Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 70.33
Liaison Enid Cardinal
Submission Date March 3, 2022

STARS v2.2

Rochester Institute of Technology
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.48 / 3.00 Omar Aponte
Graduate Student
RIT Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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:

RIT uses the SIMAP® carbon and nitrogen-accounting platform (https://unhsimap.org/home) to calculate its GHG emissions.


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 GHG inventory verification process:

RIT's GHG emissions inventory was validated internally by personnel who are independent of the GHG accounting and reporting process and also submitted as part of RIT's 2019 Annual Progress Evaluation to Second Nature (https://secondnature.org/) for review and publication.


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

Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion 22,636.06 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) 737.39 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
23,373.45 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity 1,036.07 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
1,036.07 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:
Yes or No Weight in MTCO2e
Business travel No ---
Commuting No ---
Purchased goods and services No ---
Capital goods No ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 Yes 450.76 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations No ---
Other sources No ---

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

A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:

We are currently working on improving our capabilities to gather Scope 3 emissions related data. As of now the amount of Scope 3 emissions data that we are able to provide is very limited. RIT uses the Scope 3 emissions results provided by the SIMAP® carbon and nitrogen-accounting platform (https://unhsimap.org/home).


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) 18.90 Tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) ---
Carbon monoxide (CO) ---
Particulate matter (PM) ---
Ozone (O3) ---
Lead (Pb) ---
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) ---
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) ---
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations ---

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

A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:

RIT uses the inventory provided by the SIMAP® carbon and nitrogen-accounting platform (https://unhsimap.org/home).


Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
8,781.08 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:

Since our last report RIT installed an additional 2 MW solar array on campus through a power purchasing agreement. RIT’s current solar production capacity is currently in the neighborhood of 4 MW. RIT has also significantly increased the amount of certified green energy purchases. Continuous monitoring and analysis of energy efficiency measures are conducted. Efforts to inventory the CO2 sequestration of RIT’s soils and biomass are being made in an effort to begin increasing sequestration on-campus through land use changes.


Since our last report RIT installed an additional 2 MW solar array on campus through a power purchasing agreement. RIT’s current solar production capacity is currently in the neighborhood of 4 MW. RIT has also significantly increased the amount of certified green energy purchases. Continuous monitoring and analysis of energy efficiency measures are conducted. Efforts to inventory the CO2 sequestration of RIT’s soils and biomass are being made in an effort to begin increasing sequestration on-campus through land use changes.

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.