Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 61.25
Liaison Audrey McSain
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Lehigh University
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.84 / 10.00 Douglas Spengel
Associate Director Utilities and Engineering
Facilities Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
Yes

Does the institution’s GHG emissions inventory include all, some or none of its Scope 3 GHG emissions from the following categories?:
All, Some, or None
Business travel Some
Commuting All
Purchased goods and services Some
Capital goods None
Waste generated in operations Some
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 All
Other categories Some

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, including how the institution accounted for each category of Scope 3 emissions reported above:

The Sustainability Indicator Management and Analysis Platform (SIMAP) was used to compute GHG emissions for all Scope 1, 2, and 3 sources again this year.

Scope 3 emissions from the following categories were determined as described:
1) Wastewater is computed from the amount of potable water used minus the difference between the metered amount of water entering evaporative cooling towers and not returning from the cooling towers to the sewer system.
2) Fertilizer usage comes from purchasing records.
3) Commuting calculated by obtaining student/faculty residence data from Parking services and estimating types of transport for each mode of transportation
4) Paper data acquired from WB Mason (campus paper provider) then broken down by paper type
5)Business travel inputted by number of dollars spent for flights and mile numbers for reimbursed mileage. We indicated "some" on this credit because we were only able to identify plane travel and reimbursed personal miles.


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 internal and/or external verification process:

An internal Facilities Services Utilities and Engineering staff member, who is independent of the GHG accounting and reporting process, has reviewed and validated the GHG emissions inventory, as have several members of the Lehigh Sustainablity Council.


Documentation to support the internal and/or external verification process:
Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 and Part 3 of this credit? (reductions in Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions):
Yes

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 21,193.98 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 26,327 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 1,407.86 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1,275.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 33,964.78 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 31,511 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Total 56,566.62 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 59,113.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2018 June 30, 2019
Baseline Year Jan. 1, 2007 Dec. 31, 2007

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted (e.g. in sustainability plans and policies or in the context of other reporting obligations):

Lehigh created an independent Climate Commitment document in April 2008. The baseline established at that time was with calendar year 2007 data. For the 2007 calendar year baseline, only Scope 1 and 2 emissions had been calculated whereas now Lehigh calculates Scope 3 emissions annually. When Lehigh began calculating Scope 3 emissions the baseline emissions were increased by the amount of the Scope 3 emissions computed that particular year.


Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased (exclude purchased RECs/GOs) 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 sequestration due to land that the institution manages specifically for sequestration 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 offsets included above for which the emissions reductions have been sold or transferred by the institution 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Net carbon offsets 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the offsets in each category reported above, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):

Lehigh did not purchase any offsets during the baseline year or the performance year. Lehigh has forest land that serves as a carbon sink but the quantity of this sink has not yet been determined.


Emissions reductions attributable to Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) or Guarantee of Origin (GO) purchases:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Emissions reductions attributable to REC/GO purchases 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the purchased RECs/GOs including vendor, project source and verification program:

Lehigh did not make any REC/GO purchases during the baseline year or the performance year. Lehigh is planning to begin making such purchases in the future.


Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 56,566.62 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 59,113.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 3,422 4,608
Number of employees resident on-site 1 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 6,422 7,577.33
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 1,819 1,654
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 197.99 234.33
Weighted campus users 6,888.01 7,899.75

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 8.21 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 7.48 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
0

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
4,547,569 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 184,286 Square feet
Healthcare space 3,101 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 332,145 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
5,254,488 Gross square feet

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

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
Emissions
Business travel 7,133.41 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 5,833.73 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services 58.13 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 ---
Waste generated in operations 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories 1,596.59 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:

Recent initiatives include relamping and installation of new variable speed drives in several buildings. As fluorescent lights burn out or fail, they are being replaced with light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Several buildings and outdoor areas have been relamped with LEDs, including many street lights on each campus. HVAC staff have been installing new variable speed drives on existing motors to extend motor life and to reduce energy. An HVAC renovation of the STEPS Laboratory building began this year. An electric-powered bus was added to the bus fleet at the end of the performance year. Similar types of projects are planned for the coming year.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Scope 3 -
1) Commuting includes both student/faculty daily travel to campus.
2) Business travel includes air travel and personal mileage reimbursement only.
3) Purchased goods and services is only paper purchasing.
4) "Other" category includes T&D Losses
5) Values increased for commuting from last year because of new information being available (last year only counted some flights, whereas this year includes all flights and mileage reimbursement)
6) Some assumptions about student/faculty/staff commuting have changed, so those values have changed as a result


Scope 3 -
1) Commuting includes both student/faculty daily travel to campus.
2) Business travel includes air travel and personal mileage reimbursement only.
3) Purchased goods and services is only paper purchasing.
4) "Other" category includes T&D Losses
5) Values increased for commuting from last year because of new information being available (last year only counted some flights, whereas this year includes all flights and mileage reimbursement)
6) Some assumptions about student/faculty/staff commuting have changed, so those values have changed as a result

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.