| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.74 |
| Liaison | Justin Owen |
| Submission Date | July 22, 2024 |
Weber State University
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
5.30 / 8.00 |
Jennifer
Bodine Sustainability Specialist Facilities Management |
Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions
Gross GHG emissions
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion | 5,400.95 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 9,619.64 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 1,597.49 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 738.67 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity | 6,935.73 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 14,994.65 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 | 13,934.17 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 25,352.96 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Carbon sinks
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased | 689 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 storage from on-site composting | 7.96 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Carbon storage from non-additional sequestration | 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 | 696.96 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
If total performance year carbon sinks are greater than zero, provide:
WSU composts food and green waste. Green waste is composted at the Wasatch Integrated Waste Management Facility and food waste is composted at the Wasatch Resource Recovery center in North Salt Lake.
WSU also annually purchases carbon offsets with donations from faculty, staff, and students who seek to offset their commuting carbon footprint. In FY 23, WSU purchased 689 MTCO2e from the Dempsey Wind Project which utilizes the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). Further information about this program and project can be found here: https://www.weber.edu/sustainability/footprint.html
Adjusted net GHG emissions
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Adjusted net GHG emissions | 13,237.21 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 25,352.96 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Performance and baseline periods
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Start date | July 1, 2022 | July 1, 2006 |
| End date | June 30, 2023 | June 30, 2007 |
A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
FY 2007 is the year that WSU became an ACUPCC signatory and made the commitment to become a carbon neutral campus. This is the year we have used as our baseline for all of our ACUPCC reports and all internal reporting.
Part 1. Reduction in GHG emissions per person
Weighted campus users
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 850 | 475 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 3 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 18,868 | 14,791 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 1,980 | 1,653 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 4,112 | 813 |
| Weighted Campus Users | 12,765.25 | 11,842 |
Metrics used in scoring for Part 1
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user | 1.04 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 2.14 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
Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
| Floor area | |
| Laboratory space | 108,336 Square feet |
| Healthcare space | 3,599 Square feet |
| Other energy intensive space | 38,068 Square feet |
EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
Metric used in scoring for Part 2
A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:
In 2007, Weber State University formalized its dedication to climate action by signing the American
College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment whereby we agreed to eliminate our
emissions and become carbon neutral by the year 2050. Upon signing this commitment, WSU
immediately got to work completing its first greenhouse gas emissions inventory and adopting its
first Climate Action Plan completed in 2009.
WSU’s first projects were largely focused on improving energy efficiency. In 2009, WSU completed
an investment grade audit of its facilities and was one of the first public universities in the U.S. to
establish a green revolving loan fund to finance the implementation of the energy and water saving
projects identified in the audit. The realized utility savings from the implemented projects are used
to pay off the debt and then funds are borrowed again to complete a fresh round of projects.
WSU was also one of the first universities in the Country to create a strategic plan to transition all of its buildings over to all-electric heat-pump based variable refrigerant flow (VRF) mechanical systems. Transitioning WSU’s buildings, vehicles, and equipment over to all-electric versions is allowing the University to reduce (and eventually eliminate) the consumption of fossil fuels and source our energy from renewable sources.
Since 2007, WSU has made significant progress. WSU has transitioned over 30% of its square footage over to highly efficient all-electric VRF mechanical systems with a plan to rennovate the very last building and shut off the last natural gas fueled boiler starting in 2038. WSU has also converted over 12% of its fleet to plug-in hybrid or all-electric vehicles.
WSU has also installed three large groundsource well fields and over 2.5 MW of solar on its campuses with plans to install another 3-4 more groundsource fields, several more MW of solar, and a substation battery back-up system.
Given this progress, WSU updated its Climate Action Plan in 2020 and changed the University's carbon neutrality goal from 2050 to 2040 as we realized we were a decade ahead of schedule and could make that commitment. Please see WSU's latest Climate Action Plan (updated in 2020) which provides progress and strategy details.
Website URL where information about the institution's GHG emissions is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.