Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	70.92
Liaison	Amy Brunvand
Submission Date	Sept. 12, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Utah
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	4.71 / 8.00	Emerson Andrews Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund Manager Sustainability Office

"---" 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	89,628.79 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	105,354.29 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources	7,791.49 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	5,585.14 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity	32,458.74 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	100,276.88 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	129,879.02 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	211,216.31 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	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	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 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):

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Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions	129,879.02 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	211,216.31 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, 2021	Jan. 1, 2010
End date	June 30, 2022	Dec. 31, 2010

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

2010 was selected as baseline year, it was the performance year from our 2011 STARS report and the baseline year from the 2017 STARS report.

We considered using the original baseline year from our first STARS submittal (2005), but those figures had been established by trend-line from 2007-2009 data (as was required in STARS 1.0). We did not feel the information was accurate enough to be used moving forward. All future STARS reporting will use 2010 baseline information.

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	4,278	3,558
Number of employees resident on-site	110	156
Number of other individuals resident on-site	816	2,222
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	30,166	29,456
Full-time equivalent of employees	22,765	15,319
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	3,929	355
Weighted Campus Users	38,664.50	36,465.50

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	3.36 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	5.79 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

42.01

Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area

Performance year floor area

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:

16,966,106 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:

	Floor area
Laboratory space	2,156,378 Square feet
Healthcare space	2,469,429 Square feet
Other energy intensive space	435,775 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:

26,653,495 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 Facilities Sustainability & Energy staff and partners are continuously working to analyze and reduce energy use and accompanying emissions on campus.

Energy use intensity savings have been realized with a focus on operational efficiency, source energy management, and use of increasingly-efficient infrastructure in construction and renovation projects. Zone scheduling, controls optimization, lighting and HVAC system upgrades, the use of analytics to identify and validate failed equipment, and thermostat usage guidelines have all contributed heavily to increased operational efficiency.

In new building and major renovations the university has approved a no new emission policy to reduce the amount of natural gas fired equipment on campus.

Commuting has been reduced through improved telecommuting policies that were in response to COVID19. Shuttle fleet is being transitioned from diesel to NG and electric - new through campus routes will significantly reduce miles traveled to provide the same service.

Since 2019, a large 20MW geothermal power purchase agreement with Cyrq Energy began delivering renewable energy and more than half of the University's electricity became sourced from renewables. This purchase is responsible for lowering our Scope 2 emissions. The University is also contracted with a 20 MW solar facility that is currently under construction.

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

http://sustainability.utah.edu/

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

BUILDING SQUARE FOOTAGE
Data about campus facilities comes from Space Planning master building list and filtered for performance year and building type. Buildings not included were unconditioned (parking structures, etc.) The institutional boundary excludes buildings and properties that are not included in campus planning tools available from Facilities Management, not under the University’s operational control, and/or energy systems billing are not maintained by Facilities Management.

SCOPE 3 GHG EMISSIONS:
"Business Travel" field includes emissions from Directly Financed Air Travel through the university Travel Office. "Other Sources" field includes Scope 3 Transportation & Distribution Losses.

NUMBER OF OTHER INDIVIDUALS
Includes hospital beds + family members in Administrative Services Apartments.

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.