Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 75.29
Liaison Ezra Small
Submission Date Feb. 17, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Massachusetts Amherst
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.20 / 8.00 Ezra Small
Sustainability Manager
Physical Plant
"---" 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 104,940 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 111,482 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 1,339.78 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1,916 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity 9,460 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 63,513 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 115,739.78 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 176,911 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):
---

Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance year Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions 115,739.78 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 176,911 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, 2021 July 1, 2003
End date June 30, 2022 June 30, 2004

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
FY2004 was selected as the baseline year because UMass reports annually to the MA DOER Leading by Example Program which uses Executive Order 484 (updated to EO 594 in 2022) goals and 2004 baseline year as a benchmark for tracking progress.

https://www.mass.gov/orgs/leading-by-example

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 13,390 11,539
Number of employees resident on-site 83 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 29,863.80 22,498
Full-time equivalent of employees 7,265.10 5,838
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 4,525.50 388
Weighted Campus Users 27,820.80 23,845.75

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 4.16 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 7.42 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
43.93

Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area

Performance year floor area

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
13,240,321.12 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 506,661.75 Square feet
Healthcare space 62,057.71 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 486,316.45 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
14,864,076.49 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:
0.01 MtCO2e per square foot

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:
UMass Carbon Zero: UMass Amherst launched a very ambitious carbon neutrality plan and goal of zero carbon by 2032, announced by the Chancellor on Earth Day of 2022. The plan relies on multiple strategies but focuses on two main strategies including geo-exchange heating and cooling systems, and conversion from steam production and distribution to low temperature hot water distribution, resulting in full electrification of the campus energy system. More information on this plan visit www.umass.edu/carbon-neutrality.

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:
Explanation for why Scope 2 emissions have dropped substantially from performance over baseline years:

Scope 2 emissions are directly calculated from imported grid electricity so large reductions of scope 2 from performance year over baseline year are two fold:

1. As reported in OP5: imported grid electricity for performance year (FY22): ~34M kwh vs baseline year (FY04): ~113M kwh, so we just now import far less grid electricity due to our ability to generate electricity at our CHP since 2008-2009.

2. The ISO-NE grid has also become much greener over the last 20 years due to the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requiring grid operators to supply the grid with certain percentages of renewables escalating annually, this law did not exist in 2004.

https://www.mass.gov/renewable-energy-portfolio-standard

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.