| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 53.78 |
| Liaison | Lisa Mitten |
| Submission Date | March 8, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
State University of New York at New Paltz
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.32 / 10.00 |
Lisa
Mitten Campus Sustainability Coordinator Office of Campus Sustainability |
Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
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 | None |
| Commuting | None |
| 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:
SUNY New Paltz uses the Clean Air Cool Planet Emissions Calculator v9.0 to complete its greenhouse gas inventory. Please note that v9.0 was not intended to be used for 2017 and we modified the file to work, so not all pages and graphs may work perfectly. Please note that the "ACUPCC Reporting" tab works correctly.
To calculate the emissions of purchased electricity, the New Paltz used custom fuel mix data for Central Hudson. At the time of submission, Central Hudson custom fuel mix data was available through 2015. To calculate the emissions for 2016 and 2017, the College used the 2015 custom fuel mix data.
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 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):
Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion | 9,211 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent | 13,239 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 0 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent | 395 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity | 12,679 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent | 12,813 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 | 21,890 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent | 26,447 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, 2017 | Dec. 31, 2017 |
| Baseline Year | Jan. 1, 2003 | Dec. 31, 2003 |
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):
2003 was adopted as the baseline year because it is the earliest year that we have reliable utility data for a calendar year.
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 | 21,890 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent | 26,447 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent |
Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 3,154 | 2,798 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 16 | 16 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 7,027 | 6,562.10 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) | 1,115 | 1,041.33 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 74 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 6,843.50 | 6,406.07 |
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 | 3.20 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent | 4.13 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent |
Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
| Floor Area | |
| Laboratory space | 225,239 Square Feet |
| Healthcare space | 0 Square Feet |
| Other energy intensive space | 70,000 Square Feet |
EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
| Emissions | |
| Business travel | --- |
| Commuting | --- |
| Purchased goods and services | 20.70 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent |
| 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:
SUNY New Paltz's reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2003 to 2017 is attributable to the following actions:
- Switching from distillate oil to natural gas at the Central Heating Plant. This change occurred in 2006. Prior to 2003, the primary heating fuel was residual oil (#5-6). We would have used these years as a baseline, however we did not have accurate electricity data for those years, so chose 2013 as a baseline.
- Adding 277.75 KW of solar photovoltaics (generating approximately 112,000 kwh of electricity in 2017)
- Upgrading from less efficient lighting (ie. incandescent and metal halide) to more efficient lighting (fluorescents and LEDs) for all exterior lighting and the following buildings: LeFevre Hall, Deyo Hall, Lecture Center, Jacobson Faculty Tower, Coykendall Science Building, and the Humanities Building.
- Ongoing energy management initiatives include energy monitoring through building submetering, winter session setback, and ongoing conservation through efficient building scheduling. We regularly monitor class schedules and adjust building heating and cooling schedules to unoccupied mode when possible.
- Our GHG emissions have reduced due to how the local electricity generators create electricity. From 2003 to 2015 (the last year we have data for), the percentage of electricity produced from the following sources changed:
* Coal reduced from 32% to 3%
* Natural gas increased from 21% to 38%
* Distillate oil decreased from 17% to 1%
* Nuclear increased from 18% to 34%
* Waste-to-energy increased from 0 to 0.75%
* Renewables increased from 0 to 6.75%
All of the above changes reduced the campus' greenhouse gas emissions, based on Clean Air Cool Planet formulas.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Please note that the campus was unable to find residential student counts for 2003, so we used the same numbers as for 2013: 2,798 students.
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.