Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	65.15
Liaison	Emma Blandford
Submission Date	Feb. 29, 2024

STARS v2.2

Georgia Institute of Technology
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	4.98 / 8.00	Emma Blandford Portfolio Manager Office of Sustainability

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions

Gross GHG emissions

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion	35,299 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	39,297 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources	6,193 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	1,128 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity	103,238 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	227,321 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	144,730 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	267,746 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Carbon sinks

Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 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	376.18 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	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

If total performance year carbon sinks are greater than zero, provide:

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

The carbon sequestration from tree canopy on campus is currently included in this category. Net removals of carbon and resultant CO2e were calculated using the Land Emissions and Removals Navigator Tool emission factors downloaded on 07/28/2023 (ICLEI). The flux between total emissions and removals helps determine the carbon sequestered.

Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions	144,730 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	267,746 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Performance and baseline periods

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):

	Performance year	Baseline year
Start date	June 1, 2021	July 1, 2009
End date	May 31, 2022	June 30, 2010

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

The baseline was adopted in this STARS submission because it is the committed baseline year for all GHG inventories submitted to ACUPCC. The baseline additionally has been adopted by the upcoming Georgia Tech Climate Action Plan 2024.

Part 1. Reduction in GHG emissions per person

Weighted campus users

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Number of students resident on-site	9,909	9,184
Number of employees resident on-site	260	0
Number of other individuals resident on-site	134	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	35,758	20,291
Full-time equivalent of employees	9,048	6,958
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	8,427	0
Weighted Campus Users	29,960.50	22,732.75

Metrics used in scoring for Part 1

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	4.83 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	11.78 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

58.99

Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area

Performance year floor area

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:

15,540,115 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:

	Floor area
Laboratory space	1,879,696 Square feet
Healthcare space	16,733 Square feet
Other energy intensive space	1,678,202 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:

21,011,175 Gross square feet

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

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 2008, leadership supported the development of a CAP as required by ACUPCC. From 2014-2017, the Office of Campus Sustainability (OCS) incorporated the incremental targets of the CAP as goals into the development of our first campus sustainability plan, the Strategic Plan for Sustainable Practice. From 2015-2016, OCS partnered with a faculty to develop predictive modeling to assess CAP progress. In 2017, we achieved the first incremental CAP goal of 15% reduction in campus Btu/sf. In 2019, sustainability and climate action were discussed as opportunities for GT to meet its new vision and strategic plan. In 2020, the president created an initiative to advance the UN SDGs, and an inter-disciplinary group proposed a CAP update as a Goal 13 action step. The new institute strategic plan defined a sustainability goal statement and action to “develop and execute” an institutional CAP.

Campus initiatives related to climate action include:

• Global Change Program: As an instructional and research hub for global climate change at Georgia Tech, this project will leverage their expertise, partnerships, and networks to build engagement and input to the project.

• Climate Fellows Network: An internal network of faculty and staff advancing climate action into academics, research, and operations.

• Serve-Learn-Sustain (SLS): A center charged with Georgia Tech’s Quality Enhancement Plan objective to “create sustainable communities,” this project will tie to SLS’s goals to develop community engagement and sustainability in the curriculum and the student experience with a focus in social sustainability.

• Drawdown Georgia: A state-wide project led by Georgia Tech faculty to accelerate a reduction in carbon emission in Georgia.

• Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design: a campus building modeling regenerative design principles pursuant to the Living Building Challenge certification.

• Carbon Reduction Challenge: a program where students lead carbon reduction studies within organizations where they have a summer internship. CRC studies provide a framework for student engagement and are a template for idea generation in this project’s process.

• Smart Labs Energy Reduction Initiative: a guaranteed energy savings project completed in 2020 which reduced the energy loads of two large laboratory buildings on campus by reducing unnecessary air changes.

Website URL where information about the institution's GHG emissions is available:

https://sustain.gatech.edu/georgia-tech-climate-action-plan

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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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.