Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 71.70
Liaison Marianne Martin
Submission Date Sept. 22, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Colorado Boulder
OP-1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.17 / 10.00 Dave Newport
Director
Environmental Center
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions?:
Yes

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Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include all Scope 3 GHG emissions from any of the following categories?:
Yes or No
Business travel Yes
Commuting Yes
Purchased goods and services No
Capital goods No
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 No
Waste generated in operations Yes

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Does the institution's GHG emissions inventory include Scope 3 emissions from other categories?:
No

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A brief description of the methodology and/or tool used to complete the GHG emissions inventory:
Custom tool. Custom emissions factors from Xcel Energy, campus electricity provider.

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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

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A brief description of the internal and/or external verification process:
Emissions are compiled and calculated by the CU Environmental Center and then reviewed and verified by campus engineering and the power plant director. In addition, CU accounting provides a validation review to total kwh and BTU-gas consumed at year's end after reviewing utility billing data. Finally, the GHG emissions factors supplied by Xcel Energy were reviewed by the Governor's Energy Office for consistency with Xcel's PUC filings.

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Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Scope 1 GHG emissions from stationary combustion 48,437 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 70,673 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 1,392 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1,381 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity 99,221 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 63,625 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Scope 2 GHG emissions from other sources 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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Figures needed to determine total carbon offsets::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Institution-catalyzed carbon offsets generated 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Carbon sequestration due to land that the institution manages specifically for sequestration 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
Third-party verified carbon offsets purchased 8,000 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 0 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

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A brief description of the institution-catalyzed carbon offsets program:
---

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A brief description of the carbon sequestration program and reporting protocol used:
na

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A brief description of the composting and carbon storage program:
na

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A brief description of the purchased carbon offsets, including third party verifier(s) and contract timeframes:
8,000 MT CO2e were purchased in 2011 from Native Energy project in Oklahoma that diverted landfill methane to an adjacent brick kiln. VCS certified.

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Figures needed to determine “Weighted Campus Users”::
Performance Year Baseline Year
Number of residential students 6,014 6,451
Number of residential employees 15 11
Number of in-patient hospital beds 0 0
Full-time equivalent enrollment 26,124 25,978
Full-time equivalent of employees 6,212 5,534
Full-time equivalent of distance education students 1,450 5,503

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Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or three-year periods):
Start Date End Date
Performance Year Jan. 1, 2011 Dec. 31, 2011
Baseline Year July 1, 2004 June 30, 2005

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A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
This baseline was established consistent with the State baseline and various Renewable Portfolio Standards.

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Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
11,048,065 Square feet

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Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor Area
Laboratory space 2,332,798 Square feet
Healthcare space 55,738 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 86,321 Square feet

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Scope 3 GHG emissions, performance year::
Emissions
Business travel 32,176 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Commuting 10,254 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Purchased goods and services ---
Capital goods ---
Fuel- and energy-related activities not included in Scope 1 or Scope 2 ---
Waste generated in operations 848 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Other categories (please specify below) ---

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A brief description of the sources included in Scope 3 GHG emissions from "other categories":
na

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A copy of the most recent GHG emissions inventory:
---

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The website URL where the GHG emissions inventory is posted:
None
A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives, including efforts made during the previous three years:
All construction now LEED Gold-plus and many Platinum. Fuel switching upcoming to gas-fired base load cogen. Extensive envelope enhancements based on whole campus aerial laser scoping, significant behavioral conservation campaigns. Campus foot print has expanded ~ 19% over the period, yet intensities like GHG/sf and kwh/sf have flattened.

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.