| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 85.88 |
| Liaison | Sam Lubow |
| Submission Date | March 3, 2022 |
Stanford University
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.67 / 3.00 |
Melissa
Maigler Sustainability Coordinator Sustainability & Energy Management |
Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory within the previous three years that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
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:
Stanford uses The Climate Registry’s (TCR) General Reporting Protocol to prepare and file its GHG emission inventories. The university has been reporting third-party-verified emissions inventories since 2006. The document uploaded above shows Stanford's third-party-verified Scope 1 & 2 emissions as reported through TCR for calendar year 2019. This information is also publicly available after registering for a free TCR login: https://www.theclimateregistry.org/our-members/cris-public-reports/
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?:
A brief description of the GHG inventory verification process:
Stanford verifies its Scopes 1 and 2 emissions inventory every year through an independent third party. This process follows TCR's General Verification Protocol. Please see more details on the verification protocol here: https://www.theclimateregistry.org/tools-resources/verification/general-verification-protocol/
The Scope 3 emissions are not verified following TCR's Verification Protocol. However, Scope 3 emissions were evaluated using calculation tools, such as SIMAP and the EPA Waste Reduction Model tool. Contracted consultants and internal professional reviewers at Stanford from the Office of Sustainability and Facilities Energy Management, which are teams outside of the Business Affairs group calculating the Scope 3 data, additionally reviewed the data inputs to verify the accuracy and reasonableness of the input data.
Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Stationary combustion | 27,100.12 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) | 5,661.80 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Imported electricity | 33,433.01 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Imported thermal energy | 199.87 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:
| Yes or No | Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Business travel | Yes | 43,708 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Commuting | Yes | 24,049 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Purchased goods and services | Yes | 402,153 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Capital goods | Yes | 394,556 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | Yes | 25,555 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Waste generated in operations | Yes | -9,047 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources | Yes | 113,182 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
While the university has laid out a path to reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions, scope 3 emissions mitigation strategies are less clear. As a result, the university launched a new Scope 3 Emissions Program in 2021, sponsored by the Vice President of Business Affairs. Initial scope 3 emissions estimates were completed for a subset of scope 3 categories based on calendar year 2019 data using a blend of external calculation tools and custom internal methodologies. The "Stanford University CY19 Scope 3 Emissions Inventory" workbook attached in the "Additional documentation to support the submission" section contains more information on Stanford's holistic approach, as well as individual methodologies for specific scope 3 categories. More information on Stanford's Scope 3 Emissions Program can be found here: https://sustainable.stanford.edu/campus-action/energy/stanford-energy-system-innovations-sesi/emissions-inventory/scope-3-emissions
Has the institution completed an inventory within the previous three years to quantify its air pollutant emissions?:
Annual weight of emissions for::
| Weight of Emissions | |
| Nitrogen oxides (NOx) | 7.96 Tons |
| Sulfur oxides (SOx) | 0.08 Tons |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 1.99 Tons |
| Particulate matter (PM) | 0.46 Tons |
| Ozone (O3) | --- |
| Lead (Pb) | 0.00 Tons |
| Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) | --- |
| Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) | --- |
| Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations | 0.77 Tons |
Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
| Yes or No | |
| Major stationary sources | Yes |
| Area sources | No |
| Mobile sources | No |
| Commuting | No |
| Off-site electricity production | No |
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
Stanford uses EPA approved conversion factors to calculate emissions based on fuel usage for both permitted and exempt sources. The SOx data reported is for SO2. The data in Part 2 reported is from 2019 to align with the Part 1 data reported above.
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy (location-based) :
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:
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.