Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Inventory Fiscal Year 2011

Transcription

1 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Inventory Fiscal Year 2011 Prepared by the Office of Sustainability for the Environmental Advisory Council Page 1 of 9

2 Environmental Advisory Council Members Kyle Altmann Associate Professor, Physics Robert Buchholz Director of Physical Plant Elaine Durr Director of Sustainability Andrew Fischer Student Representative, Class of 2014 Angel Garcia Assistant Director of Residence Life East Area Greg Hlavaty Lecturer, English Brad Moore Associate Director of Planning, Design and Construction Management Alison Morrison-Shetlar Dean, Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Biology Gary Palin Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Executive Director of the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Lindsay Spiers Student Representative, Class of 2013 Gerald Whittington, Chair Senior Vice President for Business, Finance and Technology and Associate Professor Acknowledgments Elon University s fourth annual greenhouse gas emissions inventory was completed with the assistance of Jennifer Tremblay, sustainability intern for summer 2011, who collected and analyzed the data. In addition, the inventory could not have been completed without the cooperation and assistance of many individuals who provided the necessary data, gave guidance throughout the process and assisted with data collection and analysis. Thank you to everyone who contributes to this yearly institutional priority. Page 2 of 9

3 The overarching goal of Elon University s Sustainability Master Plan ( ) is to minimize our impact on the global environment by establishing a carbon neutral university. Calculating the University s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or carbon footprint is one of the essential steps in establishing a carbon neutral university. Elon s first GHG inventory was conducted for fiscal year (FY) 2008 and serves as Elon s baseline from which to measure reductions in emissions. A yearly GHG inventory is conducted to monitor progress toward Elon s emission reduction goals. Version 6.6 of the Clean Air-Cool Planet (CA-CP) Campus Carbon Calculator was used to calculate Elon s emissions for FY This Calculator includes up to date constants and emission factors. As with previous versions of the Calculator, it includes all of the primary components of a GHG inventory: Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions as well as offsets and provides the total amount of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (eco2). Scope 1 is direct emissions, such as production of electricity on campus and university vehicles. Scope 2 emissions come from imported sources of energy, i.e., purchased electricity or steam. Scope 3 is all other indirect sources of emissions, such as business travel, commuter travel and solid waste generation. An offset is a reduction of carbon dioxide or removal of carbon dioxide equivalent (eco 2 ) GHG emissions that is used to counterbalance or compensate for ( offset ) emissions from other activities. The data collection process for FY 2011 was conducted per the standard procedures documented in the summer of The standard procedures document outlines who to contact for each piece of information and any data analysis and conversion steps that are needed. As new methodologies and data collection techniques emerge, they are reviewed and adopted when appropriate. Once adopted, a new methodology or technique is applied to the current and previous years to allow for year to year comparisons. One methodology was updated this year the methodology for calculating air mileage from dollars spent on air travel. The data from the commuter habit survey and GIS analysis conducted for FY 2010 to determine commuting emissions were used for the FY 2011 inventory, as well. The survey and GIS analysis are conducted every other year to collect changes in commuter travel patterns. This frequency will be revisited as necessary to ensure changes in patterns are appropriately reflected. The commuter habit survey was created and the results analyzed with the assistance of Rob Springer, Director of Institutional Research, in the fall of An was sent to all faculty, staff and students that briefly explained the purpose of the survey and provided a link to complete the survey online. Below is a summary of the commuter habit survey results: Off Campus Students, N = 515 o 90% commute by car at least once a week with an average of 4.4 trips/week o 7.6 miles is the average roundtrip by car o 19% commute by bus at least once a week with an average of 5.2 trips/week o 3.3 miles is the average roundtrip by bus Page 3 of 9

4 o o 50% of students carpool at least one day a week with an average of 2.9 trips/week 65% of students bike or walk to campus at least once a week Faculty, N = 173 o 99% commute by car at least once a week with an average of 4.4 trips/week o 34.4 miles is the average roundtrip by car o 13% of faculty carpool at least one day a week with an average of 2.8 trips/week o 9% of faculty bike or walk to campus at least once a week Staff, N = 210 o 99% commute by car at least once a week with an average of 5.7 trips/week o 22.8 miles is the average roundtrip by car o 13% of staff carpool at least one day a week with an average of 3.5 trips/week o 1% of staff bike or walk to campus at least once a week The GIS analysis was conducted by an Elon student, Taylor Jones (Public Administration Major, GIS Minor), and an Elon faculty member, Ryan Kirk (Geography and Environmental Studies), in the fall of Anonymous faculty and staff addresses as of September 2, 2010 (October 21, 2010 for Law School faculty and staff) were provided by Deirdre Lea in Human Resources. For the GIS analysis, commuting distances were calculated as the shortest travel route from the nearest road for each residence to the edge of the Elon campus property or as the shortest road distance to the intersection nearest the Law School campus as appropriate. Given this, all campus addresses were given a distance of zero. The mean travel distance to the Elon campus is 13.3 miles, and the median distance is 8.0 miles (Figure 1). The mean travel distance to the Law School campus is 11.0 miles, and the median distance is 6.0 miles (Figure 2). For both campuses, 40.4% of faculty and staff live within 5 miles, 59.4% within 10 miles, 82.1% within 25 miles and 97.8% within 50 miles. Page 4 of 9

