Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	79.54
Liaison	Kelli O'Day
Submission Date	June 20, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of California, Davis
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	4.88 / 8.00	Camille Kirk Director of Sustainability and Campus Sustainability Planner Office of Sustainability

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion	55,179.88 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	74,106 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources	13,900.45 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	11,882 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity	37,994.53 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	74,177 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy	215.40 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Total	107,290.26 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	160,165 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased	2,607 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 storage from on-site composting	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon storage from non-additional sequestration	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon sold or transferred	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Net carbon sinks	2,607 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the carbon sinks, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):

For the third-party verified carbon offsets, the Regents of the University of California retires offsets in the sum of 4% of each campus’s total Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions under the Cap and Trade program, which is the maximum under regulations. The University retired a total of 30,289 California Carbon Offsets. The University of California Office of the President provides a per-campus breakdown of our certified/third party verified carbon offsets.

In 2022, the UC Office of the President retired 2,607 CCOs on behalf of the Davis campus for 2021 emissions.

Vendor - Element Markets provided California Compliance Offsets (CCOs) to the UC Davis main campus via the University of California, Office of the President. The two projects are listed on the Climate Action Reserve and American Carbon Registry.

Project Source - Offsets were generated from two projects: The 2019 Offset U.S. Forest Projects and the 2016 Offset U.S. Forest Projects. The projects are registered by the American Carbon Registry (and subsequently California Air Resources Board).

Verification Program - All projects underwent an independent third-party verification and review by the Climate Action Reserve or American Carbon Registry, and subsequently the California Air Resources Board.

Contract Time Frames - The carbon offset retirement is part of a multi-year procurement by the UC Davis main campus.

As an institution, UC Davis does have programs implemented such as composting and sequestration from our farms, trees, grasses, etc. However, we do not measure these carbon sinks and therefore cannot report a value, but these programs do exist and are used at UC Davis.

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions	104,683.26 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	160,165 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):

	Performance year	Baseline year
Start date	Jan. 1, 2021	Jan. 1, 2005
End date	Dec. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2007

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

n/a

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Number of students resident on-site	14,471	5,114
Number of employees resident on-site	0	0
Number of other individuals resident on-site	344	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	33,387	26,255
Full-time equivalent of employees	9,532	9,182
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	494	0
Weighted Campus Users	35,780.50	27,856.25

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	2.93 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	5.75 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:

49.12

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:

13,933,790 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:

	Floor area
Laboratory space	2,130,139 Square feet
Healthcare space	220,328 Square feet
Other energy intensive space	692,159 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:

19,326,883 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

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:

UC Davis has a Climate Action Plan (CAP) that uses scenario modeling to define a path towards carbon neutrality (net zero greenhouse gas emissions) for business operations by 2025. The UC Davis CAP articulates strategies for reducing energy use intensity of new buildings, energy efficiency in existing buildings and operations, fuel-switching to renewable energy sources, including biofuels, and use of carbon offsets and sequestration methods. Through direct actions, particularly those of energy efficiency and renewable energy sourcing, the Davis campus has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 35% since 2007. The most recent efforts at the Davis campus include an investment to shift the district steam heating system to low-temperature heating hot water, which will significantly reduce campus GHG emissions, as well as save water and reduce energy use. For additional information about this project, see bigshift.ucdavis.edu.

Website URL where information about the institution's GHG emissions is available:

https://sustainability.ucdavis.edu/goals/climate

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

UC President Janet Napolitano and all 10 UC chancellors signed The SDG Accord 2019 climate emergency declaration letter that recognizes “the need for a drastic societal shift to combat the growing threat of climate change."

In signing the declaration, UC leaders agreed to a three-point plan that includes increasing action-oriented climate research; expanding education and outreach on environmental and sustainability issues; and achieving climate neutrality, a goal UC expects to achieve by 2025, five years ahead of the declaration’s pledge.

The UC Davis Chancellor also signed the We Are Still In declaration in 2017.

Links:

https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/university-california-declares-climate-emergency

https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/chancellor-backs-climate-and-innovation-efforts

The Big Shift is UC Davis’s ongoing project to replace its old, steam-based campus heating system with a new, hot water based system. This will improve the system’s energy efficiency and allow it to be powered using renewable electricity, rather than natural gas. https://bigshift.ucdavis.edu/

Alex Berk, student employee at UCD Sustainability, assisted in compiling this credit response.

Data source(s) and notes about the submission