Overall Rating	Gold - expired
Overall Score	66.74
Liaison	Jennifer Lamy
Submission Date	March 30, 2018
Executive Letter	Download

STARS v2.1

Emerson College
OP-22: Water Use

Status

Score

Responsible Party

4.00 / 6.00

Duncan Pollock
AVP Campus Services
Campus Services

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Level of ”Physical Risk QUANTITY” for the institution’s main campus as indicated by the World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas:

High

Part 1

Total water use (potable and non-potable combined):

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water use	4,474,522 Gallons	7,165,622 Gallons

Potable water use:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use	4,170,000 Gallons	6,731,000 Gallons

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, 2011	June 30, 2013

If end date of the baseline year/period is 2004 or earlier, provide:

A brief description of when and why the water use baseline was adopted:

Emerson College has grown and dramatically since we began tracking emissions in 2007. While Emerson continues to grow and revitalize its spaces, the majority of the current campus was in operation beginning January 2010. For this reason, I have set the baseline year to be an average of FY11, FY12, and FY13, to better reflect the general resource use and associated emissions, both per capita and per square foot.

Figures needed to determine "Weighted Campus Users":

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Number of students resident on-site	1,736	1,916
Number of employees resident on-site	6	6
Number of other individuals resident on-site and/or staffed hospital beds	3	3
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	4,443	4,350
Full-time equivalent of employees (staff + faculty)	846	527
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	0	0
Weighted campus users	4,405.25	4,141.25

Potable water use per weighted campus user:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per weighted campus user	946.60 Gallons	1,625.35 Gallons

Percentage reduction in potable water use per weighted campus user from baseline:

41.76

Part 2

Gross floor area of building space:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Gross floor area	1,429,317 Gross square feet	1,429,317 Gross square feet

Potable water use per unit of floor area:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Potable water use per unit of floor area	2.92 Gallons per square foot	4.71 Gallons per square foot

Percentage reduction in potable water use per unit of floor area from baseline:

38.05

Part 3

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 3 of this credit? (reductions in total water use per acre/hectare of vegetated grounds):

Area of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Vegetated grounds	0 Acres	0 Acres

Total water use (potable + non-potable) per unit of vegetated grounds:

	Performance Year	Baseline Year
Total water use per unit of vegetated grounds	---	---

Percentage reduction in total water use per unit of vegetated grounds from baseline:

---

Optional Fields

A brief description of the institution's water-related behavior change initiatives, e.g. initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices such as signage and competitions:

Emerson moved to tray-less dining in 2011, saving thousands of gallons of water each week. Reusable bottle-friendly Hydration stations throughout campus eliminate waste associated with disposable bottles and highlight Boston’s excellent public tap water. Water bottles are provided to new students during Fall and Spring orientation each year, courtesy of the Sustainability Office and the President's Office. Emerson College banned the sale of single serve water bottles on campus in March 2012. Green Room Certification, which began in 2016, encourages on-campus students to win prizes by taking steps towards mitigating their carbon footprint. Five points are available for sustainable water use: I turn off the water while brushing my teeth (1 pt) and I always shower for 5 minutes or less (4 pts).

A brief description of the institution's water recovery and reuse initiatives:

Piano Row (150 Boylston) and the Colonial Building (100 Boylston) have rainwater capture systems on their roofs that supply residential bathrooms in the buildings. 2 Boylston place opened in Fall 2017 and features rainwater capture to supply residential bathrooms, and the Little Building (80 Boylston) is being remodeled to have rainwater capture and will be open in 2019. Colonial Building has a grey water capture system in sinks that supplies residential bathrooms in the building.

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace plumbing fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, and systems with water-efficient alternatives (e.g. building retrofits):

Emerson’s LEED campus buildings reduce aggregate water consumption by at least 20% from the baseline--as campus square footage increases, water consumption decreases. Hands-free sink faucet, dual-flush and sensor based toilets, and water efficient shower heads prevent excess water usage.

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

http://www.emerson.edu/sustainability/water

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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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.