Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.92
Liaison Mat Thijssen
Submission Date Oct. 26, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Waterloo
OP-2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.33 / 8.00 Mat Thijssen
Sustainability Manager
Sustainability Office
"---" 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 38,057 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 33,884 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions from other sources 497 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 518 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent
Gross Scope 2 GHG emissions from imported electricity 4,002 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 4,898 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 42,556 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 39,300 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 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):
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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 42,556 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 39,300 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 Jan. 1, 2019 Jan. 1, 2015
End date Dec. 31, 2019 Dec. 31, 2015

A brief description of when and why the GHG emissions baseline was adopted:
This was adopted to be consistent with reporting on the University of Waterloo’s Climate Action Plan – Shift: Neutral. This base year was highly representative in terms of heating degree day weather influences, and mitigated the substantial historical changes in reduction of scope 2 emissions because of provincial coal power phase-out, which was outside the University’s scope of control.

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 5,724 5,200
Number of employees resident on-site 0 0
Number of other individuals resident on-site 0 0
Total full-time equivalent student enrollment 36,633 33,203
Full-time equivalent of employees 5,737 5,603
Full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education 1,153 979
Weighted Campus Users 32,343.75 29,670.25

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 1.32 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent 1.32 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Percentage reduction in adjusted net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions per weighted campus user from baseline:
0.67

Part 2. GHG emissions per unit of floor area

Performance year floor area

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
820,418 Gross square meters

Floor area of energy intensive building space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 92,782 Square meters
Healthcare space 3,957 Square meters
Other energy intensive space 123,571 Square meters

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
1,137,466.51 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:
0.04 MtCO2e per square meter

A brief description of the institution’s GHG emissions reduction initiatives:
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Website URL where information about the institution's GHG emissions is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
There are discrepancies between the weighted campus users reported here and in PRE-5 due to timing of submission to account for COVID-19 disruption. The PRE credits reflected most recent numbers from Fall 2020, in which the vast majority of students were in online learning, and campus operations were significantly reduced. As this is not at all indicative of normal and expected future operations, Waterloo has submitted 2019 data for both emissions and for headcounts to be more representative.
Similarly, the space discrepancies between PRE-4 and this submission are a result of PRE-4 reporting most recent/accurate (2020), and this credit reporting most representative (2019) given significant changes to campus operations from COVID-19.

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.