Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.35
Liaison Alexis Reyes
Submission Date Oct. 29, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Pomona College
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.82 / 10.00 Ginny Routhe
Director
Sustainability Integration Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions?:
Yes

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 3 GHG emissions from any of the following categories?:
Yes or No
Business travel Yes
Commuting Yes
Purchased goods and services No
Capital goods No
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 Yes
Waste generated in operations Yes

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from other categories?:
Yes

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

Pomona College utilizes Clean Air- Cool Planet's Campus Carbon Calculator to calculate GHG emissions. 13-14 emissions were calculated in version 7.0 and baseline emissions also recalculated in v. 7.0. Baseline is an average of 07-08, 08-09, and 09-10. Student staff and the Sustainability Integration Office Director collect various necessary metrics from campus offices and departments.


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 internal and/or external verification process:

Two student staff collect and enter metrics on areas impacting GHG emissions. The sustainability director reviews the metrics and GHG emissions results. Results are compared to previous years and anomalies researched. Peers within the Claremont Colleges review the data for abnormalities.


Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 4,192.30 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 5,449 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 218.40 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 410 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 5,165 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 7,179 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets::
Performance Year Baseline Year
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 107.80 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 44 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 319.30 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the institution-catalyzed carbon offsets program:
---

A brief description of the carbon sequestration program and reporting protocol used:
---

A brief description of the composting and carbon storage program:

Composting is on campus, small-scale at the Pomona College Organic Farm. Scraps from dining halls and compost receptacles around campus are brought to the Farm and composted in a rudimentary heap. It takes 6-8 weeks of turning with a tractor before the compost is complete and used for supplementing soil in the Organic Farm.


A brief description of the purchased carbon offsets, including third party verifier(s) and contract timeframes:

319 MTCO2e in 08-09. Details predate current staff.


Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 1,488 1,377
Number of residential employees 19 14
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 1,584 1,543
Full-time equivalent of employees 700 673
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 0 0

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2013 June 30, 2014
Baseline Year July 1, 2007 June 30, 2010

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:

Until this year, the baseline year was 2005 in STARS reporting, since that was the default entry. We have since moved to a 3-year average of the first three years of our greenhouse gas reporting process, when we know the collection methods have been similar. Those years are 07-08, 08-09, 09-10.


Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
164,301.37 Square meters

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 14,009.31 Square meters
Healthcare space ---
Other energy intensive space 4,858.46 Square meters

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year::
Emissions
Business travel 3,342 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 834.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services ---
Capital goods ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 465.40 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories (please specify below) 1,191 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the sources included in Scope 3 GHG emissions from "other categories":

Paper use, study abroad


A copy of the most recent GHG emissions inventory:
The website URL where the GHG emissions inventory is posted:
A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:

With a stated goal of a 26% reduction in GHG emissions by 2020, Pomona College has been moving forward with prioritizing energy conservation, efficiency, renewables, and then offsets. Progress has been made in retrocommissioning major buildings, the installation of a campus wide smart meter system improving communication and monitoring and integrated controls, performing ASHRAE Level I and II audits, and conservation measures such as Building Setpoint and Scheduling Guidelines, annual campus conservation competitions and the Green Office program. Every new construction project is placed under a tight building energy use intensity budget, defined in the campus master plan and incorporates renewables, most often notable solar arrays. 1.5% of campus energy comes from onsite renewables and a renewable energy strategy is under development to source more renewables in Pomona's supply.


Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

In the time period between the baseline GHG emissions and the performance year 2013-2014, Pomona College increased its square footage by 521,185 or 10%. Each eligible new construction project since 2005 has received either a LEED Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification. Of the square footage increase, 78,000 square feet is part of a two hall residence project that received LEED Platinum.


In the time period between the baseline GHG emissions and the performance year 2013-2014, Pomona College increased its square footage by 521,185 or 10%. Each eligible new construction project since 2005 has received either a LEED Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification. Of the square footage increase, 78,000 square feet is part of a two hall residence project that received LEED Platinum.

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.