Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 53.92
Liaison Mat Thijssen
Submission Date Oct. 26, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Waterloo
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.67 / 3.00 Mat Thijssen
Sustainability Manager
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Greenhouse gas emissions inventory

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:
The University of Waterloo uses the following methodology to develop its emissions inventory:
Scope 1:
o Natural Gas: Waterloo calculates natural gas emissions by summing all monthly consumption from invoices for all campuses from fuel service providers, and multiplying the number of total metres cubed of natural gas by the emissions factors listed for Ontario as part of Canada’s annual National Inventory Report to the UNFCCC (1.898311 kgCO2-e per cubic metre of natural gas)
o Fleet fuel: Waterloo calculates fleet fuel use using a total volume of all delivered fuel to the campus from fuel service providers, and multiplying the total number of litres by emissions factors listed as part of Canada’s annual National Inventory Report to the UNFCCC based on fuel type (Diesel = 2.740728 kgCO2-e per litre; Gasoline = 2.316750 kgCO2-e per litre)
Scope 2:
o Electricity: Waterloo calculates electricity emissions by summing all monthly consumption data from invoices for all campuses from local electricity distributors, and multiplying the total electricity consumption by emission factors as listed for Ontario as part of Canada’s annual National Inventory Report to the UNFCCC (0.036 kgCO2-e per kWh). It should be noted that Ontario reports trued emission factors for the period three years previous, and an estimate for the period two years previous. Waterloo extrapolates the estimate (in this case for 2019) onto its annual reporting for the previous year and adjusts as necessary in future years.

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?:
No

A brief description of the GHG inventory verification process:
---

Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
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Scope 1 GHG emissions
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Weight in MTCO2e
Stationary combustion 38,057 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) 497 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
38,554 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 2 GHG emissions
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
Weight in MTCO2e
Imported electricity 4,002 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Imported thermal energy 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
4,002 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

GHG emissions from biomass combustion
Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Scope 3 GHG emissions
Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:
Yes or No Weight in MTCO2e
Business travel Yes 264 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting Yes 10,800 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services No ---
Capital goods No ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 Yes 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations Yes 557 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other sources No ---

Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
11,621 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
Business travel: Waterloo includes mileage claims paid out for University employees within its emissions calculations. These are calculated using the data collected through Waterloo’s expense claim system and dividing by the designated mileage claim of $0.45 per kilometer. The total annual kilometer rate is then multiplied by emissions factors provided by Sustainable Waterloo Region for an unknown vehicle type (0.21378kgCO2-e per km). Sufficient data to calculate emissions from university-paid airfare is not currently available.
Transmission and Distribution Emissions: Waterloo calculates emissions from transmission and distribution losses by taking the difference between consumption and generation emission factors and multiplying it by total annual energy consumption. As with electricity emissions, Ontario provides an estimate for two years previous, which Waterloo extrapolates onto its performance year (0.00 kgCO2-e per kWh effective 2020)
 Waste: Waterloo collects annual tonnage of waste sent to landfill from its waste haulers, and multiplies the total by waste emission factors calculated by the Region of Waterloo based on a previous study of the local landfill. (0.19 kgCO2-e per kilogram of waste)
Commuting: Waterloo collects information on employee and student commuting as part of a biennial travel survey facilitated through the Region of Waterloo TravelWise program. The surveys data, including modeshare, distances to campus, vehicle information, and frequency of travel to campus, is then used to extrapolate a calculation for commuting emissions by various sources – single occupancy vehicle, carpooling, and transit, for example.

Part 2. Air pollutant emissions inventory

Has the institution completed an inventory within the previous three years to quantify its air pollutant emissions?:
No

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

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

None
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
---

Optional Fields

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity (location-based):
---

Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy (location-based) :
---

Website URL where information about the institution’s emissions inventories is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Waterloo's annual sustainability report provides a summary and description of the emissions inventory. The full inventory is in web format which is referenced above and below, including emission sources, emission factors, intensities, methodologies, and downloadable open data.

https://uwaterloo.ca/sustainability/about/reporting/climate-and-energy-data

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.