| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 53.24 |
| Liaison | Alicia Gowan |
| Submission Date | June 18, 2024 |
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
8.00 / 8.00 |
Alicia
Gowan Sustainability Specialist Campus and Community Planning |
Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions
Gross GHG emissions
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion | 2,513 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 2,132.22 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources | 35.20 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 15.60 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity | 142 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 116.35 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 | 2,690.20 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 2,264.17 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Carbon sinks
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased | 2,693 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 2,382 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Institution-catalyzed carbon offsets generated | 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 storage from non-additional sequestration | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 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 | 2,693 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 2,382 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
If total performance year carbon sinks are greater than zero, provide:
Under BC's Carbon Neutral Government program - legislated under the Climate Change Accountability Act - all provincial public sector organizations, like Kwantlen Polytechnic University, must follow a five-step process to achieve carbon neutrality. This involves 1) measuring 2) reducing 3) offsetting 4) reporting and 5) verifying. In step 3, "offsetting", KPU is required to pay the amount associated to the metric tons of CO2 equivalent to the provincial government. The offset portfolio spans across nearly every sector and region in BC. Broadly speaking, the offset portfolio consists of the forest industry, forestry, agriculture, the oil and gas sector, transportation, clean tech, and waste management. Full project documentation can be found in the BC
Carbon Registry: https://carbonregistry.gov.bc.ca/br-reg/public/bc/index.jsp?entity=project&sort=project_name&dir=ASC&start=0&entity_domain=BC
Explanation of the offset portfolio: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/climate-change/public-sector/offset-portfolio
Adjusted net GHG emissions
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Adjusted net GHG emissions | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Performance and baseline periods
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Start date | Jan. 1, 2022 | Jan. 1, 2014 |
| End date | Dec. 31, 2022 | Dec. 31, 2014 |
A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
The choice of baseline would be 2007 as it was the inaugural year for the provincial Climate Change Accountability Report requirement. However, data available in the format required is only available as early as 2014. Thus, 2014 was the baseline year selected. Data for weighted campus user below is gathered on an academic year basis. Therefore, the data below is from the Academic Years of 2022-2023 and 2014-2015. Since data is only collected on a per semester basis, the fall data was used for each. Thus, the weighted campus user data is an estimate as the GHG data is collected on a calendar year basis.
Part 1. Reduction in GHG emissions per person
Weighted campus users
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Number of students resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of employees resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Number of other individuals resident on-site | 0 | 0 |
| Total full-time equivalent student enrollment | 4,934.20 | 4,182.20 |
| Full-time equivalent of employees | 1,526.30 | 1,152.80 |
| Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education | 0 | 0 |
| Weighted Campus Users | 4,845.38 | 4,001.25 |
Metrics used in scoring for Part 1
| Performance year | Baseline year | |
| Adjusted net Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area
Performance year floor area
Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
| Floor area | |
| Laboratory space | 0 Square meters |
| Healthcare space | 0 Square meters |
| Other energy intensive space | 14,857.50 Square meters |
EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
Metric used in scoring for Part 2
A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:
KPU has taken several measures to reduce GHG emissions on campus in 2021 as noted in the most recent PSO Climate Change Accountability Report. This includes the following:
1) Greenhouse lights at the Langley Horticulture campus were converted from high-pressure sodium to LED to reduce electrical consumption and associated GHG emissions.
2) Carbon dioxide and occupancy sensors were added for demand ventilation control in selected areas of buildings on the Langley campus to reduce energy consumption and associated GHG emissions.
3) Design work started for the main transformer equipment at Surrey campus to increase capacity in order to support increased electrification of the main heating systems as well as the addition of future electric car charging stations.
4) On Surrey campus in the Cedar and Fir buildings, carbon dioxide and occupancy sensors were added for demand ventilation control in selected areas.
5) Overall paper consumption was reduced to support emissions reductions from paper supplies, including reducing paper usage by defaulting printers to double sided; increasing the use of paper that is FSC Certified or a non-forest product; moving copy paper for printers to a “Sugar Sheet” which is a product made from left over sugar canes.
6) Many studies were conducted that would support the future of GHG emissions reductions including studies on fuel switching studies, electrical reserve capacity, EV chargers, and Geo-exchange pre-feasibility. Additional plans for 2022 and beyond are set out in the 2021 PSO Climate Change Accountability Report (see link below).
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:
2014 Climate Change Accountability Report (Data for 2014): https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/climate-change/cnar/2014/ps/kwantlen_2014.pdf
Note: FTE data is listed on a semester basis above because GHG emissions data is provided on a calendar basis whereas FTE data is provided based on the academic year. Data for employees and students is from fall 2022 to align with the calendar year. This explains the discrepency in weighted campus users between this credit and PRE-5.
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.