| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 77.43 |
| Liaison | Elida Erickson |
| Submission Date | Feb. 28, 2022 |
University of California, Santa Cruz
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.10 / 8.00 |
Ellen
Vaughan Water & Climate Action Manager Sustainability Office |
Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion | 28,462 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 21,966 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 2,510 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity | 141 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 8,014 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 | 31,113 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 29,980 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased | 2,181 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 | --- |
| Carbon sold or transferred | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Net carbon sinks | 2,181 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):
CA-certified Golden Offset Credits
Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Adjusted net GHG emissions | 28,932 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 29,980 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, 2006 |
| End date | Dec. 31, 2019 | Dec. 31, 2006 |
A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
2006 has been adopted for baseline Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions because it is the earliest year we have complete energy/ GHG data.
Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 8,691 | 6,511 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 203 | 169 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 643 | 497 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 19,147 | 14,661 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 3,789 | 4,761 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 0 | 0 |
| Weighted Campus Users | 20,068.50 | 16,733.50 |
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 | 1.44 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 1.79 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 | 1,237,297 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 37,854 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space | 0 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:
UCSC has implemented a coordinated strategy to reduce GHG emissions through energy efficiency, onsite renewables, clean energy procurement, offsets, and sustainable transportation improvements.
In the last three years, UCSC continued to implement energy efficiency projects. We have also implemented multiple lighting retrofits to LED campus wide, and multiple Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC) retrofits reducing the campus energy usage for heating and airflow. Several major new construction projects have been designed and built utilizing the Savings By Design program, and all buildings were designed to LEED silver equivalent or better.
In 2017, we completed a multi-year project to evaluate a large scale, whole-campus Climate & Energy Strategy (CES). This resulted in a report and Scenario Analysis tool, which has been the guiding document for the campus to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. The scope of this project included energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as recommendations for new construction policies, emissions-related policy updates and procurement strategies.
We have also opted in to California's Cap and Trade program and committed to re-investing the cost avoidance into energy efficiency projects.
Additionally, UCSC is a founding member of the University of California Regents Energy Services Unit (UC ESU), which is working to procure electricity with a higher renewable content than what is available through our utility provider, PG&E. This includes UCSC's portion of the 80 MW photovoltaic (PV) project that UC ESU invested in that is located in Fresno, CA. This PV project has been operating since 2016 and provides the campus with renewable imported power.
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:
Reported emissions data to the California Air Resources Board is available at -
http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/reporting/ghg-rep/reported-data/ghg-reports.htm
our campus data is embedded in the downloadable spreadsheet.
Reported emissions data to the California Air Resources Board is available at -
http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/reporting/ghg-rep/reported-data/ghg-reports.htm
our campus data is embedded in the downloadable spreadsheet.
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.