Overall Rating	Gold - expired
Overall Score	65.90
Liaison	Sarah Stoeckl
Submission Date	March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

University of Oregon
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	5.73 / 8.00	Cimmeron Gillespie Education & Analytics Coordinator Office of Sustainability

"---" 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	21,005.76 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	28,600 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources	84.97 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	1,338 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity	3,030.59 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	18,068 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	120 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Total	24,121.32 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	48,126 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	132 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	342 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	474 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):

The University of Oregon Campus and Grounds team maintains a 'hot pile' of aerobic composted plant matter on site. This on-site composting is for all plant matter such as tree limbs, lawn clippings, shrub and brush trimming. All matter is combined and put through a wood chipper roughly 2 times a year and the resulting compost mulch is used on campus in plant beds and soil areas.

Additionally, pre-consumer compost from dining halls, cafes, and kitchens is collected on campus and is composted using a local vendor.

We are currently working to develop to a method to convert the tonnage of materials collected to CO2 sequestered. We will update the carbon sink information section as soon as possible.

Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions	24,121.32 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	47,652 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, 2017	July 1, 2003
End date	June 30, 2018	June 30, 2004

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

The climate action plan completed in 2010 reached back to 2004 for baseline emission estimates. Internal discussions reveal low confidence in 2004 data. We have recently updated the climate action plan and reset the baseline year to 2010. We will update with 2010 baseline year data as soon as possible.

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	4,230	3,950
Number of employees resident on-site	19	16
Number of other individuals resident on-site	0	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	22,082	19,301
Full-time equivalent of employees	5,252	4,377
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	218	400
Weighted Campus Users	21,399.25	18,450

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	1.13 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	2.58 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

56.36

Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area

Performance year floor area

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:

8,138,900 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:

	Floor area
Laboratory space	334,884 Square feet
Healthcare space	14,298 Square feet
Other energy intensive space	334,151 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:

9,171,415 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:

The UO's emissions reduction initiatives/goals over the past three years are are derived from the Climate Action Plan found here: https://president.uoregon.edu/university-oregons-updated-climate-action-plan.

There are ongoing efforts to explore and develop alternatives to fossil fuel dependence for energy, heating, & cooling.
"Conduct several studies that will inform decision-making so that we target our energy and resources where they can have the most impact. These studies will investigate:
-how we will plan long-term to heat campus using low carbon energy sources;
-internal carbon pricing to explore potential revenue sources that can fund direct emissions reductions on campus;
-the costs and carbon-reduction impacts of a campus-wide LED retrofit;
-alternative commute options to lessen the impact of our faculty, staff, and students traveling to and from campus; and
-the feasibility and impact of a winter break “turn down” and temperature set-point policy to shrink our energy consumption." - from University of Oregon Climate Action Plan

Greenhouse Gas reduction is also planned as part of more efficient building design to require less energy demand. Building efficiency is mandated through the Oregon Model for Sustainability where all new buildings are required to be LEED Gold and also must pay into a fund to support retrofitting and efficiency projects in older buildings to improve efficiency and reduce emissions.

See the UO emissions monitoring plans:
https://cpfm.uoregon.edu/emissions-monitoring-and-reporting

See the UO comprehensive environmental policies:
https://cpfm.uoregon.edu/Policy-Sustainability

Website URL where information about the institution's GHG emissions is available:

https://cpfm.uoregon.edu/emissions-monitoring-and-reporting

Additional documentation to support the submission:

principle_10_sustainable_development_4th_edition_0.pdf

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

University of Oregon sources electricity from Eugene Water and Electric Board which updates and reports carbon intensity factors for its power supply annually.
EWEB's reported carbon intensity factor has declined significantly since 2003 and accounts for much of the reduction in UO's scope 2 emissions. We recently double-checked to make sure we have applied them correctly.

The UO website with climate data is being updated and migrated to new platform and will be available shortly. Existing reports may have minor discrepancies with published data due to changing calculation methods. Updated reports will be available on the new website upon release and all website URLs will be updated in STARS when ready.

The University of Oregon Climate Action Plan lays out the framework whereby the the institution will work to determine and implement the best methods to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels. See the UO Climate Action Plan here:
https://president.uoregon.edu/university-oregons-updated-climate-action-plan

See the comprehensive environmental policies here:
https://cpfm.uoregon.edu/Policy-Sustainability

See also the UO emissions monitoring plans:
https://cpfm.uoregon.edu/emissions-monitoring-and-reporting

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.