Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.76
Liaison Eric Meliton
Submission Date Jan. 16, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Wilfrid Laurier University
OP-2: Outdoor Air Quality

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Geoff Schwarz
Occupational Hygienist & Environmental Health and Safety Specialist
Safety, Health, Environment & Risk Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have policies and/or guidelines in place to improve outdoor air quality and minimize air pollutant emissions from mobile sources on campus?:
Yes

A brief description of the policies and/or guidelines to improve outdoor air quality and minimize air pollutant emissions from mobile sources:

Facilities and Asset Management Vehicle and Equipment Anti-Idling Operating Procedure:

The purpose of the Vehicle and Equipment Anti-Idling Operating Procedure is to establish guidelines for eliminating unnecessary idling of University owned/leased vehicles and equipment.
The University is committed to sustainability; limiting idling promotes resource conservation, reduces air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and contributes to a healthier work environment.
Limiting vehicle and equipment idling will also assist with the reduction of fuel related costs, vehicle/equipment maintenance, and help to maintain the security of University property.

Additionally, Laurier encourages a reduction in emissions from mobile sources through encouraging students and faculty to carpool, bike, and bus rather than driving individually.
Laurier is an organizational member of the Region of Waterloo's TravelWise program. As such, all Laurier students are able to access the private Laurier Student Carpool Network, search for a carpool partner who's daily commute matches your own, and then connect with them online to see if it's a good fit before you decide to carpool. You can also log commuting trips to see their environmental impact and cost savings, and win prizes through regular competitions and challenges.
Students from all Laurier campuses can also join the private Facebook group Travel Buddies to search for other Laurier students travelling between campuses or popular destinations (e.g. Toronto).

Furthermore, Laurier's Sustainability Office, in partnership with Community Access Bikeshare (CAB), unveiled the first on-campus bike sharing station in the region in 2015. The initiative hopes to provide affordable access to bicycles as alternative transportation for students. Currently, Laurier is transitioning to a new bikeshare program with DropBike.
There is also no more need to own a car! Laurier has a Community CarShare vehicle located directly on campus (near Alumni Field), which uses a 24 hour online registration system. There are also a number of vehicles located nearby campus as well.

Lastly, Laurier’s 2018 – 2022 Action Plan outlines specific goals in the area of transportation that will reduce mobile emissions. In particular, Laurier will work to fill in gaps and expand services to include electric vehicle options, carpool, and bike share across all campuses, pilot electric and hybrid vehicles in department fleets towards widespread use in the future, and embed fleet management systems that address anti-idling and route optimization.


Has the institution completed an inventory of significant air emissions from stationary campus sources or else verified that no such emissions are produced?:
Yes

Weight of the following categories of air emissions from stationary sources::
Weight of Emissions
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) 66.23 Metric tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) 0 Metric tons
Carbon monoxide (CO) 0 Metric tons
Particulate matter (PM) 5.87 Metric tons
Ozone (O3) 0 Metric tons
Lead (Pb) 0 Metric tons
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) 28.82 Metric tons
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) 0 Metric tons
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations 0 Metric tons

A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:

In 2013 the University was issued an Environmental Compliance Approval with Limited Operational Flexibility. Each year since, the facility prepares and completes the following documents by no later than August 15 of each year which describes the activities undertaken in the previous calendar year:
a) A list of all Compounds of Concern (CofCs) for which a Maximum Concentration Level Assessment (MCLA) was submitted to the Director for review by the Air Standards Manager;
b) If the company has modified the facility and was not required to submit an MCLA with respect to a CofC, a list and concentration level of all such CofCs;
c) A review of any changes to Ministry Point of Impingement (POI) limits that affect any CofCs emitted from the facility;
d) A table of the changes in the emission rate of any CofC and the resultant increase or decrease in the POI concentration reported in the ESDM Report.
In addition, as per Condition 5.1 of this ECA, the facility is required to submit the following documents tothe Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) by no later than August 15 of each year:
a) A declaration that the facility was in compliance with section 9 of the EPA, O.Reg.419/05 and the conditions of their ECA;
b) A summary of each modification that took place in the previous calendar year that resulted in a change in the previously calculated concentration at the POI for any CofC or resulted in a change in the sound levels reported in the Acoustic Assessment Summary Table at any point of reception.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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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.