| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67.20 |
| Liaison | Jessica Thompson |
| Submission Date | June 20, 2024 |
Northern Michigan University
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.25 / 3.00 |
Jessica
Thompson AVP Sustainability People Culture & Wellbeing |
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:
NMU hired an engineering consultant to create a campus energy master plan in 2022. As part of the plan, the consultant calculated a baseline greenhouse gas inventory for the campus (32,000 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent for 2018/2019).
In January 2023, we purchased a SIMAP subscription, re-entered the consultant's data for 2019 and had very similar results, verifying the model and confirming that the 32,000 MTCO2e was a realistic baseline for our Carbon Neutrality Plan. Our true baseline is 2010/2011 when the University conducted it's first energy audit.
Using SIMAP software, we enter energy data including natural gas consumed, electricity purchased, and gasoline and diesel fuel consumed by the university fleet as well as fertilizer 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?:
A brief description of the GHG inventory verification process:
SIMAP access and raw data was shared with Claire Christen, Sustainability Specialist at the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community's Natural Resource Office (Claire previously reviewed and calculated our GHG inventory while a student at Michigan Tech University in Houghton, Michigan).
Claire reviewed our Scope 1 & 2 energy use/consumption data and values entered into the SIMAP software. She reviewed and compared calculations, using the SIMAP review template prompts.
The spreadsheet from Claire's review is included here. Here notes are embedded. She did compare NMU to Michigan Tech, but there are several large differences between these two institutions, we discussed those differences and agreed that it wasn't worth changing any of her comments in the review provided.
Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Stationary combustion | 17,712.33 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) | 335.78 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 | 9,329.68 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 | No | --- |
| Commuting | No | --- |
| Purchased goods and services | No | --- |
| Capital goods | No | --- |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | Yes | 2,643.79 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Waste generated in operations | No | --- |
| Other sources | Yes | 522.15 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:
SIMAP provides calculated numbers for FERA and T&D Losses, these numbers are from the SIMAP results. We are working on a plan to calculate in the other 14 categories of Scope 3 emissions.
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) | 22.62 Tons |
| Sulfur oxides (SOx) | 0.14 Tons |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 19 Tons |
| Particulate matter (PM) | 1.72 Tons |
| Ozone (O3) | 0 Tons |
| Lead (Pb) | 0.00 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 | 1.35 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:
Michigan Air Emissions Reporting System (MAERS) is the State of Michigan's web-based application used in the collection of emission data from the permitted sources/facilities. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), Air Quality Division (AQD) maintains MAERS reports for commercial, industrial, and governmental sources of air pollution in Michigan. NMU tracks our annual natural gas, wood, and fuel oil usage and applies those throughputs to a program of equations on the MAERS website. Based on our fuel usage quantities and on industry average fuel parameters, MAERS’ program calculates estimated emissions. Note: Ozone, HAPs, ODCs are not part of our emission inventory. We entered "O" as a place holder for those pollutants.
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.