| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.45 |
| Liaison | Keisha Payson |
| Submission Date | May 8, 2024 |
Bowdoin College
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.46 / 3.00 |
Keisha
Payson Sustainability Director Facilities Mgmt |
Part 1. Greenhouse gas emissions inventory
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:
Bowdoin College’s greenhouse gas inventory was completed by collecting activity data from actual utility invoices and metered consumption data with the exception of transmission line losses, airline travel, and employee commute. For Scope 1 and 2 emissions, the College’s financial analyst provided gallons of gasoline purchased, #2 oil purchased, MMbtu of NG purchased, and kwh purchased based on invoices received. Fugitive refrigerant data was collected by college maintenance staff based on refill records. Scope 1 emission sources include onsite combustion from natural gas and liquid fuels, owned vehicle fuel use, and fugitive refrigerants. The activity data provided was applied to the emission factors provided by the EPA’s GHG Emission Factors Hub (updated April 2022). For Scope 2 emissions, the electricity usage provided was applied to the Maine state grid emission factors provided by the EPA eGRID 2021 database, published January 2022.
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:
Bowdoin contracts with a local energy consultant to complete its annual GHG Emissions Report.This report breaks down the college's total emissions into measurements of the sources of Scope 1, 2, and 3, while providing historical data and future predictions to guide the College's reduction goals.
Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
Scope 1 GHG emissions
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Stationary combustion | 7,861 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) | 368 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
Scope 2 GHG emissions
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Imported electricity | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Imported thermal energy | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
GHG emissions from biomass combustion
Scope 3 GHG emissions
| Yes or No | Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Business travel | Yes | 820 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Commuting | Yes | 1,173 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Purchased goods and services | No | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Capital goods | No | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 | Yes | 168 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Waste generated in operations | Yes | 447 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources | --- | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
Scope 3 emissions include employee commuting, transmission line losses, waste, and company air travel. Employee commuting miles were calculated by comparing workplace location to paycheck zip code and dividing this distance by national carpooling averages. Also included in this calculation was employee job class (i.e., part-time academic year, full-time academic year, part time year-round, full-time year-round, etc.). The mileage was then multiplied by the emission factor for employee commuting provided by the EPA GHG Emission Factors Hub (April 2022). Transmission line losses were calculated as a percentage of total purchased electricity. For the FY23 inventory, this percentage was estimated at 5.99 percent. Transmission line loss usage was applied to the Maine state grid emission factors provided by the EPA eGRID 2021 database, published January 2022. Waste data from FY21 was utilized for the FY22 inventory due to over reporting in FY22. Waste data is reported by the College using the EPA volume to weight conversion for each dumpster that is emptied. Per EPA’s recent guidance, waste emissions calculations were completed using the Center for Corporate Leadership's Emission Factors Hub. Airline travel was calculated based on the dollar amount spent on air travel during the fiscal year. This was converted to mileage based on the 2019 domestic passenger revenue from the Airline Data Project, at $0.1414 cents per passenger mile. The passenger miles were then applied to the emission factor for medium-haul air travel provided by the EPA GHG Emission Factors Hub (April 2022).
Part 2. Air pollutant emissions inventory
Annual weight of emissions for::
| Weight of Emissions | |
| Nitrogen oxides (NOx) | 7.58 Tons |
| Sulfur oxides (SOx) | 0.04 Tons |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 5.82 Tons |
| Particulate matter (PM) | 5.40 Tons |
| Ozone (O3) | 0.44 Tons |
| Lead (Pb) | 0.00 Tons |
| Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) | 0.00 Tons |
| Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) | 0.08 Tons |
| Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations | 0 Tons |
Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
| Yes or No | |
| Major stationary sources | No |
| Area sources | Yes |
| Mobile sources | No |
| Commuting | No |
| Off-site electricity production | No |
A report of criteria pollutants is submitted annually and the HAP emissions are submitted every three years (FY 2022 was a HAP reporting year). The emission factors are based on the current facility air emission license which uses either the EPA's AP-42 (Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors) or any DEP Regulations or Guidances that take precedence over AP-42.
Optional Fields
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:
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.