Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.18
Liaison Ezra Small
Submission Date Feb. 5, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Massachusetts Amherst
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.36 / 10.00 Ezra Small
Sustainability Manager
Physical Plant
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions?:
Yes

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 3 GHG emissions from any of the following categories?:
Yes or No
Business travel Yes
Commuting Yes
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 Yes

Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from other categories?:
No

A brief description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory:

This data is based on the Fiscal Year 2013 (July 2012-June 2013)

Scope I and II emissions mainly come from collecting fuel consumption into a report for the MA DOER Leading by Example Office. Emission factors for each fuel type are used to calculate our Scope I and II emissions (above). Scope III emissions include employee air travel and commuter travel of students and employees and campus sold waste.

SCOPE I:
Stationary Combustion: CA-CP Calculations
Mobile Combustion: CA-CP Calculations

SCOPE II:
Purchased Electricity: CA-CP Calculations

SCOPE III:
Commuting & Air Travel:
UMass Amherst Calculations: Green Building researchers collected and analyzed this data from the parking and procurement offices and scientifically calculated scope III emissions (commuting and air travel) using this 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 internal and/or external verification process:

Sightlines verifies our ACUPCC report


Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 113,118 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 148,337 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 1,550.68 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1,953 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 11,107.82 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 16,328 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Institution-catalyzed carbon offsets generated 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon sequestration due to land that the institution manages specifically for sequestration 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
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the institution-catalyzed carbon offsets program:
---

A brief description of the carbon sequestration program and reporting protocol used:
---

A brief description of the composting and carbon storage program:
---

A brief description of the purchased carbon offsets, including third party verifier(s) and contract timeframes:
---

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 12,420 11,539
Number of residential employees 0 0
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 26,851 22,498
Full-time equivalent of employees 6,207 5,838
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 774 388

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2012 July 1, 2013
Baseline Year July 1, 2004 July 1, 2005

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:

2004 was the peak emissions year for the campus. 2005 data is the best because the 2011 v1.0 report required us to report 2005 as baseline.


Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
11,401,341 Square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 2,350,371 Square feet
Healthcare space 68,362 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 439,836 Square feet

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year::
Emissions
Business travel 12,285 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 14,763 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations 933.88 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories (please specify below) 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the sources included in Scope 3 GHG emissions from "other categories":

N/A


A copy of the most recent GHG emissions inventory:
---

The website URL where the GHG emissions inventory is posted:
A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:

The campus is committed to ACUPCC carbon neutrality by 2050, state goals by 2020 and 3% energy reductions per year through a Western MA Utilities (WMECO) agreement (MOU) but the reality is the campus continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, adding hundreds of thousands of square footage and renovating older buildings with more energy intensive air conditioning systems.

Energy Efficiency in our buildings and renewable energy projects on campus will reduce our energy consumption and overall GHG emissions over the course of the next 5 years but not enough to reach our Massachusetts Executive Order 484 goals of 35% building energy consumption and 40% total GHG emissions based on a 2002-2004 baseline. The campus has conducted a full Energy Master Plan which calculates that the campus can reduce energy consumption and emissions by 10% from energy efficiency and 4% with solar energy.

Notable efforts to reduced emissions over the last 3 years include:
-fuel switching at the central heating plant (LNG reducing oil)
-renewable energy planning (solar thermal and solar PV)
-building energy efficiency measures (E+ Program)
-water conservation and reuse efforts in cooling towers and central heating plant
-continuous commissioning
-LEED building construction
-Sustainability Fund
-Fleet reduction, alternative vehicle procurement, and electric vehicle charging stations (first Level III charger in state of MA)


Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

GHG data for this submission corresponds with our previous GHG inventory with ACUPCC/CA-CP process which was FY13. We plan to conduct a FY14 GHG inventory but not in time for this report.


GHG data for this submission corresponds with our previous GHG inventory with ACUPCC/CA-CP process which was FY13. We plan to conduct a FY14 GHG inventory but not in time for this report.

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.