Skidmore College
OP-6: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
Reporter |
Tarah
Rowse Director of Sustainability Sustainability Office |
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:
Skidmore uses the UNH Sustainability Indicator Management and Analysis Platform (SIMAP) to conduct our GHG emissions inventories. Skidmore completes a GHG emission inventory every three years with the most recent inventory (Fiscal Year 2022: June 1, 20221 - May 31, 2022) completed in 2023.
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:
Skidmore quantifies Scope 3 emissions in the following categories (SIMAP sources): 1) business travel (includes study abroad air travel, directly financed air travel, and other directly financed travel), 2) commuting (includes staff commuting, faculty commuting, student commuting, and student travel to/from home), 3) purchased goods and services (includes paper purchasing), 4) fuel-and-energy-related activities (includes FERA and T&D losses), and 5) waste (includes solid waste and wastewater). For each category the appropriate quantity unit (e.g., reams or pounds of paper, vehicle miles or passenger miles for business travel, short tons for solid waste) is identified and summary data is collected from campus partners and external vendors, as needed. All raw data points are entered in to SIMAP so that the appropriate emission factors can be used to calculate MTCDE emissions.
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:
Skidmore Compost is a student-run composting program that services on-campus residences and academic spaces through the academic year. The food scraps collected from the on-campus apartments is composted in our on-site backyard (bin) composting system. The compost created by the program is utilized on-site in the Skidmroe Community Garden. In Fiscal Year 2022, the on-site program composted 6.84 short tons of food scraps, which represents approximately 24% (2.50 MTCDE) of our total composting carbon storage (10.27 MTCDE). Total compost numbers include food scraps collection at the Dining Hall, which is composted off-site and does not return.
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:
Skidmore's 2015-2025 Campus Sustainability Plan uses the year 2000 as its baseline for tracking progress toward our institutional sustainability goals. Many of the College's early sustainability efforts, particularly large-scale energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, began in the early 2000s. Our 2000 baseline, originally completed using the Clean Air Cool Planet calculator, ensures the College captures our earliest efforts to reduce GHG emissions. We recently updated our 2000 baseline by recalculating emissions on SIMAP using present-day methodology and emissions factors to ensure we are using a more accurate and appropriately comparative baseline. This revision slighlty lowered our 2000 baseline emissions and was an important step in allowing us to track our emissions and assess progress towards meeting our 2025 GHG reduction goals.
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.