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

STARS v2.2

Portland State University
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	4.03 / 8.00	Amanda Wolf Program + Assessment Coordinator Campus Sustainability Office

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions

Gross GHG emissions

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion	6,519.67 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	6,900 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources	137.35 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	750.20 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity	12,926.17 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	19,367 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Total	19,583.19 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	27,017.20 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Carbon sinks

Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased	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 storage from on-site composting	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon storage from non-additional sequestration	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	---
Carbon sold or transferred	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Net carbon sinks	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

A brief description of the carbon sinks, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):

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Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions	19,583.19 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	27,017.20 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Performance and baseline periods

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):

	Performance year	Baseline year
Start date	July 1, 2018	July 1, 2011
End date	June 30, 2019	June 30, 2012

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

We have made strides to make data collection consistent, and fiscal year 2012 is the first year in which we adopted our current methodology. Thus, using 2012 as a baseline allows for comparing apples-to-apples, as opposed to other years in which we are less confident in data used and collected.

Part 1. Reduction in GHG emissions per person

Weighted campus users

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Number of students resident on-site	1,917	1,900
Number of employees resident on-site	8	50
Number of other individuals resident on-site	0	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	19,078	20,458.88
Full-time equivalent of employees	2,651	2,483
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	2,141	350
Weighted Campus Users	15,172.25	17,431.41

Metrics used in scoring for Part 1

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	1.29 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	1.55 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

16.72

Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area

Performance year floor area

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:

485,763.12 Gross square meters

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:

	Floor area
Laboratory space	27,812.93 Square meters
Healthcare space	649.86 Square meters
Other energy intensive space	30,226.36 Square meters

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:

572,915.06 Gross square meters

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

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

0.03 MtCO2e per square meter

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:

Travel Offset Program: program to help mitigate the greenhouse gas impacts of University business travel. Currently a voluntary program that charges participating departments a fee of 2% of their total travel expenses. Those funds are then allocated to the Green Revolving Fund for efficiency upgrades on campus.

Green Revolving Fund: supports energy reduction and climate action goals while further advancing PSU’s leadership in sustainable practices. The fund is used to implement efficiency projects and is reimbursed through savings in the campus utilities budget. The fund was set up in 2013 with $500,000 using funds allocated by the State of Oregon to PSU for capital improvements. An additional $489,000 was added in 2014, and $517,729 in 2015, with savings from the university’s utility budget. As of June 2015, $45,000 have been added from Energy Incentive Rebates ($44,900) through the Energy Trust of Oregon, and a voluntary travel offset program ($150) for PSU departments. In total, $1,551,779 as been allocated to the fund so far.

Climate Champions: is designed to promote and recognize resource conservation and stewardship within PSU departments, as well as to support the goals of our Climate Action Plan. The program includes an assessment that departments use to track their progress on sustainable best practices for the workplace.

Website URL where information about the institution's GHG emissions is available:

https://www.pdx.edu/sustainability/climate-action

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Data for FY19 (except population and square footage). Not updated for FY20 due to Covid impacts

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.