Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 49.07
Liaison Janna Cohen-Rosenthal
Submission Date July 3, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Massachusetts Boston
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.35 / 3.00 Janna Cohen-Rosenthal
Sustainability & Resiliency Planner
Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory within the previous three years that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
Yes

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

The SIMAP tool was used to conduct a market-based inventory. Energy data was recorded by the UMass System's energy consultants, CES. The University tracks vehicle fuel use.


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?:
No

A brief description of the GHG inventory verification process:
---

Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
---

Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion 7,009.52 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) 143.32 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
7,152.84 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity 10,788.98 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
10,788.98 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:
Yes or No Weight in MTCO2e
Business travel No ---
Commuting No ---
Purchased goods and services No ---
Capital goods No ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 Yes 3,432 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations No ---
Other sources No ---

Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
3,432 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:

Using the SIMAP tool, it calculated the FERA and T&D Losses.
We did not include commuting & business travel but hope to do so in the future and normalize to the baseline.


Has the institution completed an inventory within the previous three years to quantify its air pollutant emissions?:
No

Annual weight of emissions for::
Weight of Emissions
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) ---
Sulfur oxides (SOx) ---
Carbon monoxide (CO) ---
Particulate matter (PM) ---
Ozone (O3) ---
Lead (Pb) ---
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) ---
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) ---
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations ---

Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
Yes or No
Major stationary sources ---
Area sources ---
Mobile sources ---
Commuting ---
Off-site electricity production ---

A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
---

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
10,477.87 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy (location-based) :
---

Website URL where information about the institution’s emissions inventories is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Updated emissions reports will be posted to the SIMAP & Second Nature public page:https://unhsimap.org/public/emissions and at the Sustainability website: https://www.umb.edu/campus-planning/sustainability/.

Leading By Example Program (LBE)
UMass Boston reports annually to LBE for Scope 1 + 2 data. They use a different emissions factor than SIMAP. For STARS, we wanted to use the tools and protocols recommended best for higher ed. comparisons. Data reported using custom factors on the LBE website in other reports may be slightly different.

*Scope 3*
In the future, we will expand our current scope 3 reporting to include commuting & business travel as per climate commitments. However, due to COVID changes we want to develop a better way to normalize data from the commuter surveys in 2021 to 2022 and beyond. Business travel was also likely impacted.

*Renewables*
Renewable energy sources currently reported include the Solar Plus storage project hosted by UMass Boston on the Parking Garage and University Hall. The energy generated by these projects is purchased through a PPA with Enel who owns the system. The associated SRECs are sold by ENEL. While our reporting shows "sold" RECS, this is not by UMass Boston but by the third-party owner.
The Wheatley solar project is not operational as the quad project is under construction.


Updated emissions reports will be posted to the SIMAP & Second Nature public page:https://unhsimap.org/public/emissions and at the Sustainability website: https://www.umb.edu/campus-planning/sustainability/.

Leading By Example Program (LBE)
UMass Boston reports annually to LBE for Scope 1 + 2 data. They use a different emissions factor than SIMAP. For STARS, we wanted to use the tools and protocols recommended best for higher ed. comparisons. Data reported using custom factors on the LBE website in other reports may be slightly different.

*Scope 3*
In the future, we will expand our current scope 3 reporting to include commuting & business travel as per climate commitments. However, due to COVID changes we want to develop a better way to normalize data from the commuter surveys in 2021 to 2022 and beyond. Business travel was also likely impacted.

*Renewables*
Renewable energy sources currently reported include the Solar Plus storage project hosted by UMass Boston on the Parking Garage and University Hall. The energy generated by these projects is purchased through a PPA with Enel who owns the system. The associated SRECs are sold by ENEL. While our reporting shows "sold" RECS, this is not by UMass Boston but by the third-party owner.
The Wheatley solar project is not operational as the quad project is under construction.

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.