Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.42
Liaison Dayna Cook
Submission Date March 3, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Northern Arizona University
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 6.37 / 10.00 Ellen Vaughan
Manager
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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 Some
Commuting Some
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 Some
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:

NAU uses the Campus Carbon Calculator: Carbon Management and Analysis Platform (CarbonMAP).
Scope 1: Natural Gas numbers and an analysis of vehicle miles traveled per campus vehicle type.
Scope 2: Electricity bills and purchased RECs
Scope 3: Waste: We have scales on our trash and recycling dumpsters that weight our waste and recycling. We also collect all trash and recycling weight from new construction and major renovations. Commuting: We conduct transportation surveys asking students and employees where they live and how they get to campus, we calculate rough emissions from these numbers. We have the home addresses of students and make rough estimates of their annual travel home.
University funded travel and study abroad is provided by the budget office. Waste water is calculated from our annual utility bill. Office paper is provided by Purchasing.


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?:
No

A brief description of the internal and/or external verification process:
---

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

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 20,092.78 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 18,466.58 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 2,066.90 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1,655.63 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 35,667.81 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 32,822.72 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 57,827.49 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 52,944.93 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 June 1, 2015 May 31, 2016
Baseline Year July 1, 2004 June 30, 2005

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):

2005 has been the used baseline year in our last two STARS submissions.


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

A brief description of the offsets in each category reported above, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):

None.


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 9,282 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:

2016:
NAU offsets 15% of it's annual electrical load = 10,500 RECs
NAU purchased additional RECs for LEED points for our Student and Academic Services LEED Gold building - 556 RECs
Those RECs are from 3Degrees, 100% wind from Meadow Creek Wind Farm
An additonal 2,151 are green power RECs from our local utility APS.
1 REC = 1 MWh

2015:
10,500 mWh were purchased from 3Degrees and 2,151.864 mWh were purchased through the Arizona Public Service (APS) Green Choice Program. Both purchases are Green-e certified.


Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 48,545.49 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 52,944.93 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 7,733 6,053
Number of employees resident on-site 34 15
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 1 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 28,657 12,523
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 3,185 2,202
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 7,464 4,104
Weighted campus users 20,226.25 9,482.75

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 2.40 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 5.58 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
57.01

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
6,879,949 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 112,948 Square feet
Healthcare space 19,799 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 180,380 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
7,325,823 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

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
Emissions
Business travel 2,564.63 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 4,523.68 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services ---
Capital goods ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 ---
Waste generated in operations 8,773.24 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories 308.27 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:

The campus has an overall reduction of campus electricity consumption per square foot by 20% and its natural gas use per square foot by 31% since 2002. During this time there was an overall increase in the student population of 6,750 and an increase in campus square footage of 50%. (Last updated 2015)
In 2014, NAU made a 18 million dollar investment in a campus wide energy efficiency retrofit and conservation program
NAU purchases 15% of our electricity from renewable energy sources. Renewable Energy Certificates
We've completed a $68,883 investment in a biomass feasibility study to determine the potential for bringing a biomass plant to campus and are currently assessing next steps
Faculty and staff can become Energy Mentors and help NAU use resources more efficiently
Faculty, staff, and students can join the Energy Action Team which mission is to help NAU reach climate neutrality
We've recently installed an EnergyCap program that will monitor the energy and water use of campus buildings to help in detecting problem buildings and to help educate building occupants
NAU has installed 21 electric vehicle charging stations across campus
We have multiple sources of renewable energy on campus: four wind turbines (at the ARD building, outside the HRM, and two turbines at the Solar Shack). We also have a 163 kWh solar field on south campus, multiple installations of solar hot water heaters, and an innovative installation of solar hot air heaters.


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:

Information in this submission is from the fiscal year 2016 and most scope 3 emissions are from fiscal year 2015. These have not yet been updated in the Second Nature Carbon Commitment emissions inventory.


Information in this submission is from the fiscal year 2016 and most scope 3 emissions are from fiscal year 2015. These have not yet been updated in the Second Nature Carbon Commitment emissions inventory.

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.