Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 74.78
Liaison Daryl Pierson
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

Portland State University
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.94 / 3.00 Amanda Wolf
Program + Assessment Coordinator
Campus Sustainability 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:
A brief description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory:
Campus Sustainability Office(CSO) staff contacted various campus departments for reports of the required data. For Scope 1, Scope 2, and some of Scope 3 emission, data is entered into SIMAP to determine annual emissions. For purchased goods and services PSU utilizes the CBEI (Consumption Based Emissions Inventory) that was developed by the Oregon DEQ to calculate emissions, based on dollars spent.

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:
---

Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
---

Scope 1 GHG emissions
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion 6,519.67 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) 137.35 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
6,657.02 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 2 GHG emissions
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity 12,926.17 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
12,926.17 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 8,458.73 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting Yes 8,758.98 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services Yes 42,407.27 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods Yes 24,350.33 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 No 652.37 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations Yes 744.46 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources No ---

Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
85,372.14 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
Every fiscal year Campus Accounting Services provides us a document of all operational purchases from the University. Account codes are removed that are considered transfers of money (includes payroll, insurance, etc...), double counting (account that we have collected usage information and entered into SIMAP) and diminishing returns (any account code with less than $1000 spent in a fiscal year). Using the CBEI, created by Oregon DEQ, we match purchases to emission factors. Since the CBEI was based on FY13 dollars, we also account for inflation to try to keep an accurate account of emissions.

Part 2. Air pollutant emissions inventory

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) 3.21 Metric tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) 0.85 Metric tons
Carbon monoxide (CO) 2.46 Metric tons
Particulate matter (PM) 0.28 Metric tons
Ozone (O3) ---
Lead (Pb) ---
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) ---
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) ---
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations 0.27 Metric tons

Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
Yes or No
Major stationary sources Yes
Area sources No
Mobile sources No
Commuting No
Off-site electricity production No

None
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
In compliance with Oregon Department of Environmental Quality guidelines, emissions are calculated based on equations provided within our operating permits for the boilers and turbine. Briefly, each emission (PM, SO2, NOX, etc.) has an associated pollutant emission calculation for emissions where emissions (tons) = Emission factor (lb/1,000 gallons) * Fuel Oil Quantity (1,000 gallons) / (divided by) 2,000 lbs / ton which provides the reportable quantity listed in the attached submittals.

Optional Fields

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
12,926.17 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy (location-based) :
0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Website URL where information about the institution’s emissions inventories is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Total entered in "other" is volatile organic compound (VOC)

Data for FY19, not updated to FY20 due to Covid impact

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.