Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 57.84
Liaison Paul Edlund
Submission Date Feb. 19, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Montana State University
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 6.33 / 10.00 Duke Elliott
Resource Conservation Engineer
Facilities Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 

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 All
Commuting All
Purchased goods and services Some
Capital goods None
Waste generated in operations All
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 All
Other categories None

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:
Montana State University engages Sightlines to complete our Greenhouse Gas inventory. MSU is implementing Energy CAP to track all point of use energy in a comprehensive fashion and to maintain current greenhouse gas emission data.

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:
We utilize Sightlines a third party firm to complete our inventory. They closely check our data with past years. We review data sets with sightlines to be certain data provided is accurate.

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

Part 2 

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 17,670.70 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 21,477.20 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 1,649.70 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1,676.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 10,295 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 13,428 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 29,615.40 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 36,581.30 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, 2015 June 30, 2016
Baseline Year July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008

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):
We are using FY 2008 as our base year since this is the year that we completed our first GHG inventory and we have reliable and consistent data from this 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 2.80 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 2.80 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

A brief description of the offsets in each category reported above, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):
Carbon Offsets for composting are determined by Sightlines as part of MSU Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

The reporting fields in the table below are reserved for institutions that have NOT already accounted for renewable energy purchases (including RECs and GOs) in their Scope 2 GHG emissions calculations. Other institutions - including all SIMAP users - should report zero ('0') to avoid double-counting. 

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:
---

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 29,612.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 36,581.30 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 4,200 2,678
Number of employees resident on-site 226 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 13,600 10,153
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 3,642 2,890
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 465.20 0
Weighted campus users 13,689.10 10,451.75

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 2.16 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 3.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
38.19

Part 3

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
4,625,109 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 317,460 Square feet
Healthcare space 17,828 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 47,326 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
5,343,011 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

Optional Fields 

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
Emissions
Business travel 1,050.80 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 4,288.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services 54.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 ---
Waste generated in operations 5,656.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories 9,203.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:
Full time Resource Conservation Specialist, broad based resource efficiency efforts including but not limited to smart meter system, lighting retrofits, LED implementation, HVAC controls, VFD implementation, district heat pump system with 52 geothermal wells, LEED buildings, water efficiency retrofits in three high rise residence halls, low water use fixtures in new buildings. Educational programs with faculty and staff, cooperative inter-departmental efforts and more.

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:
Data is obtained from Sightlines Greenhouse Gas Raw Data as submitted by MSU and corroborated with MSU accounting data. GSF and some weighted campus user figures reported are different from values reported in IC-2 due to assessment methods used for the greenhouse gas inventory and the timing of the inventory (done in FY16) versus data reported in IC-2 from FY18. Only buildings included in MSU utilities are included in this assessment. Buildings without utilities or on separate utilities from MSU are not included.

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.