Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 66.51
Liaison Aurora Sharrard
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Pittsburgh
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.83 / 3.00 Keith Duval
Health and Safety
Environmental Health & Safety
"---" 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 inventory was completed through a partnership with Pitt's Facilities Management Division and the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Initiatives (part of the Swanson School of Engineering). The inventory was quantified via the Clean Air/Cool Planet Calculator.


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 GHG inventory verification process:

Pitt's now annual greenhouse gas inventorying process is led by Dr. Melissa Bilec and her graduate students out of the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, in partnership with and reviewed by Dr. Aurora Sharrard, the University's Director of Sustainability. Information and data was gathered from many functional areas of the University. Data and results were validated internally by internal stakeholders across departments, including Laura Zullo (Director of Administration for Pitt's SVC Office of Business & Operations) and Pitt Facilities Management. Final results were presented to the Chancellor's Advisory Council on Sustainability.


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

Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion 32,448 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) 4,234 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
36,682 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity 73,802 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy 16,892 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
90,694 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 Yes 37,142 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting Yes 35,329 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services Yes 729 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 Yes 4,575 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations Yes 1,454 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources Yes 8,918 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
88,147 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

The University of Pittsburgh tracks Scope 3 emissions in the following categories: Directly Financed Outsourced Travel, Study Abroad Air Travel, Employee and Student Commuter Travel, Solid Waste, Wastewater, Purchased Paper, and Transmission & Distribution Losses from Scope 2 Energy Activities.


Has the institution completed an inventory within the previous three years to quantify its air pollutant emissions?:
Yes

Annual weight of emissions for::
Weight of Emissions
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) 11.30 Tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) 0.60 Tons
Carbon monoxide (CO) 4.90 Tons
Particulate matter (PM) 0.30 Tons
Ozone (O3) 0 Tons
Lead (Pb) 0 Tons
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) 0.10 Tons
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) 0 Tons
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations 0 Tons

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

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

The University was issued a Title V Major Source Operating Permit on 12/19/13. The permit establishes pollutant limits for boilers, spray booths, and emergency generators. All of the sources have been identified and inventoried. The University submits required semiannual reports as well as annual air emission inventory statements to the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). The emission weights provided above are from the University's Emission Inventory Statement provided to ACHD in March 2020 for calendar year 2019. This section updated by Pitt Environmental Health & Safety on 6/22/20.


Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
76,802 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy (location-based) :
16,892 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Website URL where information about the institution’s emissions inventories is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

EH&S Weight of Emissions from Emission Inventory Report (3/2020) for 2019 reporting year.

FY19 Greenhouse Gas Inventory.


EH&S Weight of Emissions from Emission Inventory Report (3/2020) for 2019 reporting year.

FY19 Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

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.