Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 76.79
Liaison Mike Wilson
Submission Date Jan. 27, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Victoria
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 9.58 / 10.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
Yes

Does the institution’s GHG emissions inventory include all, some or none of its Scope 3 GHG emissions from the following categories?:
All, Some, or None
Business travel None
Commuting None
Purchased goods and services Some
Capital goods None
Waste generated in operations None
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 None
Other categories None

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, including how the institution accounted for each category of Scope 3 emissions reported above:

UVic is a public sector organization in the Province of British Columbia covered under provincial legislation requiring it to perform an annual greenhouse gas inventory and calculate emissions via the government's online "Smarttool" reporting program. It includes Scope 1 and 2 emissions generated in normal business operations for all properties owned and leased, owned and leased vehicles and boats, as well as Scope 3 emissions from purchased paper. See this link for Carbon Neutral Government Regulation: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/cas/legislation/index.html.


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 internal and/or external verification process:

In August 2013, UVic's 2012 Greenhouse Gas Inventory was audited by an independent auditing firm, Deloitte, on behalf of the provincial government. Auditors performed a verification of data and collection procedures. No significant problems were identified, with only minor items referenced related to data reporting for paper and building name and data list consistency.


Documentation to support the internal and/or external verification process:
---

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 and Part 3 of this credit? (reductions in Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions):
Yes

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 9,605.88 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 13,139.21 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 314.66 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 274.29 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 613.62 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1,719.36 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Total 10,534.16 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 15,132.86 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year Jan. 1, 2015 Dec. 31, 2015
Baseline Year Jan. 1, 2010 Dec. 31, 2010

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted (e.g. in sustainability plans and policies or in the context of other reporting obligations):

2010 was chosen as our baseline year since this was the first year that UVic completed a comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory as per the standardized methodology legislated by the Province of British Columbia for all public sector organizations. It is also the first year the university purchased third-party verified offsets.


Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased (exclude purchased RECs/GOs) 10,694 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 15,334.06 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
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 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 offsets included above for which the emissions reductions have been sold or transferred by the institution 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Net carbon offsets 10,694 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 15,334.06 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the offsets in each category reported above, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):

Offset projects are procured through the Government of British Columbia's Climate Action Secretariat (CAS). In fact, the entire BC Public Sector purchases offsets in the same way, with CAS sourcing verified emission reduction (VER) units and retiring them on the public sectors behalf. For the year in question the VERs for 16 offset project were purchased and retired. The projects fit into 10 categories, Engine Fuel Gas Management, Electrification of Gas Production Plant, Electrification of Gas Processing Plant, Wood Residuals Fuel Switch, Forest Conservation/ Improved Forest Management, Landfill Gas Collection, Clean Tech Biomass Gasification, Landfill Gas Management, Greenhouse Fuel Switch & Energy Curtains, Bus Fuel Efficiency. Approximately 625,000 tonnes of CO2e was retired in association with these projects.

More Info for the projects can be found here:
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/climate-change/reports-data/carbon-neutral-action-reports/yearly-summaries/2015#2015_offset_portfolio


Emissions reductions attributable to Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) or Guarantee of Origin (GO) purchases:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Emissions reductions attributable to REC/GO purchases 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the purchased RECs/GOs including vendor, project source and verification program:
---

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 2,472 2,240
Number of employees resident on-site 0 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 19,068 16,975
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 4,576 4,982
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 842 1,800
Weighted campus users 17,719.50 15,677.75

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 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
0

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
4,274,393 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 39,889.28 Square feet
Healthcare space 0 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 13,121.86 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
4,367,293.42 Gross square feet

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
0 MtCO2e per square foot

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
Emissions
Business travel 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services 159.56 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:
---

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

UVic's primary efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on campus have focused on increasing the energy efficiency of our largest buildings through initiatives such as the replacement lighting with new energy efficient fixtures, the integration of weather predictors into building HVAC systems, the tightening of occupancy schedules to better match occupants' actual schedules and the installation of a variable speed drive in one building's ventilation system. UVic also funded several energy and water savings projects through our revolving sustainability fund and continued to work with building occupants in offices, labs and student residences through a series of ongoing behavior change programs. Together these initiatives resulted in an 31% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions between 2010 and 2015 at the same time our campus population continued to grow and one new campus residence building was opened.
Details are available in our 2015 Carbon Neutral Action Report available here: https://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/assets/docs/reports/cnar15.pdf


UVic's primary efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on campus have focused on increasing the energy efficiency of our largest buildings through initiatives such as the replacement lighting with new energy efficient fixtures, the integration of weather predictors into building HVAC systems, the tightening of occupancy schedules to better match occupants' actual schedules and the installation of a variable speed drive in one building's ventilation system. UVic also funded several energy and water savings projects through our revolving sustainability fund and continued to work with building occupants in offices, labs and student residences through a series of ongoing behavior change programs. Together these initiatives resulted in an 31% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions between 2010 and 2015 at the same time our campus population continued to grow and one new campus residence building was opened.
Details are available in our 2015 Carbon Neutral Action Report available here: https://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/assets/docs/reports/cnar15.pdf

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.