Overall Rating Platinum
Overall Score 85.50
Liaison Breeana Sylvas
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2022

STARS v2.2

University of California, Merced
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.21 / 3.00 Breeana Sylvas
Assistant Director
Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Greenhouse gas emissions inventory

Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory within the previous three years that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
Yes

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:
All emissions are reported to the Climate Registry. The university also reports GHG emissions annually to the UC Office of the President. The Climate Registry and epa.gov provide up-to-date emission factors for each emission source. The university also uses verified emissions factors provided by its utility provider to calculate emissions. Calculated emissions are generated through utility usage, transportation, and travel 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?:
Yes

A brief description of the GHG inventory verification process:
The emission inventory has been reviewed and accounting verified by independent environmental services firm Cameron-Cole which is an approved verification body and technical assistance provider.

Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
Scope 1 GHG emissions
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion 5,398.46 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) 1,329.00 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
6,727.46 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 2 GHG emissions
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity 694.68 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
694.68 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

GHG emissions from biomass combustion
Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 3 GHG emissions
Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:
Yes or No Weight in MTCO2e
Business travel No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
---

Part 2. Air pollutant emissions inventory

Has the institution completed an inventory within the previous three years to quantify its air pollutant emissions?:
Yes

Annual weight of emissions for::
Weight of Emissions
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) 1.13 Tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) 0.22 Tons
Carbon monoxide (CO) 0.48 Tons
Particulate matter (PM) 0.15 Tons
Ozone (O3) ---
Lead (Pb) ---
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) ---
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) ---
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations ---

Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
Yes or No
Major stationary sources Yes
Area sources ---
Mobile sources Yes
Commuting ---
Off-site electricity production No

None
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
NOx and CO gas emissions were calculated using stack testing measured, average gas concentrations in exhaust emissions from the permitted, stationary campus sources, and multiplying the average gas concentrations times the average flow rate measured for the exhaust gasses in order to derive the mass rate for each exhaust gas (i.e., NOx and CO); the mass rate was then multiplied by the time that the emissions equipment ran during the year in order to calculate the total gas emissions mass (tons).

Concentration (mg/m^3) * Flow Rate (m^3/min) * Run Time (min) = Mass of Gas (mg) * 1 g/1000 mg * 1 lb/453.59 g * 1ton/2,000 lbs = Mass of Pollutant (tons) emitted per year

Optional Fields

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
---

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy (location-based) :
---

Website URL where information about the institution’s emissions inventories is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Note: UC Merced is located in an area with relatively high air pollution and thus the best control technology is required in all equipment.

Fuel usage is submitted to local air district that estimate emissions for the San Joaquin Valley as a whole.

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.