ACUPCC Reporting System

GHG Report for Dickinson College

Submitted on September 17, 2008; last updated on January 25, 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) 12,381 metric tons of CO2e 5.3 metric tons of CO2e 6.6 metric tons of CO2e 38%
Gross emissions (Scopes 1 + 2 + 3) 18,632 metric tons of CO2e 7.9 metric tons of CO2e 9.9 metric tons of CO2e 25%
Net emissions 13,882 metric tons of CO2e 5.9 metric tons of CO2e 7.4 metric tons of CO2e N/A

Emissions Inventory Methodology and Boundaries

Start date of the 12-month period covered in this report July 1, 2007
Consolidation methodology used to determine organizational boundaries No information provided
If any institution-owned, leased, or operated buildings or other holdings that should fall within the organizational boundaries are omitted, briefly explain why.

N/A

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

Ease of use, comprehensiveness

Please describe the source(s) of the emissions coefficients used.

No information provided

Which version of IPCC's list of global warming potentials did you use? No information provided
Who primarily conducted this emissions inventory? Sustainability office staff
Please describe the process of conducting the inventory.

Financial, safety, and other records were compiled to extract the data needed for different categories.

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.

Air travel was particularly limited due to a lack of universal reporting and record keeping system.

Emissions Data

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

Scope 1 Emissions
Stationary Combustion 1,487.4 metric tons of CO2e
Mobile Combustion 340.7 metric tons of CO2e
Process Emissions 36.1 metric tons of CO2e
Fugitive Emissions 0.0 metric tons of CO2e
Total Scope 1 emissions 1,864.2 metric tons of CO2e
Scope 2 Emissions
Purchased Electricity 10,517.0 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 10,517.0 metric tons of CO2e
Scope 3 Emissions
Commuting 1,699.7 metric tons of CO2e
Air Travel 3,294.4 metric tons of CO2e
Solid Waste 195.1 metric tons of CO2e
Wastewater 21.3 metric tons of CO2e
T&D Losses 1,040.1 metric tons of CO2e
Total Scope 3 emissions 6,250.6 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 8000000 kWh
Percent of total electricity consumption mitigated through the purchase of RECs 50.0 %
Emissions reductions due to the purchase of RECs 4,715.1 metric tons of CO2e
REC verification program(s) No information provided
Description of RECs purchased (including vendor, project source, etc.)

Vendor: Community Energy Inc.
Type: Wind Power

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 35.2 metric tons of CO2e

Normalization and Contextual Data

Building Space
Gross square feet of building space 1,883,140.0 sq ft
Net assignable square feet of laboratory space 619,158.0 sq ft
Net assignable square feet of health care space No information provided
Net assignable square feet of residential space No information provided
Population
Total Student Enrollment (FTE) 2346.0
Residential Students 2160
Full-time Commuter Students 186
Part-time Commuter Students No information provided
Non-Credit Students No information provided
Full-time Faculty 217
Part-time Faculty No information provided
Full-time Staff 559
Part-time Staff No information provided
Other Contextual Data
Endowment Size 347600000
Heating Degree Days No information provided
Cooling Degree Days No information provided
Please describe any circumstances specific to your institution that provide context for understanding your greenhouse gas emissions this year.

Nearly all of the students listed as "commuter students" actually live in apartments and townhouses less than half a mile from campus and do not have calculatable commuting distance. There are also a significant number of students studying abroad every year, but they live on the campus of the institutions at which they are studying, so for the purposes of the inventory we have included them as residential students. Also, part-time faculty and staff are included in the full-time categories as half of a position. All of this was accounted for in our calculations.

These numbers were edited by Daniel Webster, sustainability projects coordinator, on 12/15/10 to reflect the emission changes in FY 2008. This provides us with a more precise bottomline to reach our goals as set forth by our current climate action plan.

Supporting Documentation

Completed inventory narrative No information provided
Completed inventory calculator Download

Auditing and Verification

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