| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 88.80 |
| Liaison | Richard Demerjian |
| Submission Date | Aug. 11, 2021 |
University of California, Irvine
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.70 / 8.00 |
Richard
Demerjian Assistant Vice Chancellor Office of Environmental Planning and Sustainability |
Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion | 69,089 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 33,852 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 8,927 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity | 1,035 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 55,275 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Total | 79,051 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 89,127 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased | 5,531 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Institution-catalyzed carbon offsets generated | 6 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 | --- |
| Carbon sold or transferred | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Net carbon sinks | 5,537 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):
UCOP purchased guaranteed California Air Resources Board (CARB) offsets and UC Irvine was allocated 5,531 MT CO2e for the 2019 emission year. The application of these offsets were verified by TCR.
The UC Irvine Local Offsets Program focuses on community collaboration and outreach related to energy efficiency, clean and renewable energy, and resulting greenhouse gas emission reductions in the local community. The program pursues projects involving privately owned and non-profit owned residential communities and collaborative projects with local agencies. Resulting carbon emission reductions catalyzed by UCI actions are documented through carbon offset agreements. As an example, over 20,500 pounds of annual CO2e emission reductions have resulted from a UCI facilitated lighting retrofit project within community facilities owned by a non-profit housing authority.
Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Adjusted net GHG emissions | 73,514 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 89,127 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, 2019 | Jan. 1, 2000 |
| End date | Dec. 31, 2019 | Dec. 31, 2000 |
A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
The UCI Climate Action Plan and the UC Policy on Sustainable Practices commits the UC Irvine campus to reduce carbon emissions to 1990 baseline levels by 2020, and climate neutrality by 2025. The year 2000 was chosen as a baseline in the 2007 Climate Action Plan in which an interim goal was to reduce emissions to 2000 levels by 2014.
Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 9,447 | 5,833 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 4 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 35,535 | 20,211 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 8,813 | 9,681 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 4,594 | 0 |
| Weighted Campus Users | 32,178.25 | 23,877.25 |
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 | 2.28 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 3.73 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 | 2,084,941 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 157,791 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space | 1,173,531 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:
A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:
Scope 2 emissions have reduced dramatically from the baseline year due to is campuswide deep energy efficiency projects and the addition of 3.2 megawatts of solar power in 2015. Further, in 2019 direct access accounts utilized UCOP Energy Services Unit which provides carbon free electricity.
UC Irvine’s carbon reduction program is aligned with the University of California’s Policy on Sustainable Practices, which until recently had the following goals:
-- By 2020: Reduce and maintain emissions to 1990 levels
-- By 2025: Achieve climate neutrality (Scope 1 & 2)
The policy was amended in November 2013 and established the year 2025 as the date by which the UC system is to be carbon neutral.
The UC Irvine Climate Action Plan is updated annually to reflect current emissions and changes to the UC Policy on Sustainable Practices. The annual update provides updated greenhouse gas emission projections, strategies to reach 2020 and 2025 goals, and an implementation and monitoring program.
The UC Climate Solutions Steering Group created a plan to achieve systemwide carbon reduction: “Prospectus for a Sustainable Future” (November 2011). In it, the group identified “deep energy efficiency,” measures that reduce energy consumption and associated carbon emissions by half or more, as the most immediate, cost-feasible strategy to effect a substantial reduction in UC’s carbon footprint. This strategy underpins the systemwide plan, which initially targeted these three areas for deep energy savings: lighting, information technology, and laboratories. UC Irvine’s comprehensive energy program addresses all three.
In particular, UCI’s award-winning Smart Labs Initiative has safely reduced laboratory energy use in new and already energy-efficient retrofitted laboratories by as much as 60 percent. This is a comprehensive program that re-engineers building control systems – ventilation, exhaust and lighting – from top to bottom. Smart Labs uses sensors and software to control lab and building systems (ventilation, HVAC, exhaust, illumination) precisely rather than rely on massive safety margins for ventilation rates, exhaust airspeeds, and other design criteria. This has been what some call a game-changer. Laboratories typically account for two-thirds of the energy used by research universities and have an enormous impact on their carbon footprint.
Additionally, the campus has a robust green building program and currently has 21 buildings that have earned a Platinum rating through the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program and another 11 that have achieved a Gold rating. (https://sustainability.uci.edu/sustainablecampus/green-buildings/)
UCI has invested in deep energy efficiency programs (50 percent or greater energy savings) at the Main Campus over the past two decades, resulting in significant energy cost savings, GHG emission reductions, and facility renewal. Investments to date have occurred primarily through the California Statewide Energy Partnership (SEP) where $75 million has been invested since 2009 in projects with short to moderate financial payback periods (eight years or less) which will result in up to 33,000 MTCO2e of GHG reductions. As laboratories account for 66 percent of campus GHG emissions, the UCI SmartLabs program is targeting laboratory energy use through deep energy efficiency programs. UCI has several on-site renewable energy systems. In 2009, 895 kW of photovoltaic panels were installed on 12 roofs. In partnership with the Advanced Power and Energy Program in The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, two 53 kW dual-axis tracking high-concentration photovoltaic solar power generators were installed in 2012.
In 2015 the campus installed 11,700 solar panels on the top of three parking structures generating up to 3.2 megawatts of power which quadrupled the amount of solar energy generated on campus.
Website URL where information about the institution's GHG emissions 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.