Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 80.17
Liaison Mike Wilson
Submission Date May 5, 2020

STARS v2.2

University of Victoria
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.15 / 3.00 Gary Bridgens
Director, Maintenance & Operations
Facilities Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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

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:

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
http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/392_2008


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 GHG inventory verification process:

Each year the Climate Action Secretariat (CAS) of the Provincial Government of British Columbia assesses the inventory data and report to ensure that the emissions report meets the legislated requirement of the law. Open communication with and support from CAS is always available to its public service organizations, such as UVic.

In addition, in August 2013, UVic’s 2012 Greenhouse Gas Inventory was audited by an independent auditing firm, Deloitte Canada, 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 GHG inventory verification process:
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Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion 10,408.85 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) 318.92 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
10,727.77 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity 683.15 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
683.15 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
16.52 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:
Yes or No Weight in MTCO2e
Business travel No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services Yes 159.56 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources No 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
159.56 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:

The University of Victoria utilizes the the B.C. provincial government’s online SMARTTool program to track and report on greenhouse gas emissions that stem from paper supplies purchasing, under the “purchased goods and services” category.


Has the institution completed an inventory within the previous three years to quantify its air pollutant emissions?:
Yes

Annual weight of emissions for::
Weight of Emissions
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) 1.13 Tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) 0.00 Tons
Carbon monoxide (CO) 0.64 Tons
Particulate matter (PM) 0.14 Tons
Ozone (O3) 0.00 Tons
Lead (Pb) 0.00 Tons
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) 0.00 Tons
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) 0.00 Tons
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations 0.00 Tons

Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
Yes or No
Major stationary sources Yes
Area sources No
Mobile sources No
Commuting No
Off-site electricity production No

A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:

The university provided nameplate specifications for it boiler systems, documents from stack testing, and recent actual natural gas usage amounts for about three years of operation. The stack testing was performed for a variety of load conditions and measured efficiency, and CO and NOx exhaust concentrations.

The report presents estimated maximum 1-hour and annual emission rates from the existing boilers for the following air pollutants:
• Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)
• Carbon Monoxide (CO)
• Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)

NOTE: These pollutants are the most critical ones emitted by the natural gas boilers. The number below represented as "1e,-05" were not recorded and are entered in place of zero. This was done because the STARS reporting tool would not accept an entry of zero.

UVic’s three primary old boilers and exhaust stacks were decommissioned in Nov-Dec 2019, and have been replaced with a more energy efficient and cleaner quality three-boiler system that is now connected to the university’s District Energy System (DES). The DES has been fully on-line since Dec 2019; therefore, air quality results for this STARS reporting period refer to the old boiler system.


Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
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Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy (location-based) :
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Website URL where information about the institution’s emissions inventories is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

No specific steps have been taken to minimize pollutants from stationary sources, as our natural gas fueled boiler system used to heat most of campus produces relatively few air pollutants, and the generators are only used in emergencies. The campus Integrated Energy Master Plan provides a framework for the use and review of energy sources used in building operations.


No specific steps have been taken to minimize pollutants from stationary sources, as our natural gas fueled boiler system used to heat most of campus produces relatively few air pollutants, and the generators are only used in emergencies. The campus Integrated Energy Master Plan provides a framework for the use and review of energy sources used in building operations.

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.