GHG Report for University of Illinois at Chicago
Submitted on January 31, 2012; last updated on February 3, 2012
Summary Statistics
Making fair comparisons between higher education institutions is always challenging due to the rich diversity of higher education. The unverified nature of the information in this database and unavailability of unbiased normalization metrics means such comparisons are even more difficult. Users should therefore approach direct institution to institution comparisons with caution and recognize that all comparisons between institutions are inherently biased.| Total | Per Full-Time Enrollment | Per 1000 Square Feet | % Offset | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross emissions (Scopes 1 + 2) | 275,364 metric tons of CO2e | 10.2 metric tons of CO2e | 18.8 metric tons of CO2e | 0% |
| Gross emissions (Scopes 1 + 2 + 3) | 342,347 metric tons of CO2e | 12.7 metric tons of CO2e | 23.4 metric tons of CO2e | 0% |
| Net emissions | 342,312 metric tons of CO2e | 12.7 metric tons of CO2e | 23.4 metric tons of CO2e | N/A |
Emissions Inventory Methodology and Boundaries
| Start date of the 12-month period covered in this report | July 1, 2009 |
| Consolidation methodology used to determine organizational boundaries | Operational control approach |
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If any institution-owned, leased, or operated buildings or other holdings that should fall within the organizational boundaries are omitted, briefly explain why.
Rockford and Peoria campuses, as the office focuses on the Chicago campus only (building numbers in the 600s and 700s). Those two campuses might be included in the future |
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| Emissions calculation tool used | Clean Air-Cool Planet |
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Please describe why this tool was selected.
This tool is most commonly used by colleges and universities. It is also the tool we used previously. |
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Please describe the source(s) of the emissions coefficients used.
CA-CP Campus Carbon Calculator's default emissions coefficients |
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| Which version of IPCC's list of global warming potentials did you use? | Third Assessment Report |
| Who primarily conducted this emissions inventory? | Sustainability office staff |
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Please describe the process of conducting the inventory.
The Office of Sustainability energy interns collected data collected from different departments at the University. The data was then put into the Campus Carbon Calculator. We also conducted a travel inventory to estimate the emissions from commuting to campus. |
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Please describe any emissions sources that were classified as de minimis and explain how a determination of the significance of these emissions was made.
Refrigerants were considered de minimis because the major source for campus cooling are two central cooling towers. The power plants do not utilize refrigerants. No emissions from agriculture as there are no farms on campus. |
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Please describe any data limitations related to this submission and any major assumptions made in response to these limitations.
In FY2010 our emissions appear to have increased. This is because we went from using a custom mix of sources for our purchased electricity to using a regional mix. The custom mix was much higher in the low-carbon nuclear power that is prevalent in northeastern Illinois. Until August 2009, we purchased electricity on the retail market from ComEd and used their Environmental Disclosure Report to create the custom profile. As of August 2009, the University of Illinois began to purchase on the wholesale market and through PPAs. We can no longer trace the source of electricity for those purchases so we feel the regional mix is the best choice. For Scope 3: Assumptions were made for commuting emissions. The proportion of survey respondents reporting in each category (faculty, staff, students) was assumed to be the same as the campus population as a whole and the percentages from the survey were used as campus percentages. We considered the Chicago Transit System to be "light rail" and the Metra Commuter system to be "heavy rail". This is not fully accurate. For Scope 1 emissions, we assumed an average power plant efficiency that is not calculated because the plant has many different types of boilers, engines, etc with different efficiencies depending on the use at any given time. |
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Emissions Data
Emissions from the following sources (in metric tons of CO2e)
| Scope 1 Emissions | |
|---|---|
| Stationary Combustion | 148,418.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Mobile Combustion | 1,462.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Process Emissions | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Fugitive Emissions | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Total Scope 1 emissions | 149,880.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Scope 2 Emissions | |
| Purchased Electricity | 125,484.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Purchased Heating | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Purchased Cooling | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Purchased Steam | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Total Scope 2 emissions | 125,484.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Scope 3 Emissions | |
| Commuting | 52,362.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Air Travel | 13,265.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Solid Waste | 1,356.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Total Scope 3 emissions | 66,983.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Biogenic Emissions | |
| Biogenic Emissions from Stationary Combustion | No information provided |
| Biogenic Emissions from Mobile Combustion | No information provided |
Mitigation Data
| Carbon Offsets | |
|---|---|
| Carbon offsets purchased | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Offset verification program(s) | No information provided |
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Description of offsets purchased (including vendor, project source, etc.)
No information provided |
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| Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) | |
| Total RECs purchased | None kWh |
| Percent of total electricity consumption mitigated through the purchase of RECs | None % |
| Emissions reductions due to the purchase of RECs | No information provided |
| REC verification program(s) | No information provided |
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Description of RECs purchased (including vendor, project source, etc.)
No information provided |
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| Sequestration and Carbon Storage | |
| Sequestration due to land owned by the institution | 35.0 metric tons of CO2e |
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Description of how sequestration was calculated
Using the campus tree inventory in iTREE software. This is the sequestration due to the trees. |
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| Carbon storage due to composting | No information provided |
Normalization and Contextual Data
| Building Space | |
|---|---|
| Gross square feet of building space | 14,641,390.0 sq ft |
| Net assignable square feet of laboratory space | 1,023,805.0 sq ft |
| Net assignable square feet of health care space | 509,010.0 sq ft |
| Net assignable square feet of residential space | 852,255.0 sq ft |
| Population | |
| Total Student Enrollment (FTE) | 26983.0 |
| Residential Students | 3800 |
| Full-time Commuter Students | No information provided |
| Part-time Commuter Students | No information provided |
| Non-Credit Students | No information provided |
| Full-time Faculty | 2574 |
| Part-time Faculty | No information provided |
| Full-time Staff | 8941 |
| Part-time Staff | No information provided |
| Other Contextual Data | |
| Endowment Size | No information provided |
| Heating Degree Days | 6083 |
| Cooling Degree Days | 903 |
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Please describe any circumstances specific to your institution that provide context for understanding your greenhouse gas emissions this year.
No information provided |
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Supporting Documentation
| Completed inventory narrative |
A Greenhouse Gas Inventory as a Measure of Sustainability for an Urban Public Research University Download |
| Completed inventory calculator | No information provided |