| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 86.18 |
| Liaison | Chris Adam |
| Submission Date | Dec. 30, 2024 |
Dawson College
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Chris
Adam Coordinator Sustainability Office |
Part 1. Greenhouse gas emissions inventory
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:
This assessment has been carried out in accordance with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and World Resources Institute's (WBCSD/WRI) Greenhouse Gas Protocol; a Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, including the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance. This protocol is considered current best practice for corporate or organizational greenhouse gas emissions reporting. GHG emissions have been reported by the three WBCSD/WRI Scopes.
Scope 1 includes direct GHG emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the company such as natural gas combustion and company owned vehicles.
Scope 2 accounts for GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, heat and steam generated off-site. As the subject of this assessment operates in markets which offer contractual instruments with product or supplier-specific data, scope 2 emissions are reported using both the location-based method and the market-based method. The location-based method applies average emission factors that correspond to the grid where consumption occurs, whereas the market-based method applies emission factors that correspond to energy purchased (or not purchased) through contractual instruments. Contractual instruments include energy attribute certificates, direct energy contracts, and supplier specific emission rates. The subject of this assessment has ensured that any contractual instruments used in the market-based method have met the Scope 2 Quality Criteria, as defined in the Guidance. Where contractual instruments do not meet the Quality Criteria, or where contractual instruments were not purchased, market-based scope 2 emissions have been calculated using residual mix emission factors. Where residual mix emission factors are not available, market-based scope 2 emissions have been calculated using default location grid-average emission factors, per the Protocol hierarchy. This may result in double counting between electricity consumers, as an adjusted emission factor taking into account voluntary purchases of electricity where specific attributes wer not available.
Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions such as waste disposal, business travel and staff commuting. Reporting of these activities is optional under the WBCSD/WRI GHG Protocol, but as they can contribute a significant portion of overall emissions. Ecometrica Inc, now Eco-Online) recommends they are reported where applicable
Source: Greenhouse Gas Protocol (Dual Reporting) Report for Dawson College Assessment Period: July 2020 - June 2021 Produced on Dec. 20, 2022 by Ecometrica Sustainability.
A GHG assessment is an essential tool in the process of monitoring and reducing an organization's climate change impact as it allows reduction targets to be set and action plans formulated. GHG assessment results can also allow organizations to be transparent about their climate
change impacts through reporting of GHG emissions to customers, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders. Regular assessments allow clients to track their progress in achieving reductions over time and provide evidence to support green claims in external marketing
initiatives such as product labelling or CSR reporting. Ecometrica GHG assessments are designed to be transparent, consistent and repeatable over time.
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?:
A brief description of the GHG inventory verification process:
2024 - Data collecting and measurement:
Dawson has been tracking its greenhouse gas emissions in various forms since 2008. We have progressed significantly in reducing our emissions. Providing financial support and resources to measure, audit and offset our emissions has been essential for us to achieve our goals.
Measuring greenhouse gas emissions can be challenging as data can vary, be fragmented or inaccurate. Dawson is concerned with rigorous reporting and has consequently chosen to involve both an external consultant to help collect and tabulate internal data with the Office of Sustainability staff, and a third party firm to verify our calculations and analyse GHG emissions from sources. Ecometrica Inc. (Eco-Online) is an international company that specializes in auditing and measuring greenhouse gas emissions. They have been auditing our emissions from 2012 - 2023.
Through the Ecometrica platform, methods of collecting and tabulating are documented in order to keep records consistent, help with data extraction and also to improve multi-year tracking for different departments.
For further information related with Ecometrica:
Case studies: https://www.featuredcustomers.com/vendor/ecometrica/case-studies
Or read the PDF attached Case Study: Dawson College
Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
Scope 1 GHG emissions
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Stationary combustion | 454.20 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Scope 2 GHG emissions
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Imported electricity | 19.80 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Imported thermal energy | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
GHG emissions from biomass combustion
Scope 3 GHG emissions
| Yes or No | Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Business travel | Yes | 212 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Commuting | Yes | 2,000 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Purchased goods and services | Yes | 1,517 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Capital goods | Yes | 513 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | Yes | 1.74 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Waste generated in operations | Yes | 120.08 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources | Yes | 995.45 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
Scope IPCC
1 (purchased goods and services)
2 (capital goods)
5 (waste generated in operations)
6 (business travel)
7 (employee commuting)
8 (upstream leased assets)
15 (investments)
GHG emissions from business travel are calculated from ground travel (km or gasoline reimbursed for business travel).
