| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 47.51 |
| Liaison | Kara Holmstrom |
| Submission Date | May 1, 2014 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Luther College
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
5.70 / 10.00 |
Jim
Martin-Schramm Professor of Religion Religion |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
None
Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions?:
Yes
None
Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 3 GHG emissions from any of the following categories?:
| Yes or No | |
| Business travel | Yes |
| Commuting | Yes |
| Purchased goods and services | No |
| Capital goods | No |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | Yes |
| Waste generated in operations | Yes |
None
Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from other categories?:
No
None
A brief description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory:
The Clean-Air Cool Planet Campus Carbon Calculator was used to calculate emissions. We used the default emissions coefficients provided by this tool in our calculations. There are supporting spreadsheets for each of the categories directly paid by Luther College. These expenses are reconciled to the College's audited financial statements. The units associated with carbon amounts were collected from these detailed expenditures and totaled for each carbon category. The emissions resulting from rented property for the Nurses in Rochester, Mn and in Nottingham, England represent less than .3 of 1% of the total college owned properties, and it would not be practical to obtain these emissions as the utilities figures are not provided or paid by Luther, so these sources were left out.
None
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
None
A brief description of the internal and/or external verification process:
All of our numbers are drawn from bills and financial statements that are subject to annual audits by the college's auditing firm. As an ACUPCC signatory college Luther submits an annual GHG emissions report to the ACUPCC.
None
Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion | 5,629 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 6,842 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 309 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 694 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity | 10,882 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 15,121 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
None
Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| 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 |
| Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased | 4,156.30 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
None
A brief description of the institution-catalyzed carbon offsets program:
Luther College purchases renewable energy certificates (RECs) from two community wind turbine projects. One project is a 900kW wind turbine located 60 miles from campus in St. Ansgar, IA. The other turbine is located just to the west of the Luther College campus. In both cases, the REC purchase contract terms mirror Green-e certification requirements.
None
A brief description of the carbon sequestration program and reporting protocol used:
None.
None
A brief description of the composting and carbon storage program:
None.
None
A brief description of the purchased carbon offsets, including third party verifier(s) and contract timeframes:
The contract for REC purchases from the community wind turbine project owned by Wind Vision, LLC in St. Ansgar, IA expires May 31, 2015. The contract for REC purchases from the community wind turbine project owned by Luther College Wind Energy Project, LLC in Decorah, IA expires September 30, 2021.
None
Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”::
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of residential students | 2,066 | 2,064 |
| Number of residential employees | 0 | 0 |
| Number of in-patient hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Full-time equivalent enrollment | 2,442 | 2,531 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 479 | 500 |
| Full-time equivalent of distance education students | 0 | 0 |
None
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | June 1, 2012 | May 31, 2013 |
| Baseline Year | June 1, 2003 | May 31, 2004 |
None
A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
Luther is a charter signatory of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. Thus, Luther is obligated to measure its campus carbon footprint. The college has calculated its footprint based on available and reliable data beginning with the 2002-03 academic year, which is as far back as reliable data could be found. Emissions peaked in the 2003-04 academic year and declined thereafter due to a major investment in energy efficiency.
None
Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
1,474,227
Square feet
None
Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
| Floor Area | |
| Laboratory space | 25,000 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 0 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space | 0 Square feet |
None
Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year::
| Emissions | |
| Business travel | 497.80 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Commuting | 732.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Purchased goods and services | 0 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 | 1,168.30 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Waste generated in operations | 1,559 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other categories (please specify below) | 14 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
None
A brief description of the sources included in Scope 3 GHG emissions from "other categories":
Biogenic Emissions from B100 Biodiesel Production
None
A copy of the most recent GHG emissions inventory:
None
The website URL where the GHG emissions inventory is posted:
None
A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:
Examples from the previous three years include:
Installation of a 1.6 MW wind turbine on the bluff west of campus (2011)
Installation of a 280 kW solar photovoltaic system on Pole Line Road to power all of Baker Village (2012), and installation of a 20 kW solar array to power Baker Commons (2013). Implementation of building retrocommissioning energy efficiency measures in multiple buildings (2013-14). For more information on Luther's greenhouse gas reduction initiatives see: http://www.luther.edu/sustainability/about/commitments/climate-action-plan/ghg-mitigation/
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.