| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 86.18 |
| Liaison | Chris Adam |
| Submission Date | Dec. 30, 2024 |
Dawson College
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
8.00 / 8.00 |
Chris
Adam Coordinator Sustainability Office |
Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions
Gross GHG emissions
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion | 454.20 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 323 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 16 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity | 19.80 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 15.50 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 | 474 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 354.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Carbon sinks
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased | 5,313 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 2,687 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 | 1.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Carbon storage from non-additional sequestration | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Carbon sold or transferred | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Net carbon sinks | 5,314.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 2,687 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
If total performance year carbon sinks are greater than zero, provide:
This refers to credits purchased institutionally under the voluntary GHG emissions compensation program with “Taking Root” until 2020. One COVID year was not calculated to offset because of staff and budget constraints. For the 2021-22 fiscal year, full scope 1,2 & 3 emission calculations were made, audited by a third party and offset with Gold Standard offset credits.
Taking Root is helping farmers improve their livelihoods by building reforestation enterprises in Nicaragua. In addition, the funding is stimulating local economic development, helping to create hundreds of seasonal jobs annually with landless farmers in the area, some of the most vulnerable in the community. These jobs are an essential source of income for them, helping to reduce inequalities and build local financial resilience.
Website: www.takingroot.org
Canadian Corporation Number: 443948-1
Plan Vivo certification credentials: https://www.planvivo.org/project-network/communitree-nicaragua/
Taking Root is a leader in forest monitoring and reporting. At the project’s last verification (every 5 years), Taking Root was awarded “best monitoring and evaluation” by the Rainforest Alliance. Using Taking Root’s proprietary software platform, FARM-TRACE, Dawson College will be able to track its impacts. FARM-TRACE uses mobile, satellite and machine learning data to map and provide impact reporting across each farm. FARM-TRACE will give Dawson College unparalleled transparency into the carbon stored on each farm, forest cover, farmer profiles and farmer activities. As well as reporting, FARM-TRACE offers Dawson College an interactive experience to engage stakeholders and students in its sustainability initiatives.
Dawson also invested in wind projects through Planetair Inc., a Canadian based carbon offset enterprise offering Gold Standard credits. Planetair: https://planetair.ca
In 2020-2021, bought 5,374 carbon offsets.( https://www.planvivo.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=d1be691b-9280-47c9-99b2-d79e14f29dc1) Page 21
In 2019-2020, bought 2,762 carbon offsets (https://www.planvivo.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=11c60c8e-58ca-4f44-87dd-b1981007774d) Page 16
Adjusted net GHG emissions
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Adjusted net GHG emissions | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Performance and baseline periods
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Start date | July 1, 2021 | July 1, 2018 |
| End date | June 30, 2022 | June 30, 2019 |
A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
N/A
Part 1. Reduction in GHG emissions per person
Weighted campus users
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 7,979 | 10,222 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 1,006.22 | 795 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 0 | 0 |
| Weighted Campus Users | 6,738.91 | 8,262.75 |
Metrics used in scoring for Part 1
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area
Performance year floor area
Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
| Floor area | |
| Laboratory space | 3,234 Square meters |
| Healthcare space | 1,650 Square meters |
| Other energy intensive space | 545 Square meters |
EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
Metric used in scoring for Part 2
A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:
Since 2018, the Dawson College board of governors declared the college Carbon neutral forever. In 2022, a full scope 3 GHG emission audit was implemented with all capital goods, student'staff communiting, purchased food, business travel, investments, waste, and golf tournament emissions offset. An outside consultant verified over 22,000 purchased items and placed them within 13 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) categories to measure the GHG impact of Scope 3 goods and services. The totals for each category was submitted to Ecometrica Inc., external consulting firm, for GHG emission calculation.
The college will be Scope 1 & 2 carbon neutral with a significant portion of Scope 3 emissions offset yearly. Waste reduction houses the greatest emission reduction potential from 2024 forward, with an estimated 100 mt of reduction possible.
Dawson sits on several national committees to share best practices and empower institutes of higher education to engage in climate action as well (e.g. CICAN Technical (Scope 3) working Group) .
Dawson College has pledged to protect biodiversity through social/economic development through our reforestation carbon offsetting measures with Taking Root Inc for 3 years during pqst reporting periods and then nvested in alternative energy projects with Planetair Inc. until 2022. Focused in Nicaragua, Taking Root supports a just transition by helping ensure reforestation and perpetual forest use through a sustainable economic model while also strengthening local communities. Planetair offsets have focused on wind projects in Chile. Offsetting for the last full academic year is yet to be calculated.
In 2021, Dawson College joined Race to Zero as a signatory, with the promise to further our efforts by pledging to become scope 1, 2 & 3 carbon neutral, forever.
Permanent CO2 sequestering options are being actively reviewed but viewed with caution, especially with deep well ownership issues.
Race to Zero Pledge by Dawson College, for further info:
https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/sustainable/wp-content/uploads/sites/175/Race-to-Zero-Pledge-Target-and-Reporting-SL.pdf
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:
2021-22 Statistics:
Gross Overall Emissions: 5,234 tCO2e
Key Performance Indicators
0.0635 tCO2e
per square metre
5.78 tCO2e
per Full Time Equivalent Employee
0.558 tCO2e
per student
3rd party Dawson College GHG audits from Ecometrica Inc. are available from the 2009-10 fiscal year until 2021-22 at:
https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/sustainable/sustainability-plan/reports-2/ecometrica/
Carbon offset certificates available at:
https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/sustainable/sustainability-plan/reports-2/ecometrica/carbon-offset-certificates/
Planetair (Alternative energy offsets): https://planetair.ca
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.