Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.88
Liaison Joséanne Bélanger-Gravel
Submission Date June 3, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Polytechnique Montréal
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 7.28 / 10.00 Shirley Fagnen
Sustainable Development Advisor
Sustainable Development Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 

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 All
Commuting All
Purchased goods and services Some
Capital goods All
Waste generated in operations All
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 All
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:
Every year, a data collection on energy and fuel consumption is carried out for Polytechnique's annual sustainable development report. Emission factors were used to convert those quantities into tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Scope 3 emissions were derived from the institutional environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) carried out in 2018-2019 based on 2016-2017 data. The data was primarily obtained from the finance service and from a survey concerning for the commuting habits of the community. Input/Output Canada and ecoinvent LCA databases were used to estimate GHG emissions of collected 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?:
Yes

A brief description of the internal and/or external verification process:
The scope 1 and 2 inventory was validated by an internal research associate who is specialized in life cycle assessment and emission estimation.

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

Part 2 

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 3,038 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 3,519 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 30 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 14 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 84.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 63.90 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 3,152.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 3,596.90 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 May 1, 2016 April 30, 2017
Baseline Year June 1, 2004 May 31, 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):
It corresponds to the year before the Lassonde Buildings (LEED GOLD certified buildings) opened. The addition of these new buildings represented a major change to Polytechnique's campus.

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

If total performance year carbon offsets are greater than zero, provide:

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

The reporting fields in the table below are reserved for institutions that have NOT already accounted for renewable energy purchases (including RECs and GOs) in their Scope 2 GHG emissions calculations. Other institutions - including all SIMAP users - should report zero ('0') to avoid double-counting. 

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 0 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:
---

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 3,152.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 3,596.90 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 0 0
Number of employees resident on-site 0 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 6,626.60 4,006.83
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 1,513.24 1,433.57
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 0 0
Weighted campus users 6,104.88 4,080.30

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 0.52 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0.88 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
41.42

Part 3

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
120,857 Gross square meters

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 13,639 Square meters
Healthcare space 0 Square meters
Other energy intensive space 9,259 Square meters

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
1,694,174.92 Gross square meters

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
0.00 MtCO2e per square meter

Optional Fields 

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
Emissions
Business travel 3,889 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 4,772 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services 8,010 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods 3,270 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 1,709 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations 27 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories ---

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

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:
Fiscal year 2016-2017 was chosen for the GHG emissions because an institutional LCA on the entire university based on 2016-2017 data was carried out in 2018-2019. Since this LCA made it possible to obtain information on Scope 3 emissions, it was decided to report here for the same performance year. Polytechnique’s supplier of electricity is HydroQuebec (http://www.hydroquebec.com/about/our-energy.html). The main source is hydropower which results in low Scope 2 GHG emissions.

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.