Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 69.14
Liaison Olivia Wiebe
Submission Date Dec. 28, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Idaho
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.18 / 8.00 Madison Dougherty
Sustainability Graduate Research Assistant
College of Natural Resources
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions

Gross GHG emissions

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:
Performance year Baseline year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 3,529 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 4,370 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 2,923 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 3,489 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity 10,491 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 26,952 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 16,943 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 34,811 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Carbon sinks

Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:
Performance year Baseline year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased 0 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 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

If total performance year carbon sinks are greater than zero, provide:

A brief description of the carbon sinks, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):
No offsets are reported above.

Note: The University of Idaho manages over 10,000 acres of stewarded forest and 59 acres of arboreta. This land is stewarded for environmental health and forest products research. The forest supports the institution's land-grant status as an agricultural research institution. Currently, the forest is not managed specifically for carbon sequestration.

Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance year Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions 16,943 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 34,811 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Performance and baseline periods

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Performance year Baseline year
Start date July 1, 2019 Jan. 1, 2005
End date June 30, 2020 Dec. 31, 2005

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
The greenhouse gas baseline, 2005, was adopted as part of the University of Idaho's submission to the American College and University Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and the university's Climate Action Plan published in 2010.

Part 1. Reduction in GHG emissions per person

Weighted campus users

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance year Baseline year
Number of students resident on-site 3,925 2,000
Number of employees resident on-site 16 8
Number of other individuals resident on-site 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 9,175 10,415
Full-time equivalent of employees 2,313 2,254
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 635.48 0
Weighted Campus Users 9,124.64 10,003.75

Metrics used in scoring for Part 1

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 1.86 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 3.48 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
46.64

Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area

Performance year floor area

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
4,394,680 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 180,657 Square feet
Healthcare space 3,853 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 156,555 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
4,920,255 Gross square feet

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
0.00 MtCO2e per square foot

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:
A 2019 assessment of the campus biomass plant found an 88% increase in efficiency of the wood boiler plant, coupled with an 84% decrease in CO2 emissions, since 2002. These numbers explain the decrease in scope 1 emissions from the baseline year. The decrease in scope 2 emissions is due to a change in purchased energy source (and an increase dependence on hydroelectric energy).

Scope 1:
- Biomass fuel used at Energy Plant to generate steam and chilled water to buildings reduces natural gas use
- Ongoing use of biodiesel for Energy Plant vehicles
- 2 EV charging stations

Scope 2:
- Ongoing energy efficiency efforts such as the campus-wide installation of LED lights, occupancy sensors, VFDs, unoccupied period HVAC setbacks, etc.
- 147 kW PV array installed in 2020
- 825 kW of biomass fueled steam turbines installed 2021

Scope 3:
- Campus-wide food waste efforts
- Reclaimed water used for campus irrigation

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:
-Marc Compton, Project Engineer, Moscow ID ECO District 1

COVID-19 related budget restrictions led to the restructuring of sustainability staff in 2020. The remaining sustainability staff shifted focus to student engagement programming as a result of the restructuring, and relevant campus partners were reorganized in the concurrent utility concessionaire, leaving human resources unavailable to conduct GHG inventories in 2021 or 2022. A University Director of Sustainability was hired in the end of 2022, under whom an Office of Sustainability was founded in 2023. This team is currently working on the next Greenhouse Gas Inventory for 2024.

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.