GHG emissions from commuting are calculated from calculator developed from surveys that were conducted prior the Covid 19 pandemic. This questionnaire was redistributed to the entire staff, faculty members and students.
Emissions from purchased goods and services refer to emissions related to all the purchases in the FY 2021/2022 and catalogued according Ecometrica´s platform categories. Including Food from Dining Services, Office related and non-office related activities. Emissions from all Capital Goods acquired in the FY are included.
GHG emissions from waste generated in operations refer to emissions related to the transport and processing of reused materials, recycled materials, composted materials, and landfilled residual materials.
GHG emissions from other sources concern emissions related to other energy consumption that are from leased asset Pepsi Forum 3543 SQM and use QC GHG/m averages for similar buildings.
Home working emissions are included and were calculated according HR report of employees working from home.
Digital Footprint is included and calculated with payment.
Special events and projects are included and calculated separately in the report.
All international travel from Students is included in the Business travel section.
Part 2. Air pollutant emissions inventory
Annual weight of emissions for::
| Weight of Emissions | |
| Nitrogen oxides (NOx) | 37.70 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 | 122 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 | Yes |
| Commuting | Yes |
| Off-site electricity production | Yes |
Third party consultants review the impact of all Scope 3 categories and the gases(pollutants) emitted. Other than CO2, Methane and Nitrous Oxide, all other chemicals are placed in one category and that tonage of emissions equals 122mt.
Note: Indoor Air and Scope 2 emissions: Dawson is a "closed" building with heating and cooling systems and a computerized ventilation system. There are no significant air emissions from stationery sources other than from the emergency generator that is used during power failures. This generator is continualy tested and vents exhaust into a separate air duct to the outdoors. In the event of a power failure, this generators starts and is fueled by diesel fuel. Over two years (2016-17 and 2018-19 data) an average of 891 liters of fuel was used by the generator.
Any cooling leak (if any) is tracked, its volume calculated and it is added to the GHG emission data in OP-1.
All labs and "shops" that need venting of dust, paints, smoke or chemicals have separate hoods with stationary chemical sensors in the labs that send data to the computerized "Metasys" system and warns of air quality issues. These sensors monitor a range of chemicals, including hydrogen.
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
Scope 2 accounts for GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, heat and steam generated off-site. As the subject of this assessment operates in markets which offer contractual instruments with product or supplier-specific data, scope 2 emissions are reported using
both the location-based method and the market-based method. The location-based method applies average emission factors that correspond to the grid where consumption occurs, whereas the market-based method applies emission factors that correspond to energy purchased (or not
purchased) through contractual instruments. Contractual instruments include energy attribute certificates, direct energy contracts, and supplier specific emission rates. The subject of this assessment has ensured that any contractual instruments used in the market-based method have
met the Scope 2 Quality Criteria, as defined in the Guidance. Where contractual instruments do not meet the Quality Criteria, or where contractual instruments were not purchased, market-based scope 2 emissions have been calculated using residual mix emission factors. Where
residual mix emission factors are not available, market-based scope 2 emissions have been calculated using default location grid-average emission factors, per the Protocol hierarchy. This may result in double counting between electricity consumers, as an adjusted emission factor
taking into account voluntary purchases of electricity where specific attributes were not available.
Optional Fields
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:
Dawson monitors infrastructure at the college with the Metasys system. Air flow, temperature and CO2 levels are automatically adjusted based on classroom occupancy. Classroom schedules are inputted into the system so occupants that increase the need for air but decrease the need for heating (winter) or cooling (summer) are automatically factored into the "smart" system.
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.