| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.65 |
| Liaison | John Gardner |
| Submission Date | Nov. 27, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
6.23 / 10.00 |
John
Gardner Sustainability Planning & Policy Analyst Office of Sustainability |
Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
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 | Some |
| Commuting | All |
| Purchased goods and services | Some |
| Capital goods | None |
| Waste generated in operations | All |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | All |
| Other categories | Some |
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:
UW-Milwaukee has used SIMAP since its inception and the the Clean Air Cool Plant excel calculator tool for GHG emissions in 2012 and 2015. The most up-to-date FY2018 data is used for this submission.
UWM accounted for Commuting emissions using a detailed transportation survey that is sent out every 3 years. Prof. Robert J. Schneider (Associate Professor in Urban Planning) and Josie Willman (Masters Student in Urban Planning) synthesized the results of the Transportation Survey in order to break down trips to campus by mode, mileage, etc. All data was then distilled by Office of Sustainability Staff into the format SIMAP uses.
"Some" Business Travel emissions at UWM were accounted for by focusing on trips taken by athletic teams during the Fiscal Year (UWM used a simple model to compute emissions from these trips; mode of travel for all away games was delineated (bus, airplane) and then round-trip mileage computed, assuming all team members were on one flight--These emissions show up in the Annual Report under "Directly Financed Air Travel" and "Other Directly Financed Travel").
"Some" emissions from Purchased Goods and Services were included by estimating emissions from office paper purchases on campus (this shows up as "Paper Purchasing" in the inventory).
All waste generated in operations is accounted for in the inventory under the "Solid Waste" line. Because all waste goes to landfills which employ CH4 recovery and electric generation, the total for over 2,000 short tons of solid waste is a negative number (surprising).
"All" Fuel and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 are calculated by SIMAP through Transmission and Distribution losses (Line "T&D Losses").
Emissions calculated under the "Other categories" include emissions estimations from student study abroad air travel (not funded by the university). This is included under the line "Study Abroad Air Travel."
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?:
A brief description of the internal and/or external verification process:
Verification was provided by UNH staff for all scopes and yearly verification of Scope 1 and 2 emissions are conducted by third-party verifiers through UWM's participation in Second Nature's Carbon Credit Purchasing Program.
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):
Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion | 28,441 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 35,247 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 355 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 220 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity | 26,505 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 59,154 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources | 1,619 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 444 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Total | 56,920 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 95,065 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 | July 1, 2017 | June 30, 2018 |
| Baseline Year | July 1, 2007 | June 30, 2008 |
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):
The baseline was adopted to remain consistent with baselines for energy consumption and water use (FY2008).
Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased (exclude purchased RECs/GOs) | 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 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 | 10.30 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 | 10.30 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 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):
No offsets have been purchased by UWM. On-site composting totals are reported monthly and totaled each year before running through SIMAP to output the carbon storage from on-site composting.
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 | 56,909.70 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 95,065 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 3,938 | 3,622 |
| 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 | 21,302.90 | 23,402 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) | 3,142.20 | 3,172 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 0 | 0 |
| Weighted campus users | 19,318.33 | 20,836 |
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 | 2.95 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 4.56 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
| Floor Area | |
| Laboratory space | 820,040 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 17,617 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space | 0 Square feet |
EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
| Emissions | |
| Business travel | 28 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Commuting | 33,371 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Purchased goods and services | 191 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Capital goods | --- |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | 1,322 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Waste generated in operations | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other categories | 1,142 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:
After conducting substantial Performance Contracting between 2010-2014, UWM has sought means of financing and implementing additional energy efficiency measures to stay on top of gains previously made. Initiatives include LED change-outs as well as retrocommissioning work.
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:
For the discrepancies between IC-3 and OP-1 (for number of residential students, full-time equivalent enrollment, and full-time equivalent of employees), the difference is that IC-3 is updated with FY2019 numbers and OP-1 includes FY2018 numbers. IC-3 includes FY19 numbers for several reasons: it is the most up-to-date information we have, our Research and Curriculum assessments were for FY19, and a number of additional credits included FY19 details to be as up-to-date as possible (submittal every 3 years). At the time of submission, the most up-to-date information we have regarding resource consumption (waste, water, GHG, building energy consumption) is FY18. GSF data did not change between FY18 and FY19.
Although SIMAP number for Waste Generated in Operations was a negative number, was not able to enter as a negative number in the Optional Field above and left as "0."
For the discrepancies between IC-3 and OP-1 (for number of residential students, full-time equivalent enrollment, and full-time equivalent of employees), the difference is that IC-3 is updated with FY2019 numbers and OP-1 includes FY2018 numbers. IC-3 includes FY19 numbers for several reasons: it is the most up-to-date information we have, our Research and Curriculum assessments were for FY19, and a number of additional credits included FY19 details to be as up-to-date as possible (submittal every 3 years). At the time of submission, the most up-to-date information we have regarding resource consumption (waste, water, GHG, building energy consumption) is FY18. GSF data did not change between FY18 and FY19.
Although SIMAP number for Waste Generated in Operations was a negative number, was not able to enter as a negative number in the Optional Field above and left as "0."
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.