Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 44.43
Liaison John Stolz
Submission Date March 4, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Duquesne University
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.33 / 10.00 Carissa Lange
Graduate Assistant
Center for Environmental Research & Education (CERE)
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 

Has the institution conducted a GHG emissions inventory that includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions? :
Yes

Does the institution’s GHG emissions inventory include all, some or none of its Scope 3 GHG emissions from the following categories?:
All, Some, or None
Business travel All
Commuting All
Purchased goods and services Some
Capital goods None
Waste generated in operations All
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 None
Other categories None

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, including how the institution accounted for each category of Scope 3 emissions reported above:
Duquesne Univesity's Center for Environmental Research and Education used the Clean Air-Cool Planet's Sustainability Indicator Management & Analysis Program to complete the FY2016 greenhouse gas report.

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?:
No

A brief description of the internal and/or external verification process:
Data for all Scopes are analyzed using the Sustainability Indicator Management & Analysis Platform. Scope 1 information is obtained from Facilities Management and Public Safety. Scope 2 data is obtained from Energy Watchdog. Commuting methods are determined based on a 2010 University survey. The number of students, faculty, and staff that commute are determined based on institutional data. Faculty and staff directly financed travel is obtained from the Purchasing Office. Air and bus travel for athletics is obtained from the Duquesne University Athletics website and mileage is calculated based on scheduled destinations. Waste generated is from Facilities Management. Receiving & Inventory and the Print Shop are contacted for paper usage, although this does not account for all the paper used on campus. Offsets are known from Facilities Management.

Documentation to support the internal and/or external verification process:
---

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 and Part 3 of this credit? (reductions in Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions):
No

Part 2 

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 29,930.99 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 30,548.98 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 121.54 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 87.26 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 13,351.84 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 11,841.54 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Total 43,404.37 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 42,477.78 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year July 1, 2016 June 30, 2017
Baseline Year July 1, 2013 June 30, 2014

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted (e.g. in sustainability plans and policies or in the context of other reporting obligations):
Duquesne Univesity chose fiscal year 2014 as our baseline year as that was the most accurate recording of University greenhouse gas emissions. RECs were not included in Scope 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions above.

Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased (exclude purchased RECs/GOs) 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 sequestration due to land that the institution manages specifically for sequestration 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon storage from on-site composting 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon offsets included above for which the emissions reductions have been sold or transferred by the institution 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Net carbon offsets 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

If total performance year carbon offsets are greater than zero, provide:

A brief description of the offsets in each category reported above, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):
No offsets purchased.

The reporting fields in the table below are reserved for institutions that have NOT already accounted for renewable energy purchases (including RECs and GOs) in their Scope 2 GHG emissions calculations. Other institutions - including all SIMAP users - should report zero ('0') to avoid double-counting. 

Emissions reductions attributable to Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) or Guarantee of Origin (GO) purchases:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Emissions reductions attributable to REC/GO purchases 11,453.49 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 7,861.90 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the purchased RECs/GOs including vendor, project source and verification program:
Duquesne University purchased Renewable Energy Certificates from Direct Energy Business, LLC. These RECs were National any Green-e. RECs were not included in Scope 2 Emissions in Part 2 and are only accounted for in this section.

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 31,950.88 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 34,615.88 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site 3,745 3,822
Number of employees resident on-site 12 17
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 8,783 9,502
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty) 1,766 2,238
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 291 310
Weighted campus users 8,632.75 9,532.25

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 3.70 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 3.63 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
0

Part 3

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
3,837,361 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 66,995 Square feet
Healthcare space 4,253 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 65,521 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
4,045,378 Gross square feet

Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
0.01 MtCO2e per square foot

Optional Fields 

Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
Emissions
Business travel 2,207.43 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 5,133.95 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Capital goods 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Waste generated in operations 60.03 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories 16.76 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:
---

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

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Duquesne University's Center for Environmental Research and Education is still compiling information for the FY2019 Greenhouse Gas Inventory. This information is from the FY2018 Greenhouse Gas Inventory, the most recent inventory available. Due to this, there are minor discrepancies between the information available above and the information included in IC-2. Since this report was published, the square footage of the campus has changed but we decided to use the square footage data for this portion that aligned with that of the greenhouse gas emissions data available.

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.