The Office of Sustainability has published a Greenhouse Gas inventory webpage allowing the campus community to view ̽̽ greenhouse gas emission trends over time. The inventory reflects progress towards goals set out in ̽̽'s Comprehensive Sustainability Plan (CSP) that proclaims the bold goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2030.
The inventory, now live on the , features an interactive tool allowing users to see emissions sources ranging from heating to study abroad.
“̽̽ has been publicly reporting on carbon emissions for 17 years, but this is the most detailed report we’ve ever released,” says Interim Director of Sustainability Caylin McCamp. “It includes measures of 15 different categories of emissions to help us understand the progress we’ve made and the work that lies ahead.”
Data in the inventory comes from many people and units across campus, including Physical Plant, Purchasing, Transportation and Parking Services, Office of International Education, and the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment.
“In addition to tracking progress towards carbon neutrality, the inventory provides a helpful resource for anyone seeking details about ̽̽’s carbon footprint, as well as providing CSP implementation stakeholders with a clearer picture of trends over time,” says Renewable Energy Projects Coordinator Casey Smith, who collected and analyzed the data for the FY 2023 inventory.
Scope 1 emissions, primarily represented by thermal fuels the campus uses to heat and cool buildings, are by far the largest source of carbon emissions. The good news: while the square-footage of building space on campus has increased by 9% since 2007, Scope 1 emissions decreased 25% over the same period due to various efficiency measures and building upgrades across campus. The challenge remains to further reduce Scope 1 emissions by decarbonizing buildings and fleet vehicles.
“Earlier this year, we completed a boiler reprogramming project at the Main District Energy Plant which is estimated to reduce our Scope 1 emissions by 2,272,589 pounds annually,” says University Engineer Mike Pelletier. “That equates to approximately a 4% reduction in our building thermal emissions.”
Over the past year ̽̽ also drilled two geothermal test wells—one on the Athletic Campus and one on Trinity campus. Results from the drilling will determine the potential for harnessing geothermal energy on campus. Most recently, ̽̽ is working closely with a consulting firm to develop a Campus Energy Plan which will serve as a decarbonization roadmap that prioritizes buildings with high energy use on campus.
Fleet vehicles represent a smaller portion of Scope 1 emissions which can be reduced through electrifying and reducing the size of our fleet. Over the last two years, ̽̽ has increased our fleet of electric vehicles from seven to 34. ̽̽ has also been rapidly installing fleet charging stations as a part of a campus-wide electrification project that will install nearly 100 EV charging ports over the next two years, the single largest investment in EV infrastructure in the state of Vermont.
Scope 2 emissions, which come from ̽̽’s purchased electricity, appear in the inventory until 2015. “Our local electrical utilities are now 100% carbon neutral, which means our Scope 2 emissions are as well,” explained Smith. Though these emissions are considered neutral, Facilities Management diligently works to implement energy efficiency measures to reduce both heating and electricity use. The boiler reprogramming project is estimated to reduce campus electricity use by 310,069 kWh annually.
Scope 3 emissions, which are largely representative of business, study abroad, and commuting travel, are the most difficult to track and control. Emissions reduced significantly beginning in FY21 but are trending upwards as we see a return to pre-pandemic levels of travel. The university has purchased high-quality local carbon offsets to mitigate these emissions in partnership with the Vermont Land Trust. These offsets enabled ̽̽ to meet the CSP goal of reducing emissions 60% below 2007 levels by 2024 while supporting Vermont’s agricultural economy.*
*In December 2023, 11,000 carbon offsets were purchased and retired based on early estimates of our scope 3 emissions. A transaction is in progress with Vermont Land Trust for the offsets to cover the remainder of the actual FY 23 scope 3 emissions.