Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.71
Liaison Greg Kozak
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

Northwestern University
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.56 / 3.00 Greg Kozak
Director of Sustainability
Facilities
"---" 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:

GHG inventory developed using SIMAP, which utilizes the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) GHG Protocol


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:

Northwestern’s recently hired Director of Sustainability, who has 10+ years of GHG verification experience, was not involved in the FY12-19 GHG inventories. A cross-check review of underlying source data, data inputs, assumptions, emission factors and calculations were performed to ensure reporting accuracy to a limited level of assurance and 5% materiality threshold.


Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion 105,049 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) 901 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
105,950 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity 80,968.05 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
80,968.05 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 27,560 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting Yes 15,649 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services Yes 411 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 Yes 6,176.58 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations Yes 4,389 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources No ---

Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
54,185.58 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

Emissions from business air travel estimated using mileage totals provided by travel agency

Emission from business auto travel estimated using mileage totals from expense reports

Emission from commuting estimated using 2018 transportation survey

Emission from inter-campus charter estimated using diesel purchase records and shuttle average fuel economy

Emissions from waste generated in operations estimated using annual waste vendor and wastewater discharge reports

Emissions from purchased goods and services estimated using paper purchase records


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) 180.92 Tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) 1.11 Tons
Carbon monoxide (CO) 61.29 Tons
Particulate matter (PM) 5.62 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 0 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:

Northwestern is required to complete an inventory of all air emissions in coordination with the Illinois EPA's regulations.


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.