Overall Rating Platinum
Overall Score 86.87
Liaison Carrie Metzgar
Submission Date Nov. 5, 2024

STARS v2.2

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

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.08 / 3.00 Carrie Metzgar
Campus Sustainability Officer
Utilities & 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:

UC San Diego reports on emissions sources and analyzes emissions for the following scopes: 
 
Scope 1 - Direct Emissions: Cogeneration plant natural gas, purchased natural gas, emergency generators, campus fleet, emissions from refrigerants 
Scope 2 - Indirect Emissions: Purchased electricity 
Scope 3 - Other Emissions: Business travel, student commute, faculty/staff commute 

UC San Diego uses The Climate Registry General Protocol and CRIS Reporting tool for Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Scope 3 commuting emissions are calculated using cordon count data from Transportation Services. Business Air Travel emissions are calculated using the campus air miles traveled from Supply Chain Services via Connexxus. 


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:

UC San Diego uses an ANSI and The Climate Registry (TCR) accredited verification body to validate our emissions that are reported to TCR and the California Air Resources Board (CARB). 


Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
Scope 1 GHG emissions
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion 170,495 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) 5,231 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
175,726 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 2 GHG emissions
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity 4,194 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy 1.34 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
4,195.34 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

GHG emissions from biomass combustion
Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
105 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 Yes 8,460 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting Yes 47,570 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services No ---
Capital goods No ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 No ---
Waste generated in operations No ---
Other sources No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
56,030 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

Commuting emissions are calculated using survey data from Transportation Services. Annual physical cordon count survey of people entering campus entrances/roadways per mode (e.g., bike, walk, carpool, and transit-as well as counts by route at campus bus stops). Survey supplemented with on-campus student housing resident counts and employee remote work data. Estimates of GHG emissions, by mode, from use of previously circulated University of California Sustainable Transportation Working Group calculations spreadsheet.  

Business Travel emissions are calculated for air, rail, car, and hotel and provided by UC Central Travel Mangement and UC San Diego Supply Chain Services via Connexxus.  


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) 9.93 Tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) 0.76 Tons
Carbon monoxide (CO) 5.16 Tons
Particulate matter (PM) 8.59 Tons
Ozone (O3) ---
Lead (Pb) 0 Tons
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) 1.33 Tons
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) 0 Tons
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations 24.30 Tons

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

None
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:

Local air district toxic emission inventory factors, source test data for some stationary sources and manufacturers’ emission factors when available. 


Optional Fields

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
30,549 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy (location-based) :
1.34 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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:

The gross square footage and physical boundary for UC San Diego's greenhouse gas reporting includes the Hillcrest Medical Center.  

Points of contact for credit information:  

  • Sam Petersen, EH&S Specialist, Environment, Health & Safety (Scopes 1 &2) 

  • Curt Lutz, Marketing and Micromobility Manager, Transportation Services (Scope 3 Commuting) 

  • Kelsey Moon, Connexxus Manager, Supply Chain Services (Scope 3 Business Travel) 

  • Carrie Metzgar, Campus Sustainability Officer, Utilities & Sustainability 





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.