Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 50.53
Liaison Taryn Wilkinson
Submission Date Aug. 10, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Niagara College Canada
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.83 / 10.00 Taryn Wilkinson
Sustainability Coordinator
Facilities Management Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions?:
Yes

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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 No
Purchased goods and services No
Capital goods No
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 No
Waste generated in operations Yes

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Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from other categories?:
Yes

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A brief description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory:
Niagara College’s 2014-2015 carbon inventory was calculated using Niagara Sustainability Initiative's carbon accounting software, HARA. Standards set out in the International Greenhouse Gas Protocol were followed to determine Niagara College’s carbon footprint.

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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

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A brief description of the internal and/or external verification process:
As a partner of Niagara Sustainability Initiative (NSI), Niagara College reports annually on Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions as part of the Carbon Project using HARA, NSI's carbon accounting software. The Carbon Project is a voluntary program where partners of NSI commit voluntarily to manage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and their carbon footprint. NSI verifies the information submitted by Niagara College and provides an annual report summarizing the carbon footprint of the institution as well as strategies to help measure, manage, and mitigate the college's carbon footprint.

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Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 3,564.66 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 2,685.62 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 1,893.81 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1,591.12 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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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 308.14 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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A brief description of the institution-catalyzed carbon offsets program:
Not Applicable

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A brief description of the carbon sequestration program and reporting protocol used:
Not Applicable

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A brief description of the composting and carbon storage program:
Not Applicable

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A brief description of the purchased carbon offsets, including third party verifier(s) and contract timeframes:
Niagara College has partnered with Walker Industries to participate in the Walker Industries Carbon Neutral Building Project. This project involves Walker Industries completing a carbon footprint analysis on the Wine Visitor Education Centre and the Rankin Technology Building in conjunction with students from the Environmental Management and Assessment Graduate Program. The resulting carbon footprint is offset and third party verified through Carbonzero. The offset program is onsite at the Walkers Industries landfill site and focuses on capturing the landfill gas and redirecting it to a local organization as a source of fuel.

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Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 420 420
Number of residential employees 0 0
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 10,159 8,627
Full-time equivalent of employees 1,859 1,498
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 646 1,209

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Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year April 1, 2014 March 31, 2015
Baseline Year April 1, 2009 March 31, 2010

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A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
All the sustainability goals and targets that have been adopted by Niagara College utilize a baseline year of 2009.

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Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
105,894 Square meters

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Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 1,561 Square meters
Healthcare space 0 Square meters
Other energy intensive space 0 Square meters

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Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year::
Emissions
Business travel 513.57 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 0 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 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories (please specify below) 5.58 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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A brief description of the sources included in Scope 3 GHG emissions from "other categories":
Emissions as a result of water consumption.

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A copy of the most recent GHG emissions inventory:
None
The website URL where the GHG emissions inventory is posted:
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A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:
Energy and GHG emission reduction initiatives include installing motion sensors, retrofitting to LED lights, lighting system program adjustments to reduce the operating time of lighting, window film installaion, utility sub meter installation to better track energy consumption information, heating and cooling adjustments to reduce energy consumption, and more.

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The full-time equivalent of distance education students for the baseline year is from 2011 as there is no available information for 2009.

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.