| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.15 |
| Liaison | Laura Young |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2022 |
Michigan State University
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.56 / 3.00 |
Laura
Young Sustainability Program Coordinator Administration-EVP-Office of Sustainability |
Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory within the previous three years that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
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:
Infrastructure Planning and Facilities is responsible for gathering data to support the calculation of the GHG emissions. In addition, Sightlines was used as a third party validator of GHG emissions and benchmarks with other universities. The emission factors and methodology used are derived from “Cool Air - Clean Planet” calculators and Version 2.1 of the “WRI GHG Protocol Initiative” (https://ghgprotocol.org/calculation-tools#cross_sector_tools_id)
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?:
A brief description of the GHG inventory verification process:
MSU has used the third party validator Sightlines to benchmark and assess GHG emissions. In addition, data is also reviewed internally. For the data reporting timeframe (FY2019), data prepared by Infrastructure Planning and Facilities was reviewed by the Director of Sustainability and the Associate Vice President for Administration who were independent of the GHG accounting and reporting process.
Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Stationary combustion | 376,689.38 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) | 4,200.69 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Imported electricity | 48,473.11 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Imported thermal energy | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:
| Yes or No | Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Business travel | Yes | 27,965 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Commuting | Yes | 38,632 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Purchased goods and services | Yes | 714 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Capital goods | No | --- |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | No | --- |
| Waste generated in operations | Yes | 19,562 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources | Yes | 1,967 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
MSU has used the third party validator Sightlines to inventory and assess scope 3 GHG emissions. The data reported under purchased goods and services only accounts for paper purchases. Business air travel is only accounted for Delta Airlines flights. The data in other sources accounts for Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses. The data is validated by Sightlines and also reviewed internally. For the data reporting timeframe (FY2019), data prepared by Infrastructure Planning and Facilities was reviewed by the Director of Sustainability and the Associate Vice President for Administration who were independent of the GHG accounting and reporting process.
Has the institution completed an inventory within the previous three years to quantify its air pollutant emissions?:
Annual weight of emissions for::
| Weight of Emissions | |
| Nitrogen oxides (NOx) | 429.59 Tons |
| Sulfur oxides (SOx) | 2.72 Tons |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 270.90 Tons |
| Particulate matter (PM) | 24.21 Tons |
| Ozone (O3) | 0 Tons |
| Lead (Pb) | 0 Tons |
| Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) | 0 Tons |
| Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) | 0 Tons |
| Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations | 0 Tons |
Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
| Yes or No | |
| Major stationary sources | Yes |
| Area sources | No |
| Mobile sources | No |
| Commuting | No |
| Off-site electricity production | No |
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
MSU uses the Michigan Air Emissions Reporting System (MAERS) and the EPA greenhouse gas annual reporting process. Emissions are quantified by the use of both Predictive Emissions Monitoring System (PEMS) and emission factor calculations.
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy (location-based) :
Website URL where information about the institution’s emissions inventories is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
FY19 was selected given the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In FY20 students and employees were sent home to work/study in mid-March. In FY21, the majority of students and employees were remote. FY19 was the most representative year for reporting data.
FY19 was selected given the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In FY20 students and employees were sent home to work/study in mid-March. In FY21, the majority of students and employees were remote. FY19 was the most representative year for reporting data.
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.