The University of Texas at Dallas
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.41 / 8.00 |
Gary
Cocke Sustainability Director Office of Sustainability |
Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion | 20,740.06 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 16,946.17 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 285.59 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 391.70 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity | 40,459 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 55,614.67 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 | 61,484.65 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 72,952.54 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased | 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 storage from on-site composting | 11.21 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 8.80 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 | 11.21 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 8.80 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
A brief description of the carbon sinks, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):
UT Dallas composts all pre consumer and post consumer food waste from the university Dining Hall and composts landscape trimmings. UTD also makes compost service available to all students, faculty, and staff through the Comet Composting program.
Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Adjusted net GHG emissions | 61,473.44 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 72,943.74 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 | Sept. 1, 2020 | July 1, 2016 |
| End date | Aug. 31, 2021 | June 30, 2017 |
A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
The GHG emissions baseline was adopted because that is the first year in which the university began creating inventories of GHG emissions.
Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 5,154 | 4,768 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 24,954 | 24,028 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 3,450 | 3,322.94 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 54 | 588 |
| Weighted Campus Users | 22,551 | 21,264.21 |
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 | 2.73 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 3.43 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 | 877,345.89 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 0 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space | 0 Square feet |
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:
The University has continued over the past 3 years to work on both changes in infrastructure and behavior change programs in order to reduce GHG emissions.
In 2020, construction was completed on the new Sciences Building [SCI], which is LEED Gold certified and has 187,237 gross sq. feet. 70% of the waste generated by construction and the demolition of the previous building on the site was recycled, 20% of the building's materials were recycled materials, and over 40% of the construction materials were sourced from within 500 miles of UTD in order to reduce transportation emissions.
The university has also invested in retrofitting existing lighting to be LED. As non-LEDs go out, they are replaced with LEDs. Currently, all lights that must remain continuously on, are LEDs, and the university has a policy mandating that all new exterior lighting be LED.
The university has continued to utilize and maintain photovoltaic panels on campus, including on Parking Structure 1, at UTD's Research and Operations Center, and on Engineering and Computer Science North. These panels total 232.2 Kw with the majority on PS1, which is a net-zero energy building. In addition, the Student Services Building uses solar thermal panels to heat the building's water. Since UTD's imported electricity is a grid mix of sources, these solar installations on campus increase the amount of renewable energy utilized.
Since 2019, the university has added 4 new EV chargers to campus, bringing the total to 12. All of the new chargers are level 2. These will help encourage commuters to adopt electric vehicles are reduce our scope 3 emissions.
The university utilizes single-stream recycling throughout campus and recycling bins are located next to most trash bins. Recycling related behavior change is especially encouraged during Campus Race to Zero Waste, which UTD participates in every January through April. During this university-wide event, UTD competes with other universities to produce the least waste and divert as much as possible to compost and recycling. As part of this event, the Office of Sustainability holds several events focussed on reducing, reusing, and recycling and actively promotes recycling on various media platforms. One of the most popular events every year is Mount Trashmore, which are two piles of trash and recycling that represent one day's worth of campus waste. The event includes education about recycling by Sustainability employees and student engagement opportunities.
Special recycling streams are also used on campus. These include batteries, cardboard, clothing, shoes, electronics, metal, nitrile gloves, plastic film, printer cartridges and toner, confidential paper documents, laboratory glass, and disposable face-masks. Battery drop-off points are the most widely available and multiple are located in most academic buildings. Printer cartridge recycling is located in most copier rooms. Temporary face-mask recycling drop-off points were deployed at several core buildings during the pandemic, with one permanent drop-off location at Facilities.
The university continued over the past three years with a composting program for residents, landscaping, and dining services.
Behavior change initiatives include: Earth Week programming, AASHE Sustainability month, Bicycle Friendly University program, Green Office Certification, and Sustainable Labs.
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:
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.