Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 43.28
Liaison Adam Maurer
Submission Date Dec. 18, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

South Seattle College
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 6.19 / 10.00 Adam Maurer
District Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
Yes

Does the institution’s GHG emissions inventory include all, some or none of its Scope 3 GHG emissions from the following categories?:
All, Some, or None
Business travel All
Commuting Some
Purchased goods and services None
Capital goods None
Waste generated in operations None
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 None
Other categories None

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, including how the institution accounted for each category of Scope 3 emissions reported above:

Annual Greenhouse Gas Inventories are completed using the Washington State Department of Ecology Greenhouse Gas Calculator.


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 internal and/or external verification process:
---

Documentation to support the internal and/or external verification process:
---

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 and Part 3 of this credit? (reductions in Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions):
Yes

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 771.80 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1,034.80 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 28 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 28 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 111.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 107 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Total 910.90 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1,169.80 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year Jan. 1, 2016 Dec. 31, 2016
Baseline Year Jan. 1, 2005 Dec. 31, 2005

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted (e.g. in sustainability plans and policies or in the context of other reporting obligations):

As a state agency, the Seattle Colleges (including South Seattle College) are required to report annual greenhouse gas emissions in compliance with the State Agency Climate Leadership Act. This act, passed in 2008, established greenhouse gas baseline dates and greenhouse gas reduction targets for all state agencies (2005 baseline for Seattle Colleges).


Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased (exclude purchased RECs/GOs) 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 sequestration due to land that the institution manages specifically for sequestration 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 offsets included above for which the emissions reductions have been sold or transferred by the institution 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Net carbon offsets 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the offsets in each category reported above, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):
---

Emissions reductions attributable to Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) or Guarantee of Origin (GO) purchases:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Emissions reductions attributable to REC/GO purchases 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the purchased RECs/GOs including vendor, project source and verification program:
---

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 910.90 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1,169.80 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 0 0
Number of employees resident on-site 0 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 4,561.70 4,023
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 554.90 451.90
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 74.30 24.40
Weighted campus users 3,781.72 3,337.88

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 0.24 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0.35 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
31.27

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
623,060 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 81,056 Square feet
Healthcare space 0 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 22,328 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
807,500 Gross square feet

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
0.00 MtCO2e per square foot

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
Emissions
Business travel 213.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 927 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services ---
Capital goods ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 ---
Waste generated in operations ---
Other categories ---

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:
---

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

South Seattle College uses a custom greenhouse gas conversion factor for electricity. WA State's calculator’s standard value is a regional value, but since we use only Seattle City Light electricity with a high concentration of carbon-free hydroelectricity, we use a custom value. To determine a custom value, we took an average carbon content per kilowatt hour for Seattle City Light from 2005-2015. We averaged the values between 2005-2015 using the data available via the Climate Registry’s General Reporting Protocol: http://www.theclimateregistry.org/tools-resources/reporting-protocols/general-reporting-protocol/. Additional historic values were obtained from Oradona Landgrebe, GHG Strategic Advisor for Seattle City Light (oradona.landgrebe@seattle.gov). The emissions factor used is 0.00001272001695312 lbsCO2/kwhCO2e.

Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources includes fleet energy emissions. Accurate fleet energy info for 2005 was not available so we used accurate 2016 for the 2005 baseline.

Report run by District Business Office includes all travel expenses paid by the institution (faculty, staff, and students). It does not include institution-related activities that were not paid for by the institution and were not included in commuter data. It does not currently include student commuting, only employee commuting.

CO2e emissions were calculated using the Washington State Department of Ecology Greenhouse Gas Calculator.

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/WAleadership.htm

As a state agency, Seattle Colleges must complete a Commute Trip Reduction Employer Survey and report every other year. However, we do not currently include student commuter related emissions in our GHG report.


South Seattle College uses a custom greenhouse gas conversion factor for electricity. WA State's calculator’s standard value is a regional value, but since we use only Seattle City Light electricity with a high concentration of carbon-free hydroelectricity, we use a custom value. To determine a custom value, we took an average carbon content per kilowatt hour for Seattle City Light from 2005-2015. We averaged the values between 2005-2015 using the data available via the Climate Registry’s General Reporting Protocol: http://www.theclimateregistry.org/tools-resources/reporting-protocols/general-reporting-protocol/. Additional historic values were obtained from Oradona Landgrebe, GHG Strategic Advisor for Seattle City Light (oradona.landgrebe@seattle.gov). The emissions factor used is 0.00001272001695312 lbsCO2/kwhCO2e.

Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources includes fleet energy emissions. Accurate fleet energy info for 2005 was not available so we used accurate 2016 for the 2005 baseline.

Report run by District Business Office includes all travel expenses paid by the institution (faculty, staff, and students). It does not include institution-related activities that were not paid for by the institution and were not included in commuter data. It does not currently include student commuting, only employee commuting.

CO2e emissions were calculated using the Washington State Department of Ecology Greenhouse Gas Calculator.

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/WAleadership.htm

As a state agency, Seattle Colleges must complete a Commute Trip Reduction Employer Survey and report every other year. However, we do not currently include student commuter related emissions in our GHG report.

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.