Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 70.52
Liaison Ruairi O'Mahony
Submission Date Aug. 10, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Massachusetts Lowell
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 6.14 / 10.00 Paul Piraino
Energy and Sustainability Manager
Facilities Operations & Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 

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

Does the institution’s GHG emissions inventory include all, some or none of its Scope 3 GHG emissions from the following categories?:
All, Some, or None
Business travel All
Commuting All
Purchased goods and services All
Capital goods All
Waste generated in operations All
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 All
Other categories All

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, including how the institution accounted for each category of Scope 3 emissions reported above:
Clean Air Cool Planet v. 6.9

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:
Under MassDEP air quality regulations, Scope 1 emissions (including stationary and mobile sources) are required to be verified by an external third party every three years by an approved verification body. The verifier generates a verification report. The MassDEP inventory and verification information is publicly available on The Climate Registry Information System (CRIS). The last verification was conducted in 2013 for calendar year 2012 Scope 1 emissions. The ACUPCC inventory (including Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions) is prepared by a third party using the CACP tool and validated by UMass Lowell personnel who are independent of the accounting and reporting process.

Documentation to support the internal and/or external verification process:
---

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 and Part 3 of this credit? (reductions in Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions):
Yes

Part 2 

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 14,416.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 17,905.50 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 1,963.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 879.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 15,113.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 14,196 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Total 31,492.70 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 32,981.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2012 June 30, 2013
Baseline Year July 1, 2004 June 30, 2005

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted (e.g. in sustainability plans and policies or in the context of other reporting obligations):
NA

Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased (exclude purchased RECs/GOs) 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 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
Carbon offsets included above for which the emissions reductions have been sold or transferred by the institution 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Net carbon offsets 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

A brief description of the offsets in each category reported above, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):
---

The reporting fields in the table below are reserved for institutions that have NOT already accounted for renewable energy purchases (including RECs and GOs) in their Scope 2 GHG emissions calculations. Other institutions - including all SIMAP users - should report zero ('0') to avoid double-counting. 

Emissions reductions attributable to Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) or Guarantee of Origin (GO) purchases:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Emissions reductions attributable to REC/GO purchases 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the purchased RECs/GOs including vendor, project source and verification program:
---

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 31,492.70 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 32,981.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 3,212 2,112
Number of employees resident on-site 25 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 12,377 8,037
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 1,608 1,072
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 1,274 1,028
Weighted campus users 10,342.50 6,588.75

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 3.04 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 5.01 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
39.17

Part 3

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
3,640,134 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 386,031 Square feet
Healthcare space 0 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 0 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
4,412,196 Gross square feet

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

Optional Fields 

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
Emissions
Business travel 1,649.40 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 14,786.70 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services ---
Capital goods ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 ---
Waste generated in operations 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories 1,681.30 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:
---

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Clean Air Cool Planet's emission factor for incinerated waste generated is a negative number, so the actual waste generated in operations is quantified as -37.2 MTCO2e. In addition, please note this is based off of our 2015 STARS submission, Our most recent FY 16 GHG data was not complete at the time of our submission. As a result, the figures reported in IC-3 (FY 16 data) will differ from the ones reported here.

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.