GHG Report for Boise State University
Submitted on September 10, 2008; last updated on November 26, 2008
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) | 26,324 metric tons of CO2e | 1.8 metric tons of CO2e | 8.5 metric tons of CO2e | 0% |
| Gross emissions (Scopes 1 + 2 + 3) | 49,884 metric tons of CO2e | 3.5 metric tons of CO2e | 16.1 metric tons of CO2e | 0% |
| Net emissions | 49,884 metric tons of CO2e | 3.5 metric tons of CO2e | 16.1 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 | 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.
Whereas Boise State conducts many operations at various locations around the Treasure Valley, this report is limited to the operations on the main campus in Boise, ID. Most of the off-campus operations are quite small, consisting of a leased office and a few staff. The exceptions are two locations in Canyon County with property and buildings: The Boise State West Campus (150 acres with a 65, 354 sq. foot academic building and small tech center building housing a small business incubator) and the Canyon County Center (7.5 acres with an 81,554 sq foot classroom building). These facilities (with the exception of 50 acres and the Tech Center on the West Campus) will be transferred to the College of Western Idaho within the next 10 months and are therefore not part of the universitys future. As a result, it was decided not to include these in the inventory. |
|
| Emissions calculation tool used | Other |
|
Please describe why this tool was selected.
We prefer the transparency of reporting the emission in a manner that allows us to completely understand each step in the process. |
|
|
Please describe the source(s) of the emissions coefficients used.
For natural gas combustion and gasoline, we used coefficients from the Chicago Climate Exchange. For electricity, we used the coefficient from EPA's EGRID 2006 report (2004 data) for the Northwest Power Pool. |
|
| 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.
We sought reports from the finance office for all our utility billing and we developed a process of estimating the commuting miles. |
|
|
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.
We feel highly confident in our assessment of the utility data (Scopes 1 and 2). We have a process by which we can estimate university-sponsored air travel and commuting, but we need more data to increase our confidence. |
|
Emissions Data
Emissions from the following sources (in metric tons of CO2e)
| Scope 1 Emissions | |
|---|---|
| Stationary Combustion | 7,266.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Mobile Combustion | 540.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Process Emissions | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Fugitive Emissions | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Total Scope 1 emissions | 7,806.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Scope 2 Emissions | |
| Purchased Electricity | 18,518.0 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 | 18,518.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Scope 3 Emissions | |
| Commuting | 16,522.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Air Travel | 4,686.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Solid Waste | No information provided |
| Athletic Team Travel | 2,352.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Total Scope 3 emissions | 23,560.0 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 | 3,099,511.0 sq ft |
| Net assignable square feet of laboratory space | No information provided |
| 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) | 14314.0 |
| Residential Students | 1536 |
| Full-time Commuter Students | No information provided |
| Part-time Commuter Students | No information provided |
| Non-Credit Students | No information provided |
| Full-time Faculty | 622 |
| Part-time Faculty | 509 |
| Full-time Staff | 1312 |
| Part-time Staff | No information provided |
| Other Contextual Data | |
| Endowment Size | 70000000 |
| 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.
No information provided |
|
Supporting Documentation
| Completed inventory narrative |
Greenhouse Gas Inventory Download |
| Completed inventory calculator | No information provided |