Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 74.49
Liaison Krista Bailey
Submission Date Dec. 17, 2020

STARS v2.2

Pennsylvania State University
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 3.00 Shelley McKeague
Environmental Compliance Specialist
Engineering Services
"---" 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:

http://sustainability.psu.edu/live/faculty-researchers/energy-environment/energy-environment-about-data

Penn State utilizes a Excel-based calculation tool customized for Penn State's emissions profile and data availability. Emissions factors and calculation methodologies are based on EPA MRR and WRI guidance.


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 GHG inventory verification process:

The original inventory calculation tool was developed by a graduate student as part of a thesis and was reviewed by multiple faculty members.


Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
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Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion 118,310 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) 15,761 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
134,071 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity 137,009 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
137,009 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
112 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 16,797 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting Yes 30,721 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services No ---
Capital goods No ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 Yes 6,982 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations Yes 1,860 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources --- ---

Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
56,360 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

http://sustainability.psu.edu/live/faculty-researchers/energy-environment/energy-environment-about-data

Scope 3 emissions include PSU sponsored air travel, faculty and student commuting, transmission loss for purchased electricity and solid waste disposal.

Business Travel - Penn State operates an internal rental car service. Business travel through this service is accounted for in Scope 1. Air Travel expenditures are tracked and converted to miles based on published average fair paid per mile and EPA HUB factors for short, medium and long haul flights.
Commuting - Data from Faculty, Staff and Student Parking Permits was geocoded and routed to campus using GIS to estimate daily commuting miles. In addition, there is a local bus service (CATABUS). Penn State attributes a portion of the emissions from these routes to its inventory.
Energy - Transmission loss from purchased electricity is based the published eGRID loss factor.
Waste - Penn State operates its own wastewater facility. Emissions related to wastewater are included in Scope 1. Solid Waste emissions are accounted for in Scope 3.


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) 60 Tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) 1.10 Tons
Carbon monoxide (CO) 39.50 Tons
Particulate matter (PM) 10.60 Tons
Ozone (O3) ---
Lead (Pb) 0 Tons
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) 0.50 Tons
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) ---
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations 7.30 Tons

Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
Yes or No
Major stationary sources Yes
Area sources Yes
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:

Penn State submits an Emissions Inventory Production Report annually to DEP. GHG Emissions from stationary sources are reported annually to the EPA under the GHG MRR.

Emissions are calculated based on parametric emissions monitoring, fuel use and emissions factors from stack test results or industry standard emissions factors.


Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
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Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy (location-based) :
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Website URL where information about the institution’s emissions inventories is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Other Air Emissions include VOCs.
Data provided was reported to the Department of Environmental Protection in the 2019 AIMS (Air Information Management System) Report.


Other Air Emissions include VOCs.
Data provided was reported to the Department of Environmental Protection in the 2019 AIMS (Air Information Management System) Report.

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.