| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 84.99 |
| Liaison | Pierre Lemay |
| Submission Date | Dec. 12, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Universite Laval
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
9.50 / 10.00 |
Pierre
Lemay Development Advisor Office of the Vice Rector, External and International Affairs and Health |
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 | All |
| 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 | All |
| 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:
Université Laval compiles data on its scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions on an annual basis and carries out a complete assessment of all emissions every three years, using its Greenhouse Gas Protocol (based on recognized international standards for calculating and classifying greenhouse gases, such as the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064-1:2018).
Scope 1 and scope 2 emissions are the result of operations for which Université Laval is directly or indirectly responsible. Since the university has full responsibility for choosing the methods and equipment used in such operations, it is fully accountable for related greenhouse gas emissions. These are the emissions that Université Laval must offset to achieve and maintain campus carbon neutrality.
Scope 3 emissions are not the direct responsibility of the university, although they result from actions relating to its activities. Université Laval does not determine the methods and tools used for these actions; such choices are made by individuals and organizations outside the institution. As such, the university is not responsible for greenhouse gas emissions related to these choices.
Other categories : Université Laval and its foundation adioted a responsible investment strategy aiming, amongst others, to reduce the carbon footprint of investments by 50% for 2030, and by 30% for 2025. On the reference date of december 31st 2018, carbon footprint of UL's investments was slighlty (6%) lower than that of a comparable composite index (156 CO2 metric tons/M$ VS 166 CO2 metric tons/M$).
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:
Verified by an independent, external third party in 2014-2015. The next validated report by an external third party will be the 2018-2019 GHG assessment (in March 2020).
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 | 25,540.90 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent | 35,197 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 682.90 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent | 599 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity | 242.60 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent | 706 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 | 26,466.40 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent | 36,502 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 | May 1, 2017 | April 30, 2018 |
| Baseline Year | Jan. 1, 2006 | Dec. 31, 2006 |
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):
N/A
Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased (exclude purchased RECs/GOs) | 4,971.40 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 | 21,495 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent | 3,934 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 | 26,466.40 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent | 3,934 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):
The Montmorency Forest is the largest teaching and research forest in the world, totalling 397 km2. Since 1964, Université Laval students have had the opportunity to learn about good practices in forestry, forest management, forest protection, and logging, while researchers have been able to conduct studies in this open sky laboratory. As a carbon sink, the forest plays a key role in the university’s GHG reduction strategy. It can absorb an average of 13,945 tons of CO2 equivalent per year. This calculation, which is based on an approach validated by a scientific committee, is used by the university for its carbon footprint assessment.
For a fixed five-year period, the Séminaire de Québec has offered the university carbon credits equivalent to 7,550 tonnes of CO2 per year. The carbon credits are generated by the additional amount of carbon stored and retained in the forest biomass due to the reduction of its annual forest harvest on a portion of the Seigneurie de Beaupré. In order to generate this volume of carbon credits, the Séminaire has created two conservation areas on Seigneurie de Beaupré, which it has agreed to exclude from its production by halting forest harvesting operations in these two areas.
In order to achieve campus carbon neutrality, Université Laval purchased carbon credits on the market. To do this, it can count on two value added partnerships, one with Ecotierra and the other one with National EcoCredit. Ecotierra is a company based in Sherbrooke that generates carbon credits by developing high quality forestry and agricultural projects with major socio-economic impacts for local populations as well as positive environmental impacts. National EcoCredit is a leader in North America in the quantification and negotiation of environmental attributes. Since 2005, National EcoCredit has traded over 1.3 million carbon credits.
All carbon credits purchased are third-party verified and certified under the VCS & CCBA Standards.
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:
N/A
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions | 0 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent | 32,568 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent |
Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 2,300 | 2,300 |
| 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 | 36,530 | 30,160 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) | 5,355 | 5,016 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 2,597 | 715 |
| Weighted campus users | 30,041 | 26,420.75 |
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 Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent | 1.23 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 | 2,654,176 Square Feet |
| Healthcare space | 0 Square Feet |
| Other energy intensive space | 321,484.90 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 | --- |
| 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 entire amount of electricity consumed at Laval University comes from Hydro-Québec network. The gross quantities of electricity reported are taken from the annual report submitted to the Quebec Ministry of Education. This compilation is based on Hydro-Québec's electricity bills.The emission factor used for purchased electricity differs from year to year, according to the proportion of electricity available on Hydro-Quebec Network coming from hydroelectricity, nuclear fission, combustion and/or green energies each year. This factor is taken from the Canadian National Inventory Report.
Moreover, the reason why gross scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity is low relatively compared to other institution with a size similar, is because Hydro-Québec produces mostly hydroelectricity. Hydroelectricity generates significantly less GHG emissions compared to other electricity sources commonly found in the US.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
The total full-time equivalent student enrollment in OP 1 is 37,055 while IC 3 is 37,360. The discrepancies are due to the referential year. For IC-3, we presented the most recent data (2018-2019). However, for OP-1, because the most recent data we had for GHG emissions were for 2017-2018, we also used full-time equivalent data of 2017-2018.
Same for "Full-time equivalent of employees" and "Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education".
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.