Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	83.12
Liaison	Richard Manton
Submission Date	Sept. 12, 2024

STARS v2.2

Ollscoil na Gaillimhe - University of Galway
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	2.50 / 3.00	Michael Curran Head of Building Services, Energy and Utilities Buildings Office

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Greenhouse gas emissions inventory

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:

University_of_Galway_Carbon_Footprint_Report_2017-2023.pdf

A brief description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory:

University of Galway's Scope 1 & 2 emissions are reported through Ireland's statutory Public Sector Monitoring & Reporting system, which is administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland: https://www.seai.ie/plan-your-energy-journey/public-sector/monitoring-and-reporting/

Key reporting requirements:

· Annual energy consumption data for your organisation, broken down by energy type.

· Annual values for your organisation's activity levels, including the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees and total useful floor area (TUFA).

· Brief commentary on your organisation's energy management practices and energy performance for the year.

· Name and contact details of your organisation's CEO (or equivalent). SEAI uses these details to formally contact your CEO with performance results for your organisation.

· Details of energy-saving projects, both implemented and planned.

· Building register, including location, type and size information for all your buildings, and consumption data for larger buildings.

· A breakdown of your vehicle fleet, and details on all vehicle procurements since 2021.

· Business travel undertaken, including distance travelled by private road vehicle, details of flights taken and distance travelled by public transport.

University of Galway's Buildings & Estates Office carries out an Energy Review in compliance with the requirements of the ISO5001: 2018 Energy Management System (EnMS) standard, clause is 6.3. The main purpose of this energy review is to analyse University’s energy usage and consumption based on measurement. This involves the identification of current types of energy use, the evaluation of past and present energy usage and the analysis and identification of the Significant Energy Users (SEUs).

Opportunities for improving the energy performance of the NUI Galway’s Significant Energy Users (SEUs) are outlined and prioritised. Furthermore, the estimated future energy usage and consumption is outlined. Buildings that are included within the scope of the ISO50001 EnMS are documented and included in a thorough review and updated on the University of Galway Energy Manual and Dashboard. There are 58 buildings included that have a total internal floor area of 155,090 m2.

The management team measure electrical and thermal energy performance using
key performance indicators; kWh (e)1 and kWh (th)2 per metre squared of treated
floor area per annum. These are termed Energy Performance Indicators, or EnPIs,
and are being used to set targets for enhanced energy performance improvement
plans. University of Galway operates a formal Energy Management System (EnMS) which is compliant with the requirements of ISO50001: 2018; Energy Management Systems Standard. The Energy Review is carried out once a year and also in response to major changes in facilities, equipment, systems or energy using processes.

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:

All public bodies and schools must report their energy and related data to SEAI annually. The legal basis for this reporting is Regulation 5(3) in SI 426 of 2014. SEAI has developed an online Monitoring and Reporting (M&R) system for public bodies and schools to report their energy and track their performance towards the 2030 targets. The results are verified and published each year in SEAI’s Annual Report on Public Sector Energy Performance.

University of Galway's Scope 1 & 2 results can be viewed on the system by selecting 'University of Galway' from the dropdown menu on this page: https://www.seai.ie/plan-your-energy-journey/public-sector/monitoring-and-reporting/public-sector-results/public-body-results/ . A PDF export of these results is attached below.

Note that the latest publicly available data on the SEAI system is 2022. We have used 2023 data for the performance year below as it is more up-to-date.

Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:

University_of_Galway_Energy__GHG_targets_-_key_indicators.pdf

Scope 1 GHG emissions

Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:

	Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion	2,247 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions)	41 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:

2,288 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 2 GHG emissions

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):

	Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity	3,383 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:

3,383 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

GHG emissions from biomass combustion

Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:

0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 3 GHG emissions

Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:

	Yes or No	Weight in MTCO2e
Business travel	Yes	3,961 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting	Yes	13,330 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services	Yes	10,115 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods	Yes	5,730 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2	Yes	0.01 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations	Yes	17 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources	Yes	36 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:

33,189.01 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

The methodology is detailed in the document attached at the top of this page. In short, the GHG Protocol was used, relevant consumption data (procurement, travel, commuting, waste etc) was collected and multipled by the most up-to-date date emissions factors.

For fuel & energy related emissions above, in Ireland there is an emission factor for electricity from the grid called the "Electricity supply efficiency". Electricity supply efficiency differs from electricity generation efficiency as it includes:
Losses from transmission and distribution of electricity on the network
Consumption of electricity in power plants which are considered as losses
This is why fuel & energy related is reported as 0.01 above, as the emissions are included in Scope 2.

Part 2. Air pollutant emissions inventory

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)	---
Sulfur oxides (SOx)	---
Carbon monoxide (CO)	---
Particulate matter (PM)	---
Ozone (O3)	---
Lead (Pb)	---
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs)	---
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs)	---
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations	---

Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:

	Yes or No
Major stationary sources	---
Area sources	---
Mobile sources	---
Commuting	---
Off-site electricity production	---

None

A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:

---

Optional Fields

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:

https://www.universityofgalway.ie/sustainability/sustainabilityreports/

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.