Saint Mary's College of California
OP-1: Emissions Inventory and Disclosure
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.88 / 3.00 |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1. Greenhouse gas emissions inventory
Yes
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:
For over a decade, Saint Mary's has contracted with Sightlines to inventory GHG emissions. The coronavirus pandemic put a pause on the emissions inventory for the current and past year, but the college did conduct a GHG inventory within the last three years (April 2020).
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?:
Yes
A brief description of the GHG inventory verification process:
Yes the inventory has been validated by SMC staff who are independent of the GHG accounting and the verified by a third party organization, Sightlines, who independently ran the analyses.
More about Sightlines can be found at: http://www.sightlines.com/
More about Sightlines can be found at: http://www.sightlines.com/
Documentation to support the GHG inventory verification process:
Scope 1 GHG emissions
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Stationary combustion | 4,105 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources (mobile combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions) | 416 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 1 GHG emissions, performance year:
4,521
Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions
| Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Imported electricity | 93 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Imported thermal energy | 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total gross Scope 2 GHG emissions, performance year:
93
Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
GHG emissions from biomass combustion
0
Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 3 GHG emissions
| Yes or No | Weight in MTCO2e | |
| Business travel | --- | 5,880 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Commuting | --- | 2,820 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Purchased goods and services | --- | 46 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 | --- | 1,091 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
| Other sources | --- | 233 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent |
Total Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year:
10,070
Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
A brief description of how the institution accounted for its Scope 3 emissions:
There are 5 major categories and datasets we used to calculated Scope 3 emissions - commuting, travel, waste and wastewater, paper purchases and T&D losses. Commuting data was collected through a College transportation survey conducted by Sightlines. Travel data was provided by our Business Office and includes flights and travel from athletics, study abroad and professional development trips. Waste data was sourced from our waste hauler, Republic Services, who provides us with monthly tonnage reports. Wastewater data was gathered from our utility provider, EBMUD. Paper purchases data were provided by our Business Office. And lastly, data on T&D losses were sourced from our energy provider.
Part 2. Air pollutant emissions inventory
No
Annual weight of emissions for::
| Weight of Emissions | |
| Nitrogen oxides (NOx) | 0 Metric tons |
| Sulfur oxides (SOx) | 0 Metric tons |
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 0 Metric tons |
| Particulate matter (PM) | 0 Metric tons |
| Ozone (O3) | 0 Metric tons |
| Lead (Pb) | 0 Metric tons |
| Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) | 0 Metric tons |
| Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) | 0 Metric tons |
| Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations | 0 Metric tons |
Do the air pollutant emissions figures provided include the following sources?:
| Yes or No | |
| Major stationary sources | --- |
| Area sources | --- |
| Mobile sources | --- |
| Commuting | --- |
| Off-site electricity production | --- |
None
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
In the fall of 2019 an effort got underway to conduct on-campus measurements of air quality, by measuring ambient concentrations of ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM2.5), and nitrogen oxides (NOx). The main motivation behind this effort was the realization that the “new normal” in California now consists of frequent wildfires, with severe downwind health impacts. Recent graduate Esther Woo (Biochemistry major, Class of 2020), who had conducted air quality research during the 2019 SOS Summer Research Program, began to advocate for on-campus air quality measurements, with direct outreach to multiple stakeholders / potential funding sources (Professor Joel Burley, Vice Provost for Student Life Jane Camarillo, Dean Roy Wensley, President Jim Donahue, Associated Students, Facilities Services, etc.). Esther argued, persuasively, that the SMC community would benefit by having real-time access to local air data, and within a few months she had secured sufficient political buy-in and financial support so that the effort could proceed. The campus now has two air quality monitoring stations: 1) Rec Center site and 2) the base of the meteorological tower at the Geissberger Observatory. In total, we collect data from the following monitors: ozone, nitrogen oxides, and PM2.5 at the Rec Center, plus ozone and nitrogen oxides at the Observatory. This air quality data is collected and reported in real-time.
Optional Fields
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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:
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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.