| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 73.80 |
| Liaison | Corey Peterson |
| Submission Date | June 2, 2022 |
University of Tasmania
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
8.00 / 8.00 |
Sustainability
Team UTAS Infrastructure Services and Development |
Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion | 2,751 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 2,512 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 2,668 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 1,777 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity | 5,502 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 7,647.21 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 | 10,921 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 11,936.21 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased | 27,246 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 | 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 | 27,246 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
A brief description of the carbon sinks, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):
Biodiverse Carbon, acting on behalf of the University of Tasmania, completed the surrender (extinguishment) of carbon offsets, as verified carbon credits, to offset its 2021 calendar year greenhouse gas emissions in order to maintain carbon neutral certification under the Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard in April 2022. Additional offsets were retired and banked for future use.
The surrendered carbon credits comprise a mix of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated under the Australian Emissions Reduction Fund (Carbon Farming Initiative) and Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) generated under the Verified Carbon Standard. All of the credit types included are compliant with the (Australian) Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard.
Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Adjusted net GHG emissions | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 11,936.21 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Start date | Jan. 1, 2021 | Jan. 1, 2015 |
| End date | Dec. 31, 2021 | Dec. 31, 2015 |
A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 1,241 | 908.58 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 0 | 0.67 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0.58 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 17,659 | 15,500.97 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 2,895 | 2,743.76 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 6,216 | 3,648.29 |
| Weighted Campus Users | 11,063.75 | 11,175.22 |
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 | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 1.07 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
| Floor area | |
| Laboratory space | 15,258 Square meters |
| Healthcare space | 0 Square meters |
| Other energy intensive space | 27,358 Square meters |
EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:
Examples of emissions reduction strategies in place at the University of Tasmania include:
• On-site renewable energy production (solar photovoltaic)
• Reduced embodied carbon in newly constructed buildings (minimum 20% reduction compared to a reference building, but 32% projected in two buildings currently under construction).
• Energy efficiency initiatives (e.g., performance contracts, building management and control systems upgrades, equipment upgrades, fuel source replacement)
• Sustainable transport infrastructure and service improvements
• Business travel decrease initiatives (‘virtual transport’)
• Vehicle fleet management (including 3 all-electric in 2021 and aiming for 100% all-electric passenger vehicles in 2024)
• Furniture and IT equipment re-use programs
• Paper and toner use reduction initiatives (MyPrint, virtualisation)
• Engagement initiatives such as: challenges, competitions and displays; annual building level energy reporting; holiday shutdown; green Impact staff engagement program
See UTAS Public Disclosure Summaries in Department of Environment and Energy website for more details: https://www.climateactive.org.au/buy-climate-active/certified-members/university-tasmania
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:
All data for emissions are taken from the UTAS Greenhouse Gas Inventories 2015 and 2021, except market-based scope 2 emissions from electricity. Market-based scope 2 emissions for those years were calculated as total supply through the meter minus number of Large Generation Certificates (LGCs) purchased and cancelled by electricity providers (assumed to be the minimum required by the Clean Energy Regulator, Australian Government) for the reported year. In the absence of a more specific emission factor, the location-based method emission factor was applied to the residual mix, following the Greenhouse Gas Protocol guidelines. Location emissions factors sourced from Australian National Greenhouse Accounts (Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources).
All data for emissions are taken from the UTAS Greenhouse Gas Inventories 2015 and 2021, except market-based scope 2 emissions from electricity. Market-based scope 2 emissions for those years were calculated as total supply through the meter minus number of Large Generation Certificates (LGCs) purchased and cancelled by electricity providers (assumed to be the minimum required by the Clean Energy Regulator, Australian Government) for the reported year. In the absence of a more specific emission factor, the location-based method emission factor was applied to the residual mix, following the Greenhouse Gas Protocol guidelines. Location emissions factors sourced from Australian National Greenhouse Accounts (Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources).
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.