Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 67.98
Liaison Peter Barker
Submission Date March 14, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

St. John's University, New York
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 7.14 / 10.00 Thomas Goldsmith
Director of Environment and Energy Conservation
Facilities Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions?:
Yes

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 3 GHG emissions from any of the following categories?:
Yes or No
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 No
Waste generated in operations No

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from other categories?:
No

A brief description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory:

St. John's University uses the "Submission Instructions for the Carbon Emissions" via the NYC Carbon Challenge for Universities.

The Invertory Instructions are as follows-

Principles for a Carbon Emissions Inventory:

1. Completeness: All fuel types and facilities are accounted for in the Inventory.
2. Consistency: The same methodology is used to calculate energy use and emissions each year.

Steps for Completing the Carbon Emissions Inventory:

1. Identify Facilities

Identify all buildings and facilities that make up your organization, including all rental properties that your organization owns or operates. This will be used to retrieve your energy use data and calculate your gross square footage.

2. Calculate Gross Square Feet

Calculate your facility's total gross square feet by adding together the gross square footage of all owned and leased facilities.

*Note: For information on how to calculate square footage for rental properties, please refer to the Notes section below.

3. Retrieve Energy Use Data

Using your oil bills and monthly utility bills, retrieve energy use data by fuel type for the previous calendar year for all buildings and facilities owned or leased. For example, your 2015 submission will include energy usage from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014.

4. Aggregate Energy Use Data

Calculate your organization's total energy use by adding together all energy use by fuel type in owned and leased facilities for the submission year.

*Note: For information on how to calculate energy use from rental properties, please refer to the Notes tab of this spreadsheet.

*Note: For the 2015 Inventory, aggregating energy use by campus is optional--see Step 6 for more information.

5. Input Energy Use Data and Current Square Footage into the Carbon Emissions Inventory

Enter your organization's total energy use by fuel type and total gross square footage under the submission year in the Inventory tab of this spreadsheet. Note that you now have the option of including a biodiesel blend fuel in your inventory, but you must select the blend from the yellow dropdown menu. Please also enter the correct Base Year and Submission Year at the top of the Inventory tab of this spreadsheet.

*Note: Please be sure that your Inventory includes all previous energy use and square footage from your baseline year through the current year.

6. Optional: Input Campus-Level Energy Use and Square Footage Data

If you choose this option, aggregate your organization's energy use by fuel type and gross square footage for each campus and input this information in the Campus tab of this spreadsheet. For the definition of a "campus," please refer to the Notes section below

*Note: The sum of your organization's energy use and gross square footage from each campus should match your total energy use data and gross square footage entered in the Inventory.

7. Optional: Input Waste Tonnage Data

In order to select this option, you must unhide the waste/fleet entry form on the Inventory tab by clicking the yellow button at the top right. If you choose this option, aggregate your organization's annual waste tonnage (short tons) by category (Mixed MSW, Mixed Recycled, Compost) using monthly carter bills or an annual report. If you have completed a physical waste audit, fill out the 'Waste Characterization %' column in addition to the annual Mixed MSW tonnage data, otherwise leave that column blank. Annual tonnage of recycled/composted waste is not required, but there is a space to report as it is useful information for your Climate Action Plan.

8. Optional: Input Fleet Fuel Use Data

In order to select this option, you must unhide the waste/fleet entry form on the inventory tab by clicking the yellow button at the top right. If you choose this option, aggregate your organization's annual fuel consumption (gallons/year) by fuel type (gasoline, diesel, B20 biodiesel, or B5 biodiesel) and input this information on the 'Transportation' section of the inventory. If your institution has additional types of fuel, please contact Patrick Love at plove@cityhall.nyc.gov.

9. Submit the Carbon Emissions Inventory


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 internal and/or external verification process:

This report is using EPA "Verified" data and NYC Carbon Challenge Annual Emissions Reporting Tool.


Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 1,439.85 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 3,570.11 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Institution-catalyzed carbon offsets generated 1.51 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
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the institution-catalyzed carbon offsets program:

St. John's University is currently an active participant in the Arbor Day Foundation's Tree Campus USA program administered by NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and is planning on calculating carbon offset of the 3,000+ campus trees. Under the guidance of Professor Paula Lazrus, St. John's students work to map and calculate carbon offsets through GIS systems. Due to time and student availability, only a subset of trees were used in this calculation. Of a sample of 500 trees, the sum of CO2 sequestered by 53 trees of a similar species was calculated to be 3334.7lbs/year (converted to approximately 1.5 Metric Tons above). This information was limited based on calculation data available. Data recording was completed by Alia Harun.


A brief description of the carbon sequestration program and reporting protocol used:
---

A brief description of the composting and carbon storage program:

SJU has been actively making compost from food waste and yard waste since 2009.


A brief description of the purchased carbon offsets, including third party verifier(s) and contract timeframes:
---

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 3,238 3,392
Number of residential employees 8 10
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 17,090 18,783
Full-time equivalent of employees 2,100 2,300
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 104 133

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year Jan. 1, 2014 Dec. 31, 2014
Baseline Year Jan. 1, 2010 Dec. 31, 2010

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

Based on the information available via Re-TRAC Connect EPA Waste Wise data system, 2010 will be used for the base year.


Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
2,643,587 Square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 169,475 Square feet
Healthcare space 0 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 0 Square feet

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year::
Emissions
Business travel ---
Commuting ---
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 (please specify below) ---

A brief description of the sources included in Scope 3 GHG emissions from "other categories":
---

A copy of the most recent GHG emissions inventory:
---

The website URL where the GHG emissions inventory is posted:
A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:

St. John's University's Sustainability Department has collaborating in building new buildings that are energy efficient, reducing energy consumption in the existing buildings, and look for possible ways to employ cleaner energy. The University continues to plant trees on campus to help offset carbon emissions on campus.


Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Information for the base year can be found at : http://www.stjohns.edu/sites/default/files/documents/ir/factbook_fall_2012_-2.pdf

St. John's University has decreased their overall Carbon by 24% to date and was featured as a case study for the New York Carbon Challenge Handbook published in 2015 .(http://www.nyc.gov/html/gbee/downloads/pdf/NYC-Carbon-Challenge-Handbook-for-Universities-and-Hospitals.pdf)

St. John's has partnered with Lucid Designs to track the campus' progress. Recently, the University took part in Lucid's "Winter Shutdown Challenge" and decreased their power usage by 14%.

St John's has also participated in the 2015 Campus Conservation Nationals contest. Information for 2015 can be found at http://pages.luciddesigngroup.com/rs/125-CXP-062/images/CCN_2015_Case_Study_St_John's_University.pdf


Information for the base year can be found at : http://www.stjohns.edu/sites/default/files/documents/ir/factbook_fall_2012_-2.pdf

St. John's University has decreased their overall Carbon by 24% to date and was featured as a case study for the New York Carbon Challenge Handbook published in 2015 .(http://www.nyc.gov/html/gbee/downloads/pdf/NYC-Carbon-Challenge-Handbook-for-Universities-and-Hospitals.pdf)

St. John's has partnered with Lucid Designs to track the campus' progress. Recently, the University took part in Lucid's "Winter Shutdown Challenge" and decreased their power usage by 14%.

St John's has also participated in the 2015 Campus Conservation Nationals contest. Information for 2015 can be found at http://pages.luciddesigngroup.com/rs/125-CXP-062/images/CCN_2015_Case_Study_St_John's_University.pdf

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.