University of Connecticut
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The 2015 GHG Inventory was conducted with the Clean Air-Cool Planet Campus Carbon Calculator.

This data is annually compiled by OEP upon requests of the appropriate departments and staff. Once compiled and prepared through the CA-CP calculator, the inventory is reviewed and verified by the director of the OEP, the Environmental Compliance Analyst in the OEP who is responsible for air quality compliance and reporting, and the Energy Management unit within Facilities Operations & Building Services, which operates and maintains the stationary sources that account for the vast majority of our GHG emissions, and which manages UConn's purchased power activities. The inventory will also be presented at the April meeting of UConn's Environmental Policy Advisory Council, which is responsible for overseeing implementation of UConn's Climate Action Plan and carbon-neutrality commitment pursuant to the ACUPCC.

The University of Connecticut was one of the first universities to participate in Solarize U, a program sponsored by the CT Green Bank, that allows state homeowners, specifically university faculty and staff, to invest in solar panels at low rates from reputable installers. The UConn Office of Environmental Policy diligently promoted the program and accumulated 75 local homeowner listings and 4 sales totaling 34.53 kW of clean solar power, eliminating about 29.4 tons of CO2 emissions. Through outreach methods such as Earth Day Spring Fling, a Solarize U workshop, the Daily Campus (on campus newspaper), the Daily Digest (daily e-news), and flyer distribution throughout the campus, the initiative reached a significant number of faculty, staff, and members of the broader community. Many expressed interest in the program. Apart from accumulating as many solar sales as possible, the office’s main goal was to spread awareness about the affordability of renewable energy installations, as well as the long term cost savings and environmental benefits. Note: CO2 emissions were estimated assuming 1,310 hours of peak performance over the course of a year and the conversion factor of 1.3 lbs of CO2 per kWh.

UConn maintains several tracts of preserved forest, collectively 2663 acres, in various stages of maturity. These forests are open to the public, and have series of maintained trails for hiking and recreational access. With the development of the approved Tech Park http://techpark.uconn.edu/ there will be an additional 102 acres added to the North Campus Conservation Easement and the land will be used for educational purposes and forestry purposes overseen by Thomas Worthley from the Department of Extension. The University also reclaimed former landfill territory, and now maintains 33 acres of wetlands and 31 acres of uplands on the reclaimed territory with public trail access. Both of these processes add value to the community, provide carbon offsets, and sustain biodiversity and flood protection in the community. http://ecohusky.uconn.edu/outreach/heep.html The Extension Forestry Program of the University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension System provides education for natural resource professionals, elected and appointed officials, volunteers and private woodland owners who care for this valued resource and landscape. Extension educators—in cooperation with many organizational partners—seek to improve the health, care, diversity, and management of Connecticut’s trees and forests. Educational efforts reflect the wide diversity of the state’s forested landscape and ownership – from small-scale private woodlands, land trusts and woodland cooperatives to state forests; from street trees, town greens and parks to municipal watersheds. http://www.canr.uconn.edu/CES/FOREST/

Additionally, the University has begun composting a significant portion of its agricultural waste and a significant portion of its pre- and post-consumer food waste through the installation over the past several years, and operation of in-kitchen eCorrect units in five of its dining halls.

We purchase carbon offsets from Sterling Planet in the name of the winning dorm in the per capita energy conservation portion of UConn's annual EcoMadness competition. The offsets purchased reflect CO2 emissions avoided by the amount of energy saved over the baseline, by residents in all 23 first- and second-year dormitories competing during the course of the month-long energy and water conservation contest.

Prior to 2007, inventory numbers are inconsistent. Data consistent with the calculator dates back most accurately from 2007 onwards. We use precise actual fuel consumption numbers and emissions data for all scope 1 and scope 2 emissions sources.

The University of Connecticut greenhouse gas inventory has been conducted on an annual basis since 2003. The ACUPCC, signed in 2008, has given the University the goal of becoming a carbon neutral campus by 2050, with numerous goals along the way. The University of Connecticut has gone to great lengths to make its buildings significantly more energy efficient, including major construction and renovation projects to meet at least LEED Silver certification, replacement of lighting fixtures and bulbs with more efficient technology, a retrocommissioning project to optimize temperature and lighting controls, and encouragement of behavioral changes by students through programs such as the annual EcoMadness energy and water competition. Retro-commissioning continued in 2015 with studies at Rome Hall, the Music Building, and at the chilled water entrances of 26 buildings. Combined, these projects are expected to yield $110,000/yr in energy cost savings and reduce UConn’s carbon footprint by 1,000 tons/yr. Through July 2015, 31 buildings have been re-lamped with LED bulbs, resulting in $72,500 of annual energy savings and 470 TPY of reductions in CO2 emissions. An energy efficiency overhaul at Gampel Pavilion, which replaced all lighting with LEDs, installed VFDs to regulate air handlers, and replaced the original chillers and cooling towers with modern equipment for more efficient heating and cooling, will save $100,000/yr in energy costs and trim another 1,000 tons/yr from our carbon footprint. The University’s goals for future campus greenhouse gas inventorying efforts include increasing awareness and understanding of the process, maximizing efficiency and continuity of the data collection, and improving the inventory to identify data gaps, provide greater reporting flexibility, and better capture overall campus emissions and credits.

On-campus generation and purchased electricity figures have been updated with data from Facilities Operations. Emissions and population data are for the Storrs main campus & nearby Depot Campus only.