ACUPCC Reporting System

GHG Report for Arizona State University

Submitted on July 27, 2011; last updated on May 16, 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) 223,421 metric tons of CO2e 3.5 metric tons of CO2e 17.5 metric tons of CO2e 0%
Gross emissions (Scopes 1 + 2 + 3) 292,743 metric tons of CO2e 4.6 metric tons of CO2e 22.9 metric tons of CO2e 0%
Net emissions 292,728 metric tons of CO2e 4.6 metric tons of CO2e 22.9 metric tons of CO2e N/A

Emissions Inventory Methodology and Boundaries

Start date of the 12-month period covered in this report July 1, 2008
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.

The ASU Research Park, a research partnership complex, does not house any residential, academic, university operations or student involved research activities. The majority of the buildings are owned and operated by entities external to the university.
Emissions calculation tool used Clean Air-Cool Planet
Please describe why this tool was selected.

The CA-CP Campus Carbon Calculator was recommended in the ACUPCC reporting system instructions. The CA-CP tool was also used because of its ease of use by interested parties and it was the tool used for our fy' 06 baseline study.
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.

Inventory data was collected from a wide variety of campus sources for eight primary categories of greenhouse gas emission activities:

• Energy production and use (including purchased and site-generated utilities)
• Commuter transportation (including automobile, bus and shuttle use)
• ASU vehicle fleet usage – fuel purchases
• University Business Travel
• Municipal solid waste production and disposal
• Usage of nitrogen-containing agricultural fertilizers
• Fugitive emissions of halogenated refrigerants

Data collection for each of these categories is discussed in greater detail below.

• Energy production and use

The primary source of ASU’s GHG emissions is the production and use of energy on ASU's Tempe campus, West Campus, Polytechnic Campus and the Downtown Phoenix Campus. These emissions are produced by the combustion of natural gas at Central Plant (CP) and the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Facility for electricity, steam, and chilled water production, as well as, from the combustion of fossil fuels by Arizona Public Service Company (APS) the utility company providing purchased electricity to that campus. APS or Salt River Project (SRP) power plants supply purchased electricity for all four ASU campuses using coal, nuclear, and natural gas as their primary generation sources. Data collected for this category included the total purchased kWh of electricity from APS or SRP and the total purchased therm of natural gas for use in campus boilers or other stationary sources.

• Commuter transportation

Data collected to determine miles traveled from commuter transportation included total decals sold at each campus and commuter driving patterns and average miles traveled. Where possible, estimates were either extrapolated from or based directly on previous data, when no other data were available. Bus ridership data included total boarding's by city, month, and route, which was used to calculate an average distance traveled by commuters.

• ASU vehicle fleet usage

Data on the ASU vehicle fleet was collected in the form of total usage of gasoline or diesel fuel used in these vehicles.

• University Business Travel

Flight mileage for International Travel was calculated using actual destination data provided by the ASU Travel Office. Specific destinations for regional and out of state travel were unavailable; therefore these areas of travel were calculated by averaging the mileage for the destinations most representative of ASU travel, multiplied by the total number of trips taken. International and National travel includes estimated flight mileage only (omitting ground travel), in-state travel was assumed as ground travel only. This should be considered a place holder only and the information provided will be updated with more complete data in subsequent years.

• Municipal solid waste production and disposal

Municipal solid waste data was collected from monthly municipal solid waste billing records.

• Composting

ASU has partnered with Ken Singh Farms to compost its organic waste. This composted waste is then returned to ASU to be used as fertilizer for the ASU grounds and Arboretum.

• Usage of nitrogen-containing agricultural fertilizers

Fertilizer usage data included type of fertilizer, nitrogen content, and total amount used.

• Fugitive emissions of halogenated refrigerants

Halogenated refrigerants, such as HFCs and HCFCs, are used in chiller operations in the Central Plant and can be released due to leaks or equipment repairs. Data on specific refrigerants and their respective fugitive emissions were provided by ASU Facilities Management and ASU Environmental Health and Safety.

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.

Results of this initial inventory are highly contingent on the availability and quality of the data on which emissions calculations are based. In many cases data were not available to provide a complete historical perspective without assumptions or extrapolation. Where multiple years of data were available, they were extrapolated forward or backward where possible.

Business travel data was available on the number and destination of international trips, which could be manually assessed to estimate miles flown. In addition, for regional and national travel, the only information available is number and cost of trips, from which estimated miles were determined.

Emissions Data

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

Scope 1 Emissions
Stationary Combustion 39,363.0 metric tons of CO2e
Mobile Combustion 959.0 metric tons of CO2e
Process Emissions 0.0 metric tons of CO2e
Fugitive Emissions 386.0 metric tons of CO2e
Total Scope 1 emissions 40,708.0 metric tons of CO2e
Scope 2 Emissions
Purchased Electricity 180,206.0 metric tons of CO2e
Purchased Heating 0.0 metric tons of CO2e
Purchased Cooling 2,507.0 metric tons of CO2e
Purchased Steam 0.0 metric tons of CO2e
Total Scope 2 emissions 182,713.0 metric tons of CO2e
Scope 3 Emissions
Commuting 34,255.0 metric tons of CO2e
Air Travel 33,719.0 metric tons of CO2e
Solid Waste 1,348.0 metric tons of CO2e
0 0.0 metric tons of CO2e
0 0.0 metric tons of CO2e
0 0.0 metric tons of CO2e
Total Scope 3 emissions 69,322.0 metric tons of CO2e
Biogenic Emissions
Biogenic Emissions from Stationary Combustion 0.0 metric tons of CO2e
Biogenic Emissions from Mobile Combustion 0.0 metric tons of CO2e

Mitigation Data

Carbon Offsets
Carbon offsets purchased 0.0 metric tons of CO2e
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 0 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 15.0 metric tons of CO2e

Normalization and Contextual Data

Building Space
Gross square feet of building space 12,800,182.0 sq ft
Net assignable square feet of laboratory space 769,274.0 sq ft
Net assignable square feet of health care space 29,678.0 sq ft
Net assignable square feet of residential space 2,236,925.0 sq ft
Population
Total Student Enrollment (FTE) 64011.0
Residential Students 7621
Full-time Commuter Students 44726
Part-time Commuter Students 14735
Non-Credit Students 2013
Full-time Faculty 2545
Part-time Faculty 451
Full-time Staff 6003
Part-time Staff 816
Other Contextual Data
Endowment Size 407889000
Heating Degree Days 708
Cooling Degree Days 4929
Please describe any circumstances specific to your institution that provide context for understanding your greenhouse gas emissions this year.

Supporting Documentation

Completed inventory narrative No information provided
Completed inventory calculator Download

Auditing and Verification

These emissions data have been audited, verified, or peer-reviewed.
Please briefly describe this verification, if any.

Verified by experts within the university.