Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	70.01
Liaison	Rebecca Walker
Submission Date	April 13, 2022

STARS v2.2

Southern Oregon University
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	3.43 / 8.00	Rebecca Walker Sustainability Manager Facilities, Management, Sustainability and Planning

"---" 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	2,920.93 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	4,264 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources	63.55 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	207 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity	2,614.94 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	3,865 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	5,599.42 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	8,336 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Carbon sinks

Figures needed to determine net carbon sinks:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	3,904.90 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	---
Carbon sold or transferred	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Net carbon sinks	0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	3,904.90 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):

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Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:

	Performance year	Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions	5,599.42 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	4,431.10 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, 2020	July 1, 2007
End date	June 30, 2021	June 30, 2008

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:

The GHG emissions baseline of Fiscal Year 2008 was adopted in 2010 as a baseline to measure our interim targets against. FY08 is the first year the university has a fairly dependable GHG inventory. The prior inventory for FY1990 was based on many assumptions and estimates since data were not available for many of the emissions sources.

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	779	1,008
Number of employees resident on-site	2	0
Number of other individuals resident on-site	115	0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment	3,500.70	3,764.50
Full-time equivalent of employees	568.30	596.50
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education	788	203
Weighted Campus Users	2,771	3,370.50

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	2.02 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent	1.31 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

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:

173,844 Gross square meters

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:

	Floor area
Laboratory space	2,575 Square meters
Healthcare space	1,023.42 Square meters
Other energy intensive space	0 Square meters

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:

181,040.82 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:

0.03 MtCO2e per square meter

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

Southern Oregon University is working to reduce GHG emissions in each scope.
Scope 1
SOU has upgraded the mechanical equipment at the Central Plant Building on campus. Boilers 1 and 2 were replaced with high-efficiency Hurst boilers with high-efficiency Riello Burners. Boilers 3 and 4 had the burners replaced with the same high-efficiency Riello Burners. A new Riello control system was installed to operate the boilers more efficiently. A new water softener system was installed to help reduce chemical usage. The existing 800 ton and 500-ton centrifugal chillers were replaced with two 800 ton higher efficiency centrifugal chillers. The roof-mounted three-cell cooling tower was replaced with a larger capacity high efficient two-cell cooling tower. One of the two existing condenser water pumps was replaced with a larger capacity pump.
The campus fleet is managed under the Sustainability and Equity in Purchasing Policy: Preference shall be given to electrical powered motorized vehicles and tools. Where vehicles and tools are not electrical, preference will be given to less-polluting alternatives to gas and diesel, such as compressed natural gas, bio-based fuels, hybrids, electric batteries, and fuel cells, as available. Where alternative fuel options are not feasible, preference shall be given to models with the best fuel economy (highest fuel efficiency).
Solar has continued to increase on-campus with 5 new solar arrays installed on campus in the last 3 years (since SOU’s last submission) bringing the total to 11 array installations reducing the amount of purchased electricity.
Scope 2
City of Ashland’s contracted and owned electricity generation supply is low carbon. Contracted Bonneville Power Administration makes up 98% of Ashland’s supply and is low carbon.
All new construction projects bring energy efficiency measures and lighting improvements are identified and implemented across campus on an ongoing basis to reduce purchased electricity.
Scope 3
Commuting - The university has a partnership with the local transit district to greatly improve outreach to students about their transportation options.
Waste – outreach through social media and articles regularly takes place to address the quality and quantity of landfill diversion. The is a waste management system across campus and an on-campus recycling center. SOU recycles a range of materials to divert from landfills.
Business travel – there is an air fund fee to put towards sustainability projects and to highlight the environmental cost of air travel.

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

http://sustainability.sou.edu/

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Second Nature Reporting Platform Dashboard: http://reporting.secondnature.org/dashboard/dashboard/##3222

SIMAP Greenhouse gas calculations https://unhsimap.org/home

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.