Portland Community College
OP-6: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
10.66 / 16.00 |
Stephania
Fregosi Sustainability Analyst Academic Affairs |
6.1 Greenhouse gas emissions inventory and disclosure
Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions inventory
Copy of the institution’s GHG emissions inventory:
Online location of the institution’s GHG emissions inventory:
Performance year for scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
Description of the methodology or calculator used to conduct the scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions inventory:
We track all scope emission sources internally and use Good Company's Carbon Calculator to calculate GHGs. (Note: PCC cannot attach the complete report because the reporting tool and calculator are proprietary to Good Company.) We calculated scope-1 and -2 carbon emissions using utility bills and solar data stored through Atrius Building Insights to track and record all of the college’s utility bills and solar data. The data is pulled by bill source and assigned an average date based on the bill time and period and then assigned a fiscal year based on the date.
Prior to 2018, data was pulled directly from the college’s bills. Fiscal years are defined as starting in July the prior calendar year and ending in June the current calendar year. As such, data spans from July 2015 to June 2023. In this document, we refer to carbon dioxide as CO2, methane as CH4, nitrous oxide as N2O, and CO2-equivalent emissions factors as CO2e.
Our data includes monthly records for the following categories: natural gas purchasing for the main cogeneration plant and smaller side accounts, electricity purchased for the main line and smaller accounts, miscellaneous oil, diesel, and propane purchases for smaller sources around campus, and purchasing of gas from college-owned vehicles and usage of the on-campus diesel and gasoline tanks. We excluded the following properties that are in financial records but are, operationally, outside of the college’s control from emissions accounting control: Hillsboro and Vanport.
PCC’s refrigeration tasks are performed in house; our managers make sure to forward refrigerant records to the sustainability office who makes sure that it is logged annually. Data about fuels is collected from fleet services, parking and transportation and removed from the general ledger reports to avoid double counting in Scope 3 emissions. Data about our utility scale renewable energy certificates come from the utility. We also hand-calculate the community solar renewable energy certificates; they appear on our bills and we enter them into a spreadsheet.
We use market based emissions factors generated by the State of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for our individual electrical utilities and to calculate transmission and distribution loss and updated biannually. We make the assumption that the emissions factors will decrease due to the state’s renewable portfolio standard mandate and therefore apply the most recent emissions factor to a given utility (e.g. using the 2022 figure for 2024, until such time as the 2024 figure is available.) All emissions factors are reported as CO2e emissions in metric tons. Methane and nitrous oxide emissions are converted to CO2e using IPCC standards.
Scope 1 GHG emissions
If claiming points for a scope 1 and scope 2 GHG inventory, the following information is required:
Scope 1 GHG emissions from mobile combustion:
Scope 1 GHG process emissions:
Scope 1 GHG fugitive emissions:
Scope 2 GHG emissions
If claiming points for a scope 1 and scope 2 GHG inventory, the following information is required:
Scope 2 GHG emissions from off-site sources of electricity (market-based):
If using a location-based or dual reporting method, the following field is also required:
Scope 2 GHG emissions from off-site sources of heating and cooling:
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
Biogenic emissions
If claiming points for a scope 1 and scope 2 GHG inventory, the following information is required:
GHG emissions from biogenic sources:
Scope 3 GHG emissions
Scope 3 GHG emissions from business travel:
Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions from commuting?:
Scope 3 GHG emissions from commuting:
Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services?:
Scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services:
Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions from capital goods?:
Scope 3 GHG emissions from capital goods:
Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions from fuel- and energy-related activities not included in scope 1 or scope 2?:
Scope 3 GHG emissions from fuel- and energy-related activities not included in scope 1 or scope 2:
Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions from upstream transportation and distribution?:
Scope 3 GHG emissions from upstream transportation and distribution:
Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions from waste generated in operations?:
Scope 3 GHG emissions from waste generated in operations:
Within the previous three years, to what extent has the institution quantified its scope 3 GHG emissions in all other applicable categories identified in the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard?:
Scope 3 GHG emissions from other applicable categories identified in the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard:
If any scope 3 activities have been quantified, the following field is also required:
We track all scope emission sources internally and use Good Company's Carbon Calculator to calculate GHGs. (Note: PCC cannot attach the complete report because the reporting tool and calculator are proprietary to Good Company.)
Scope 3 emissions detail:
Business Travel- Payroll provides mileage reimbursement totals and Account Payable provides travel documentation
Commute - Commute surveys completed by Westside Transportation Alliance, last performed in 2022
Purchased Goods and Services - Accounting provides purchasing data and we use EIO LCA to determine emissions. We use the Carnegie Mellon EIO-LCA tool and adjust the inflation rate annually.
Capital Goods - same as above
Waste generated- data is received from one of our haulers, the remainder are estimated. We are working to refine the estimates based on campus waste audits of our trash cans.
We calculate the full t&d loss for all of our RECS and solar using e-grid factors
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
6.2 Greenhouse gas emissions per square meter
Gross floor area of building space:
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following two figures:
Points earned for indicator OP 6.2:
6.3 Greenhouse gas emissions per person
Full-time equivalent of employees:
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following three figures:
Annual scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per person:
Points earned for indicator OP 6.3:
6.4 Adjusted net greenhouse gas emissions
Carbon sinks
Report figures for the performance year. If claiming points for a scope 1 and scope 2 GHG inventory, the following information is required. Non-additional sequestration does not qualify as a carbon sink for scoring purposes, but may be reported in the optional field provided.
Description of the institution’s third party certified carbon offsets:
Carbon storage from on-site composting:
Description of the institution’s carbon storage from on-site composting:
Carbon sold or transferred:
Carbon storage from non-additional sequestration on institution-owned land:
Baseline emissions
Copy of the institution’s baseline GHG emissions inventory:
Online location of the institution’s baseline GHG emissions inventory:
Baseline year for scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
Narrative outlining when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
2006 is the adopted baseline because that is the year the college adopted its' Sustainability Policy.
Baseline scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following four figures:
Adjusted net scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
Percentage reduction in scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from baseline:
Points earned for indicator OP 6.4:
Optional documentation
Additional documentation for this credit:
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.