Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 52.59
Liaison Delicia Nahman
Submission Date March 3, 2020

STARS v2.2

Lafayette College
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.29 / 8.00 Scott Kennedy
Director of Facilities Operations
Finance & Administrative
"---" 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 9,891.20 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 11,940 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 491.30 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 351 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity 11,964.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 15,130 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 22,346.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 27,421 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 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):
---

Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance year Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions 22,346.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 27,421 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 July 1, 2018 July 1, 2007
End date June 30, 2019 June 30, 2008

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
Lafayette College’s baseline year is 2007, the year prior to the signing of the Presidents’ Climate Commitment.

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 2,409 2,139
Number of employees resident on-site 53 10
Number of other individuals resident on-site 4 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 2,672 2,483
Full-time equivalent of employees 874 750
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 0 0
Weighted Campus Users 3,279 2,962

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 6.82 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 9.26 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
26.38

Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area

Performance year floor area

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
212,180.88 Gross square meters

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 10,725 Square meters
Healthcare space 485.70 Square meters
Other energy intensive space 557.42 Square meters

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
235,159.70 Gross square meters

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

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

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:
According to the results, the principle sources of greenhouse gases are the purchased
utilities of electricity, fossil fuels utilized by the central heating plant and transportation.
Lafayette’s carbon footprint can be reduced in three basic ways:

Efficiencies: Increasing the efficiency of equipment for current operations that
produce high greenhouse gases, meaning reducing the current and future
consumption of fossil fuels as a whole.
a. Building and system design (new buildings all reviewed and considered
candidates for LEED design and/or accreditation)
b. Building and system operation (existing buildings will receive consideration
for efficient modernization as budgets allow)
c. Central system operation (chilled water and electricity will receive
consideration for efficient modernization as budgets allow)
d. Equipment purchasing and operation (all upgrades and replacements shall
take full advantage of latest Energy Code recommendations)
By performing energy analyses of current buildings and plant operations,
recommendations can be made to reduce the impact of these contributors.

Renewables: Switching to carbon-free sources of energy or energy sources such
as wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass will continue to receive the attention of
the campus planners with the intent to include whenever feasible.

Offsets: Purchasing or producing carbon offsets either through tradable RECs or
through more direct projects will be considered in the future. Offsets like the wind
purchase are an intermediate technique, and should only be employed after
improvements through efficiencies and renewables have been fully exploited. It
would also be helpful to develop real incentives for investments in these strategies.
This will be especially important in both revising the current scheme of utility cost
allocation through individual building metering and in developing new techniques
for funding such projects. To date, the College has a standing policy to make all
possible efficiency improvements to the physical plant, prior to considering
“accounting measures” such as RECs.

Mitigation strategies for Lafayette College should be focused on its major sources of GHG emissions, which are purchased off-site utilities (including T&D losses), on-site steam plant fuel consumption and emissions. These operations offer the largest potential for mitigation efforts.

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:
---

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.