| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 71.21 |
| Liaison | Lisa Noriega |
| Submission Date | June 29, 2022 |
Yale University
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.67 / 3.00 |
Lindsay
Crum Chief Manager for Sustainability Operations & Strategic Data Yale Office of Sustainability |
Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory within the previous three years that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
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:
Yale began reporting on its GHG emissions in 2005, when it set a goal to reduce emissions by 43% from 2005 levels by 2020. These emissions were defined as purchased electricity that passes through Yale's Central Power Plant, Sterling Power Plant, and Central Campus Chiller Plant, along with all gas and oil that is consumed by Yale's Central Power Plant and Sterling Power Plant. We achieved this goal in 2020.
In 2014, Yale also began reporting its GHG emissions to The Climate Registry (TCR), using TCR's General Reporting Protocol. We started reporting exclusively through TCR once we achieved our original 2005-2020 goal, and now are measuring our 2050 goal against a 2015 baseline (with an interim goal in 2035). Emissions are quantified using standardized methodologies, and are consistent with the World Resources Institute's Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard, which is recognized as an international best practice. We also follow WRI's Scope 3 Protocol.
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 GHG inventory verification process:
Our inventory has been verified following The Climate Registry's General Verification Protocol, which can be found here: https://www.theclimateregistry.org/tools-resources/verification/general-verification-protocol/
Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Stationary combustion |
183,930
Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Date Revised: March 3, 2023
|
| Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) | 5,980 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year (market-based):
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Imported electricity |
30,506
Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Date Revised: March 3, 2023
|
| Imported thermal energy | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
Gross GHG emissions from biogenic sources, performance year:
Does the GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from the following sources?:
| Yes or No | Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Business travel | Yes | 122 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Commuting | Yes | 20,437 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Purchased goods and services | Yes | 164,766 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Capital goods | Yes | 98,120 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | Yes | 55,628 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Waste generated in operations | Yes | 1,910 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources | No | --- |
Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
Commuting data comes from our bi-annual transportation survey; purchased goods & services and capital goods data comes from spend data from our procurement department; FERA data comes from our scope 1 and 2 data; waste data is weight-based and comes from scales on trucks picking up the waste; business travel data comes from a combination of spend data (from trip reimbursements) and data from Egencia (our travel booking website).
Has the institution completed an inventory within the previous three years to quantify its air pollutant emissions?:
Annual weight of emissions for::
| Weight of Emissions | |
| Nitrogen oxides (NOx) | 15 Tons |
| Sulfur oxides (SOx) | 4.37 Tons |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 6.60 Tons |
| Particulate matter (PM) | 6.80 Tons |
| Ozone (O3) | 0 Tons |
| Lead (Pb) | 0 Tons |
| Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) | 0 Tons |
| Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) | 0 Tons |
| Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations | 10.40 Tons |
Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
| Yes or No | |
| Major stationary sources | Yes |
| Area sources | No |
| Mobile sources | No |
| Commuting | No |
| Off-site electricity production | No |
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
The reported emissions of criteria air pollutants are calculated based upon using the best available method for each emission source and each pollutant. We have NOx CEMS (Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems) on 10 of our Powerplant units (4 Turbines, 3 Boilers and 3 Generators). CEMS are certified emissions measurement systems that have daily calibration tests and quarterly QA/QC requirements. For the other pollutants for the same Powerplant units we use fuel usage multiplied by an emission factor. We also have some Boilers that do not require CEMS so we use their fuel usage for NOx and the other pollutants. For the emission factors, if we have recent test data we will use that for the emission factors. If we do not have test data we use emission factors published in EPA AP-42 documents. For emergency generators we may not have fuel usage so we use runtime and multiply that by the maximum firing rate to get fuel usage. This may overstate fuel usage a bit, but these units run very little so this is acceptable. Then we use either manufacturer’s published emission test data or EPA AP-42.
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:
Date Revised: March 3, 2023
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Ozone, lead, hazardous air pollutants, and ozone-depleting compounds not available. The hospital is not included in the numbers above in order to align with the boundary Yale uses for STARS, although it is included in the inventory that Yale submits to The Climate Registry.
Ozone, lead, hazardous air pollutants, and ozone-depleting compounds not available. The hospital is not included in the numbers above in order to align with the boundary Yale uses for STARS, although it is included in the inventory that Yale submits to The Climate Registry.
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.