GHG Report for Augsburg College
Submitted on January 14, 2012; last updated on January 14, 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) | 13,495 metric tons of CO2e | 3.6 metric tons of CO2e | 13.0 metric tons of CO2e | 48% |
| Gross emissions (Scopes 1 + 2 + 3) | 21,755 metric tons of CO2e | 5.9 metric tons of CO2e | 21.0 metric tons of CO2e | 30% |
| Net emissions | 15,326 metric tons of CO2e | 4.1 metric tons of CO2e | 14.8 metric tons of CO2e | N/A |
Emissions Inventory Methodology and Boundaries
| Start date of the 12-month period covered in this report | June 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.
The athletic dome not included square footage calculation because it is only in service 5 months of the year. The energy usage for the dome is reported along with the other athletic facility buildings. Classroom space rented for off site programs in Rochester, MN and United Hospital in St. Paul, MN were omitted because they are used only for a few hours a week. |
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| Emissions calculation tool used | Clean Air-Cool Planet |
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Please describe why this tool was selected.
Relatively easy to understand and use. Good reference material. Designed specifically with academic facilities in mind. |
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Please describe the source(s) of the emissions coefficients used.
Fuel source percentages as reported by Xcel Energy (electricity) and NRG (natural gas for steam) |
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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 Chair person for the campus Environmental Stewardship Committee collected data from Facilities energy invoice spreadsheets,college accounting data base, campus reports, HR zip code dump for faculty and staff population, Environmental Studies campus transportation survey data, Music and Athletics team trip data and entered it into the calculator. Other data for freon emissions, fuel purchases, fertilizer usage was colledted directly from invoices provided by the Failities Department. |
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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.
None |
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Please describe any data limitations related to this submission and any major assumptions made in response to these limitations.
Commuter and all other transportation data collection procedure is slowly being refined and the data provided in this inventory is more accurate than previous inventories. More work needs to be done to standardize our data collection practices and calculation methods. A standard campus survey for commuter data was conducted this year and with some minor modification will be more accurate in future years. Taxi, car rental and bus rental data has not been included and a good portion of overseas travel data is limited to dollars spent and contains no specifics about type of transport. There is also no reliable way to convert cost of taxi, bus and car rental to mileage. |
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Emissions Data
Emissions from the following sources (in metric tons of CO2e)
| Scope 1 Emissions | |
|---|---|
| Stationary Combustion | 1,301.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Mobile Combustion | 35.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Process Emissions | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Fugitive Emissions | 2,172.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Total Scope 1 emissions | 3,508.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Scope 2 Emissions | |
| Purchased Electricity | 6,373.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Purchased Heating | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Purchased Cooling | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Purchased Steam | 3,614.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Total Scope 2 emissions | 9,987.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Scope 3 Emissions | |
| Commuting | 3,749.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Air Travel | 4,326.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Solid Waste | 185.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Total Scope 3 emissions | 8,260.0 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 | 13113478 kWh |
| Percent of total electricity consumption mitigated through the purchase of RECs | 100.0 % |
| Emissions reductions due to the purchase of RECs | 6,373.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| REC verification program(s) | Green-e |
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Description of RECs purchased (including vendor, project source, etc.)
Purchased Windsource energy from Xcel Energy for 100% of our electricity usage. |
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| Sequestration and Carbon Storage | |
| Sequestration due to land owned by the institution | No information provided |
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Description of how sequestration was calculated
No information provided |
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| Carbon storage due to composting | 56.0 metric tons of CO2e |
Normalization and Contextual Data
| Building Space | |
|---|---|
| Gross square feet of building space | 1,036,289.0 sq ft |
| Net assignable square feet of laboratory space | 10,750.0 sq ft |
| Net assignable square feet of health care space | 920.0 sq ft |
| Net assignable square feet of residential space | 363,897.0 sq ft |
| Population | |
| Total Student Enrollment (FTE) | 3714.0 |
| Residential Students | 1079 |
| Full-time Commuter Students | 934 |
| Part-time Commuter Students | 1701 |
| Non-Credit Students | No information provided |
| Full-time Faculty | 232 |
| Part-time Faculty | 208 |
| Full-time Staff | 406 |
| Part-time Staff | 81 |
| Other Contextual Data | |
| Endowment Size | 28200000 |
| Heating Degree Days | 8295 |
| Cooling Degree Days | 535 |
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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 | No information provided |
| Completed inventory calculator | Download |