| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 61.04 |
| Liaison | Tina Woolston |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Tufts University
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
5.02 / 10.00 |
Shoshana
Blank Education and Outreach Program Administrator 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 | Some |
| Commuting | All |
| Purchased goods and services | Some |
| Capital goods | None |
| Waste generated in operations | All |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | Some |
| Other categories | Some |
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:
Used SIMAP to conduct FY17 GHG inventory. Used all default emissions factors from SIMAP, including eGRID for the New England region for electricity. (SIMAP is using eGRID 2014, when it should be updated to eGRID 2016). The only emissions factor we customized was for purchased steam since we know the fuel mix and approximation of the plant efficiency.
To calculate student and faculty/staff commuting numbers, we used a commuting survey using FY16 data and applied it to the whole campus. See OP-16 and OP-17 for more info.
We obtained directly financed air travel numbers from Tufts' two preferred travel agency vendors who track the mileage of all flights. This does not include 100% of financed air travel as it is likely that some staff/faculty purchase airline tickets outside of these two vendors, but it is likely the majority of air mileage. The Purchasing Department estimates this is 80% of staff/faculty air travel.
Study abroad air travel mileage was estimated by taking all students' destinations and calculating mileage of round-trip flights from Boston.
Directly financed travel (car/bus) was calculated with data from many different parts of the university: charter bus trips, Tufts shuttle bus trips, personal mileage reimbursements, gas purchased for rental or personal cars using university credit cards (FY16 data), and athletic teams' bus trip mileage using their annual schedule.
Solid waste data from FY17 was from a waste hauler that used volume to weight conversions. All trash went to mass-burn facilities.
Wastewater was calculated using water bills on all campuses and subtracting any metered irrigation.
Paper purchasing data was provided by our office paper vendor. Additional paper data came from the vendor that manages all library printers and copiers, and supplies the 35% recycled content paper.
Transmission & Distribution Losses were calculated with a default factor from SIMAP.
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 | 17,293.97 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 17,372 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 1,314.76 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 1,217 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity | 20,980.39 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 26,098 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources | 5,698.52 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 6,611 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Total | 45,287.64 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 51,298 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 | July 1, 2016 | June 30, 2017 |
| Baseline Year | July 1, 2007 | June 30, 2008 |
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):
---
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 | 851 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 | 851 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 | 45,287.64 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 50,447 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 3,525 | 3,587 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 11 | 9 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 11,017 | 9,355 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) | 4,478 | 3,684.50 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 79.50 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 12,445.63 | 10,678.63 |
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 | 3.64 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 4.72 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
22.97
Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
5,461,911
Gross square feet
Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
| Floor Area | |
| Laboratory space | 351,506 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 126,914 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space | 44,948 Square feet |
EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
6,463,699
Gross square feet
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
0.01
MtCO2e per square foot
Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
| Emissions | |
| Business travel | 10,556.93 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Commuting | 8,631.69 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Purchased goods and services | 295.94 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Capital goods | --- |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Waste generated in operations | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other categories | 1,097.26 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:
Tufts transformed a former factory into the Collaborative Learning and Innovation Complex, getting LEED Silver certified in 2015.
Tufts constructed the Science and Engineering Complex in 2017, and it was certified LEED Gold in 2018. Energy-saving strategies were incorporated into every aspect of the building to minimize the building’s carbon impact. The building is predicted to use, for instance, 70 percent less energy than a typical lab building, and triple-glazed windows will reduce building heat loss during the winter and keep the building’s interior cooler during the summer, according to Andrea Love, director of building science at Payette, the firm that designed the building. The building’s mechanical system also is predicted to recover and reuse up to 72 percent of its heat before it is exhausted.
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:
Business travel includes: directly financed air travel, directly finance car/bus travel, and study abroad air travel.
Commuting includes faculty, staff, and students.
Purchased goods is just paper.
Solid waste GHG emissions were -64.36 and wastewater emissions were 61.96. Since we could not enter negative emissions, we equated these two categories to zero for "Waste generated in operations".
Other category was T&D losses.
The boundary of this GHG inventory is buildings Tufts owns on its three campuses as well as the two buildings on the SMFA campus, which Tufts leases. Did not include the full operational-control boundary since that boundary was not used in our baseline year.
Tufts developed a methodology for conducting a greenhouse gas emissions inventory for colleges and universities in 2002.
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.