ACUPCC Reporting System

GHG Report for State University of New York Empire State College

Submitted on February 15, 2011; last updated on February 15, 2011

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) 1,921 metric tons of CO2e 0.2 metric tons of CO2e 5.4 metric tons of CO2e 0%
Gross emissions (Scopes 1 + 2 + 3) 4,994 metric tons of CO2e 0.5 metric tons of CO2e 14.1 metric tons of CO2e 0%
Net emissions 4,994 metric tons of CO2e 0.5 metric tons of CO2e 14.1 metric tons of CO2e N/A

Emissions Inventory Methodology and Boundaries

Start date of the 12-month period covered in this report June 30, 2009
Consolidation methodology used to determine organizational boundaries Operational control approach
If any institution-owned, leased, or operated buildings or other holdings that should fall within the organizational boundaries are omitted, briefly explain why.

SUNY Empire State College operates from 34 different units across New York State. This GHG report omits the energy used in heating and electricity of those units where the landlords did not respond to requests for information or the rented space is under 4,000 square feet in size. The buildings included in this GHG report equal 76 percent of the total space Empire State College operates under.

Emissions calculation tool used Clean Air-Cool Planet
Please describe why this tool was selected.

Clean Air-Cool Planet was selected on recommendation from the ACUPCC.
Please describe the source(s) of the emissions coefficients used.

CA-CP Campus Carbon Calculator's default emissions coefficients.
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
Please describe the process of conducting the inventory.

Data was gathered by interviewing different offices within the college. Energy use was found through the finance department. However, some of the office space in our leased buildings are not metered separately. For these the landlord was called and asked how much energy the entire building used. ESC use was prorated according to square footage of rented space. Office of Central Services had tallied information on how many miles were reimbursed to employees, including train tickets, other public transportation and miles traveled in ESC owned vehicles. The College uses a travel agency that tallied ESC air miles as well as some trail miles.
Commuter data for students was done through a survey that went out to 10% of the current students. The total student commuter information was projected from the survey results. Employee commuter data was more difficult to measure. Zip codes were obtained for each employee as well as the location of the center/unit each person works in, their percentage employment time and their title. Mileage was determined between their zip code and their center/unit. This was multiplied by the number of times per the year that person drives to the office, estimated according to position title and percent line of employment.
Please describe any emissions sources that were classified as de minimis and explain how a determination of the significance of these emissions was made.

No information provided
Please describe any data limitations related to this submission and any major assumptions made in response to these limitations.

Assumptions on commuter data are explained above.

Emissions Data

Emissions from the following sources (in metric tons of CO2e)

Scope 1 Emissions
Stationary Combustion 478.0 metric tons of CO2e
Mobile Combustion 34.0 metric tons of CO2e
Process Emissions 0.0 metric tons of CO2e
Fugitive Emissions 15.0 metric tons of CO2e
Total Scope 1 emissions 527.0 metric tons of CO2e
Scope 2 Emissions
Purchased Electricity 1,394.0 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 1,394.0 metric tons of CO2e
Scope 3 Emissions
Commuting 2,089.0 metric tons of CO2e
Air Travel 919.0 metric tons of CO2e
Solid Waste 65.0 metric tons of CO2e
Total Scope 3 emissions 3,073.0 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 No information provided
Offset verification program(s) No information provided
Description of offsets purchased (including vendor, project source, etc.)

No information provided
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
Description of RECs purchased (including vendor, project source, etc.)

No information provided
Sequestration and Carbon Storage
Sequestration due to land owned by the institution No information provided
Description of how sequestration was calculated

No information provided

Carbon storage due to composting No information provided

Normalization and Contextual Data

Building Space
Gross square feet of building space 353,076.0 sq ft
Net assignable square feet of laboratory space 0.0 sq ft
Net assignable square feet of health care space 0.0 sq ft
Net assignable square feet of residential space 0.0 sq ft
Population
Total Student Enrollment (FTE) 9436.0
Residential Students No information provided
Full-time Commuter Students 5655
Part-time Commuter Students 14542
Non-Credit Students No information provided
Full-time Faculty 190
Part-time Faculty 1003
Full-time Staff 486
Part-time Staff 82
Other Contextual Data
Endowment Size 11922401
Heating Degree Days 5790
Cooling Degree Days 708
Please describe any circumstances specific to your institution that provide context for understanding your greenhouse gas emissions this year.

SUNY Empire State College is a distance learning institution. There are no dorms or cafeterias. Students learn online, through weekly face to face study groups, and independently under the guidance of a mentor.
Many of the 34 learning centers across the state are made up of rented office space in multi-tenant buildings. This space typically consists of office space, student meeting space and student computer labs. Empire State owns the buildings that make up the coordinating center in Saratoga Springs, NY. For this data, the gross square footage reported is that where the energy use could be determined.

Supporting Documentation

Completed inventory narrative No information provided
Completed inventory calculator No information provided

Auditing and Verification

These emissions data have not been audited, verified, or peer-reviewed.