Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 68.36
Liaison Marianella Franklin
Submission Date Jan. 10, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.38 / 8.00 Maysam Pournik
Sustainability GHG Faculty Fellow
Mechanical Engineering
"---" 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 3,524.10 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 2,960.31 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 1,380.46 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 980.92 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity 43,317.36 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 39,113.70 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 48,221.92 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 43,054.93 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 0 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 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):
Not Applicable

Adjusted net GHG emissions

Adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions:
Performance year Baseline year
Adjusted net GHG emissions 48,221.92 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 43,054.93 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 Sept. 1, 2019 Sept. 1, 2015
End date Aug. 31, 2020 Aug. 31, 2016

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
Sustainability was integrated into the new university strategic plan in 2015, which led to increased interest in conducting a comprehensive analysis of the university's greenhouse gas emissions inventory.

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 830 600
Number of employees resident on-site 10 7
Number of other individuals resident on-site 7 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 23,161 17,959
Full-time equivalent of employees 4,466 3,081
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 8,444 2,851
Weighted Campus Users 14,604.25 13,793.50

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 3.30 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 3.12 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
0

Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area

Performance year floor area

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
4,812,015 Gross square feet

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 511,690 Square feet
Healthcare space 33,322 Square feet
Other energy intensive space 42,310 Square feet

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
5,944,349 Gross square feet

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

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

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:
UTRGV is currently in the process of submitting an RFQ for consulting services for an Integrated Operations Efficiency and Resiliency Master plan that will include the building automation systems, software systems, to measure, map out, and manage projects for efficiency, resiliency, and GHG emissions reductions.

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:
UTRGV has increased the campus footprint by 7% since FY16. Emissions
historically increased in conjunction with this space growth, but FY20 saw
an 18% decrease from FY19 due to the impact of Covid-19. Total emissions
decreased by 13% compared to the FY16 baseline. Since this report, we completed the FY21 GHG Emissions Report, which shows a greater decrease of 34% from FY19 to FY21 in campus overall emissions. Please see FY21 GHG Report. https://www.utrgv.edu/sustainability/_files/documents/reports/greenhouse-gas-emissions/utrgv-ghg-fy21.pdf

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.