Overall Rating	Platinum
Overall Score	85.74
Liaison	Mike Wilson
Submission Date	Dec. 13, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Victoria
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	8.00 / 8.00	David Adams Energy Manager Facilities Management

"---" 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	10,882 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	13,139.21 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources	292 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	274.29 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity	693 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	1,719.36 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	11,867 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	15,132.86 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Carbon sinks

Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased	11,932 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 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	11,932 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	15,334.06 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):

Offset projects are procured through the Provincial 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 2022 year the VERs for 14 offset projects were purchased and retired. The projects fit into 4 categories, Fuel Switching, Energy Efficiency, and Sequestration, and GHG Destruction. Approximately 648,933 tonnes of CO2e was retired in association with these projects.

More Info for the projects can be found here (Table 3, p. 9):
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/climate-change/cng/yir/2022_cng_year_in_review_summary.pdf

Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 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	Jan. 1, 2022	Jan. 1, 2010
End date	Dec. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2010

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

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 Provincial Government of British Columbia for all public sector organizations. It is also the first year the university purchased third-party verified offsets.

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	3,095	2,240
Number of employees resident on-site	0	0
Number of other individuals resident on-site	84	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	19,148	16,975
Full-time equivalent of employees	4,019	4,982
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	2,530	1,800
Weighted Campus Users	16,335.50	15,677.75

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	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:

Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area

Performance year floor area

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:

4,363,633.73 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:

	Floor area
Laboratory space	189,276.97 Square feet
Healthcare space	9,466.64 Square feet
Other energy intensive space	78,216 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:

4,839,336.95 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 MtCO2e per square foot

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:

The University of Victoria (UVic) is actively working to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through a variety of initiatives:

1. Emission Levels: In 2022, UVic reported GHG emissions that were below 2010 levels. However, offsetable emissions increased by 6%, primarily due to a return to pre-pandemic campus operations and the opening of new student housing and a dining hall (Cheko’nien House).
2. Climate and Sustainability Action Plan: UVic launched a new Climate and Sustainability Action Plan (2030) in Fall 2022, which covers various domains, including Academics, Research, Indigenous, External Relations, and Operations.
3. Building Emissions: Building operations remain the largest contributor to UVic's GHG emissions. UVic is actively exploring ways to reduce emissions, such as adopting Energy Star Portfolio Manager for benchmarking and monitoring, engaging with UVic Properties for building emission reductions, and implementing low-carbon energy sources.
4. Passive House Standards: UVic's commitment to sustainability is demonstrated through projects like the new student housing and dining facilities designed to meet Passive House and LEED V4 Gold standards, resulting in lower carbon emissions and energy efficiency.
5. Climate Resilience: UVic is addressing climate resilience by incorporating electrified HVAC equipment, stormwater management features, low-flow plumbing, native tree planting, and designing buildings for thermal comfort in future climate scenarios.
6. Future Initiatives: UVic plans to conduct a climate risk assessment for the campus, develop buildings and infrastructure that consider climate change impacts, and explore decarbonization strategies for energy-efficient upgrades.
7. Sustainability Initiatives: UVic promotes behavior change and staff engagement through programs like the Staff Sustainability Network, supports the ECO Box Program to reduce landfill waste, and focuses on GHG reporting process improvements and systematic change to embed energy conservation principles.

UVic's overall goal is to achieve a 50% reduction in campus operations emissions below the 2010 baseline and reach Net Zero for campus operations by 2040, while addressing the challenges posed by climate change and sustainability across various aspects of the institution.

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

https://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/resources/reports/index.php

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

UVic keeps record of ever CCAR report annually, located here: https://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/resources/reports/index.php

2022 Climate Change Accountability Report (online PDF): https://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/assets/docs/reports/ccar2022.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.