
Business travel No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting Yes 10,912 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services Yes 151.10 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 No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources Yes 233.30 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
11,296.40 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
Commuting emissions are based on commuter survey results collected by the University. Travel is then broken down by: drive-alone; drive-carpool; public transit; biking; and walking. Assumed daily travel km per person multiplied by campus population is used to determine total km per mode of transportation. GHG emission factors by transportation mode is collected from Fuel consumption ratings Gov't of Canada.

Purchased good and services is determined based on paper purchased on Campus, split up between virgin and recycled products. Emission factors based on BC Best practices reference tables for paper.

Other sources includes emissions from water usage on Campus. Emissions factors provided by the water utility are utilized along with water consumed on campus.

Part 2. Air pollutant emissions inventory

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) 23.96 Metric tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) 3.92 Metric tons
Carbon monoxide (CO) 79.04 Metric tons
Particulate matter (PM) 23.93 Metric tons
Ozone (O3) ---
Lead (Pb) ---
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) ---
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) ---
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations 2.79 Metric 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 Yes

None
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
Other = VOCs

This emission data was generated in the process of filling the federal National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) for all campuses (Halifax and Agricultural). NPRI requirements and methodology was employed in completing the inventory.

https://www.ec.gc.ca/inrp-npri/default.asp?lang=en&n=4a577bb9-1

Optional Fields

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
---

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:
The location based GHG emission factors for Scope 2 purchased electricity are already used in the Scope 2 numbers. The most recent GHG emission factors provided by NS Power (Dalhousie's electricity provider) were used. This makes the accounting of GHG emissions for purchased electricity very accurate.

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.