Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 77.06
Liaison Laura Bain
Submission Date June 22, 2021

STARS v2.2

Furman University
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.71 / 8.00 Laura Bain
Associate Director of Sustainability Assessment
David E. Shi Center for Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions

Gross GHG emissions

Gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:
Performance year Baseline year
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 4,571.38 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 4,104 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 891.54 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 389 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity 9,475.20 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 14,900 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported thermal energy 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Total 14,938.12 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 19,393 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Carbon sinks

Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:
Performance year Baseline year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased 244 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Institution-catalyzed carbon offsets generated 93.69 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon storage from on-site composting 17 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon storage from non-additional sequestration 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent ---
Carbon sold or transferred 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Net carbon sinks 354.69 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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

A brief description of the carbon sinks, including vendor, project source, verification program and contract timeframes (as applicable):
Institution-catalyzed carbon offsets generated: The Community Conservation Corps is a university-run program that performs energy efficiency weatherizations free of charge to qualifying underserved local residents. Pre- and post-improvement audits, combined with homeowner utility data pre- and post-weatherization, are compiled to determine average energy savings per home (both natural gas and electricity). This average is then converted to mTCO2e using EPA-recommended coefficients, and the average offset per home is multiplied by the number of homes served in the past five years to arrive at total carbon offset. https://www.furman.edu/sustainability/programs/community-conservation-corps/

Additional carbon offsets generated through a Furman-funded community solar electric project at the Unitarian Universalist Church. Data gathered through their online energy dashboard. https://monitoringpublic.solaredge.com/solaredge-web/p/site/public?name=Greenville%20Unitarian%20Universalist%20Fellowship&locale=en_US#/dashboard

Carbon storage from on-site composting- The Furman Farm composts all post- and pre-consumer waste from the Dining Hall.

UCapture: Vendor; Project; Type; Location; Verifier; Total Offsets
TerraPass; Wolf Creek Landfill; gas capture; Dry Branch, GA; CAR; 243 MTCO2e
South Pole; Amazon Forest Protection; improved forest management; amazon rainforest, Brazil; VCS; 1 MTCO2e
https://www.ucapture.com/furman

Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance year Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions 14,583.43 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 19,393 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Performance and baseline periods

Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Performance year Baseline year
Start date July 1, 2018 July 1, 2006
End date June 30, 2019 June 30, 2007

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
Our data collected for GHG dates back to 2007 rather than 2005 like other baselines. We previously used a regression line to figure out 2005 data, but to be more accurate we are reporting the 2007 GHG baseline for this report.

Part 1. Reduction in GHG emissions per person

Weighted campus users

Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”:
Performance year Baseline year
Number of students resident on-site 2,388 2,361
Number of employees resident on-site 3 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site 2 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 2,728 2,971
Full-time equivalent of employees 940 841
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 0 0
Weighted Campus Users 3,350.75 3,449.25

Metrics used in scoring for Part 1

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 4.35 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 5.62 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
22.59

Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area

Performance year floor area

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
208,867.78 Gross square meters

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 5,627.51 Square meters
Healthcare space 0 Square meters
Other energy intensive space 6,169.60 Square meters

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
226,292.38 Gross square meters

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

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

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:
---

Website URL where information about the institution's GHG emissions is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
https://www.furman.edu/sustainability/programs/community-conservation-corps/

https://monitoringpublic.solaredge.com/solaredge-web/p/site/public?name=Greenville%20Unitarian%20Universalist%20Fellowship&locale=en_US#/dashboard

https://www.ucapture.com/furman

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.