5 Figure 1: Elon Campus Faculty and Staff Commutershed Page 5 of 9

6 Figure 2: Law School Campus Faculty and Staff Commutershed Page 6 of 9

7 Elon s total GHG emissions for FY 2011 were 39,682 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MTCDE). The net GHG emissions for FY 2011 were 39,605 MTCDE due to an offset of 77 MTCDE for yard waste composting. Per full-time equivalent (FTE) student net emissions were 7.1 MTCDE/student and per building square foot (ft 2 ) were MTCDE/ft 2 or 19.8 kg of carbon dioxide equivalents (eco 2 ) per ft 2. See Figure 3 for a percentage breakdown by category. Solid Waste 3% Wastewater 0% T&D Losses 4% University Fleet 2% Directly Financed Travel 10% Natural Gas / Propane 10% Refrigeration 0% Fertilizer 0% Study Abroad 20% Purchased Electricity 40% Faculty/Staff Commuting 7% Student Commuting 4% Figure 3: Emissions Percentage by Category To facilitate a comparison across the four years a GHG inventory has been conducted, the FY 2008 through FY 2010 inventories were updated (using the v6.6 Calculator) with the new methodology previously referenced for calculating air mileage from dollars spent on air travel. See Figure 4 for the category breakdown by metric tons of eco2 for all four years. Page 7 of 9

8 Metric Tons of eco 2 (MTCDE) FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY Figure 4: Emissions by Category for FY Elon s GHG emissions decreased 4.3% from FY 2008 to FY 2011 primarily from a decrease in energy consumption and student commuting and fewer students studying abroad through Elon Programs. From FY 2010 to FY 2011, emissions increased 1.3%, primarily from an increase in Directly Financed Travel and Study Abroad. An increase in faculty and staff business travel is the primary cause for the increase in Directly Financed Travel, which could be the result of improved data collection and/or more actual travel. Emissions from Study Abroad increased because more students studied abroad through Elon Programs in FY 2011 than in FY Energy consumption (Purchased Electricity, Natural Gas/Propane and T&D Losses) remains the largest source of emissions accounting for 54% of total emissions. T&D Losses are transmission and distribution losses of purchased electricity. Reductions in direct emissions from energy consumption will likely come from continued campus energy conservation and efficiency projects as identified in the Climate Action Plan (CAP). Installations of renewable and alternative energy, such as solar thermal and geothermal will also contribute to reductions in emissions from energy consumption. A geothermal system was recently completed providing the primary source of heating and cooling for five residence halls. Five solar thermal installations were also recently completed providing domestic hot water for a dining hall and four residence halls. These technologies will be monitored and compared with conventional technologies to determine effectiveness and appropriateness for other campus facilities (existing and Page 8 of 9

9 new). Additional renewable energy installations, including solar photovoltaic panels, will be considered as appropriate and applicable as retrofits to existing facilities and/or a part of new facilities. Study abroad travel represents 20% of Elon s FY 11 emissions. Elon was ranked number one in the nation among masters level universities for study abroad programs in 2010 by the Institute of International Education. About 71% of Elon students study abroad at least once during their time at the University. In FY 2011, 1,026 students studied abroad with an Elon sponsored program. This was up from 973 students in FY 2010 and down from 1,236 in FY The economic climate is likely a primary contributor to the reduction since FY However, as the numbers suggest that trend is reversing. In fact, the number of students studying abroad will likely continue to increase as providing access to study abroad to 100% of Elon students is a priority in The Elon Commitment strategic plan. Strategies for reducing net emissions, such as offsets, from study abroad travel are included in Elon s CAP. Commuting and Directly Financed Travel account for a combined 21% of Elon s GHG emissions. Strategies for increasing the use of alternative transportation, such as carpooling, using the Elon Biobuses, walking and biking are included in the CAP. Continuing and increasing the use of hybrid and other alternative fueled vehicles, web-conferencing, taking Amtrak when appropriate and combining trips through scheduling could also help reduce emissions from faculty and staff business travel The rest of the emission categories combined (Solid Waste, University Fleet, Refrigeration, Fertilizer and Wastewater) amount to about 5% of total emissions. The strategies being used to reduce emissions in these categories (see the CAP for details) will continue and expand to keep them a small portion of Elon s GHG emissions. In addition to the projects and programs that can take place on campus, additional strategies, mainly offsets, will need to be considered to reduce Elon s net GHG emissions. Elon already has some offsets (77 MTCDE) in the form of yard waste composting. Approximately 200 tons of yard waste were composted in FY Additional offsets will need to be explored to reach the goal of carbon neutrality. There are different options for investing in offsets such as purchasing offset credits (retail or wholesale) from third-party providers, investing in projects directly (without a third-party provider) and developing projects independently. Offset options that seem more likely are purchasing retail offset credits and investing in projects directly. However, utilizing offsets for all of Elon s net GHG emissions would not be an effective use of financial resources. The intention is to utilize offsets only after reducing emissions on campus as much as possible. The FY 2011 GHG inventory indicates progress toward the goal of carbon neutrality as identified in the Sustainability Master Plan and the near-term interim emission reduction targets for net emissions identified in the CAP. The first target is a 5% reduction from FY 2008 by Thus far, the reduction from FY 2008 is 4.3%. However, as noted in the CAP, the University s planned growth will prove challenging for continued emission reductions. Therefore, it is critical to continue implementation of the strategies identified in the CAP to reduce emissions in the coming years. The CAP is a living, flexible document that will be revised as technology, research and incentives develop. A GHG inventory will continue to be conducted yearly to monitor progress toward Elon s interim emission reduction goals and overarching goal of carbon neutrality. Page 9 of 9