Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 58.54
Liaison Jay Price
Submission Date March 2, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Tennessee at Knoxville
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.70 / 10.00 Preston Jacobsen
Sustainability Manager
Facilities Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions?:
Yes

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Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 3 GHG emissions from any of the following categories?:
Yes or No
Business travel Yes
Commuting Yes
Purchased goods and services Yes
Capital goods No
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 Yes
Waste generated in operations Yes

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Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from other categories?:
Yes

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A brief description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory:
The Campus Carbon Calculator is a tool that helps organizations determine how much they are contributing to global climate change and better manage their GHG emissions. It is an MS Excel-based spreadsheet tool that provides procedural protocols and framework for investigation of campus GHG emissions.

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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

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A brief description of the internal and/or external verification process:
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Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 74,340.20 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 61,186 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 3,580.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 6,121 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 129,947.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 135,183 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets::
Performance Year Baseline Year
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 1 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon storage from on-site composting 336 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 38 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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A brief description of the institution-catalyzed carbon offsets program:
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A brief description of the carbon sequestration program and reporting protocol used:
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A brief description of the composting and carbon storage program:
Food waste is collected from all campus dining locations and select buildings and taken to our composting facility off Cherokee Trail. Once there, the food waste is combined with wood chips and separated into long piles called windrows. The windrows allow the wastes to biodegrade aerobically, which is faster and reduces the potential for methane production. Periodically, the windrows are turned and watered to manage temperature and biodegredation.

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A brief description of the purchased carbon offsets, including third party verifier(s) and contract timeframes:
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Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 7,213 6,817
Number of residential employees 0 0
Number of in-patient hospital beds 581 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 25,263.60 24,998.80
Full-time equivalent of employees 7,333 8,096
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 673 0

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Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2014 June 30, 2015
Baseline Year July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008

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A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
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Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
15,495,697 Square feet

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Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 1,041,465 Square feet
Healthcare space 114,575 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 225,477 Square feet

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Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year::
Emissions
Business travel 12,313.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 27,294 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services 189.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 8,559.80 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations 7,179.90 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories (please specify below) 2,267.40 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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A brief description of the sources included in Scope 3 GHG emissions from "other categories":
Study Abroad Air Travel

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A copy of the most recent GHG emissions inventory:
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The website URL where the GHG emissions inventory is posted:
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A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:
The University officially burned their last piece of coal in the on-site steam plant April 2015 and completely switched to natural gas. The Student Environmental Initiative Fee has also funded a "Photovoltaic Revolving Fund" to sponsor more solar panels on campus along with a "Green Revolving Fund" to support retrofit and energy reduction initiatives. The Office of Sustainability has also managed many energy reduction campaigns to help educate students, staff, and faculty on why and how they should reduce their use of water, waste and electricity as well as recycle more.

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.