Overall Rating Bronze
Overall Score 40.09
Liaison Allison Jenks
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

New Mexico State University
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.46 / 3.00 Allison Jenks
Facilities Sustainability Manager
Facilities and Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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

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:

Lotus Engineering and Sustainability, LLC (Lotus) was hired by New Mexico State University (NMSU) to create a 2019 fiscal year greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory to create a clear picture of current GHG emission sources on NMSU’s main campus in Las Cruces and establish a baseline for future emission inventories that will guide climate action planning. Additionally, data was used to backcast emissions to estimate the 2005 emissions level for the university.

To support this work, Lotus completed the following tasks:
- Developed a 2019 fiscal year GHG inventory and incorporated GHG accounting best practices, including data collection and methodology that are consistent with accepted national and
international standards. Lotus created a customized inventory workbook to keep a record of data, emission factors, contacts, and assumptions.
- Created an Inventory Management Plan (IMP) for the inventory workbook which provides
guidance to NMSU staff so that they can continue to track emissions in the future. The IMP is
contained herein and provides university information, inventory boundary and scope, GHG
emission factors, emission quantification methods (including assumptions made about data), data management methods, and an overview of the inventory tool.
- Created an additional workbook that used available data on population and other metrics to
estimate the 2005 emissions level for NMSU.


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 GHG inventory verification process:

The verification process was completed through Lotus Engineering and Sustainability, LLC.


Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion 32,812 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) 2,568 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
35,380 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity 12,560 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
12,560 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:
Yes or No Weight in MTCO2e
Business travel Yes 159 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting Yes 79,066 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services No ---
Capital goods No ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 Yes 470 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations Yes 3,487 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources No ---

Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
83,182 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:

The only Scope 3 emissions sources included in the inventory were waste, transmission and distribution losses from electricity, and employee and student commuting activities; other Scope 3 categories were excluded because they were either not applicable to NMSU, or there were no reliable sources for data at this time.


Has the institution completed an inventory within the previous three years to quantify its air pollutant emissions?:
Yes

Annual weight of emissions for::
Weight of Emissions
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) 81.66 Tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) 0.04 Tons
Carbon monoxide (CO) 7.14 Tons
Particulate matter (PM) 0.50 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 0.50 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:

The air emissions inventory is completed to satisfy recordkeeping requirements listed in 40 CFR 98.3g5 for NMSU's facilities located in Las Cruces, New Mexico that meet the applicable requirements under Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases - Final Rule (MRR)


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:
---

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.