Overall Rating	Silver
Overall Score	61.63
Liaison	Leslie North
Submission Date	March 1, 2024

STARS v2.2

Western Kentucky University
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	2.85 / 8.00	Madeline Petty Graduate Assistant Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences

"---" 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	10,837.54 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	13,276 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources	2,016.47 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	1,671 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity	22,829.37 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	26,471 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	35,683.38 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	41,418 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Carbon sinks

Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased	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 storage from on-site composting	38 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	38 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 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):

In 2017, WKU began a collaborative effort with WKU Dining Services to compost food scraps from campus. This program allows us to reduce WKU's footprint at the landfill as part of a campus sustainability initiative.

Carbon is sequestered through our food waste composting operations. WKU also manages a 1,500 acre nature preserve that serves as a natural sequestration space, but the trees on that land have not been formally inventoried for their sequestration potential.

Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions	35,645.38 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	41,418 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	July 1, 2022	July 1, 2008
End date	June 30, 2023	June 30, 2009

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

A limited inventory was conducted in 2008/2009. However, a more comprehensive inventory (current baseline) began in 2010/2011. A full inventory was created in 2014/2015, which allowed for tracking of progress and informed action. We have maintained new inventories since fall 2019.

Due to the limited inventory available from 2008-09, the GHG inventory per person may be perceived to have increased in the performance year 2022-23, when this may not be the case.

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	4,417	4,393
Number of employees resident on-site	21	30
Number of other individuals resident on-site	0	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	12,256	15,951
Full-time equivalent of employees	1,991.33	2,453
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	1,638.70	500
Weighted Campus Users	10,565.97	14,533.75

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	3.37 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	2.85 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:

5,764,345 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:

	Floor area
Laboratory space	171,264 Square feet
Healthcare space	23,153 Square feet
Other energy intensive space	70,598 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:

6,223,777 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:

0.01 MtCO2e per square foot

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

---

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

https://www.wku.edu/facilities/plant_operations.php

Additional documentation to support the submission:

---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

WKU generates its own steam and chilled water using natural gas and purchased electricity, thus there are no emissions from imported thermal energy.

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.