GHG Report for Houston Community College
Submitted on October 15, 2009; last updated on December 14, 2010
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) | 186,216 metric tons of CO2e | 10.5 metric tons of CO2e | 59.3 metric tons of CO2e | 1% |
| Gross emissions (Scopes 1 + 2 + 3) | 1,176,705 metric tons of CO2e | 66.0 metric tons of CO2e | 374.9 metric tons of CO2e | 0% |
| Net emissions | 1,174,622 metric tons of CO2e | 65.9 metric tons of CO2e | 374.2 metric tons of CO2e | N/A |
Emissions Inventory Methodology and Boundaries
| Start date of the 12-month period covered in this report | October 15, 2009 |
| Consolidation methodology used to determine organizational boundaries | No information provided |
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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.
N/A |
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| Emissions calculation tool used | Clean Air-Cool Planet |
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Please describe why this tool was selected.
Upon consulting with AASHE, HCC determined that this emissions calculation tool was most commonly used by educational institutions and provides a costs effective and efficient means by which to capture and present the emissions data. |
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Please describe the source(s) of the emissions coefficients used.
CA-CP Campus Carbon Calculator's default emissions coefficients. |
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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.
HCC used the combined professional expertise of its faculty and staff to conduct its inventory. Members of several HCC departments (e.g., Finance, Institutional Research, Facilities) were instrumental in providing and in some cases recording the data presented in this report. |
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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.
N/A |
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Please describe any data limitations related to this submission and any major assumptions made in response to these limitations.
It is important to identify that the HCC greenhouse gas emissions inventory is inconclusive (has limitations) due to the absence of reliable systems capable of capturing relevant data. Therefore, HCC's emissions outcomes are correspondingly inconclusive. Nonetheless, the HCC emissions data, as captured and recorded, represents the best information available to us that provides a starting point to identify gaps in our tracking systems while also permitting HCC to provide meaningful information. The reader should also consider that some findings result from reasonable assumptions made about certain information sought (e.g., commuting by faculty and staff, diesel fuel usage). |
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Emissions Data
Emissions from the following sources (in metric tons of CO2e)
| Scope 1 Emissions | |
|---|---|
| Stationary Combustion | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Mobile Combustion | 2,702.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Process Emissions | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Fugitive Emissions | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Total Scope 1 emissions | 2,702.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Scope 2 Emissions | |
| Purchased Electricity | 183,514.0 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 | 183,514.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Scope 3 Emissions | |
| Commuting | 989,716.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Air Travel | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Solid Waste | 773.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| Total Scope 3 emissions | 990,489.0 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.)
HCC is exploring the above identified opportunities. |
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| Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) | |
| Total RECs purchased | 3456000 kWh |
| Percent of total electricity consumption mitigated through the purchase of RECs | 5.0 % |
| Emissions reductions due to the purchase of RECs | 2,083.0 metric tons of CO2e |
| REC verification program(s) | Other |
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Description of RECs purchased (including vendor, project source, etc.)
In our Fiscal Year 2009 filing (now amended), HCC did not indicate that it actually purchased 3,456,000 RECs which now appears in our Clean Air Cool Planet spreadsheet. Additionally, for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, HCC purchased 3,469,000 and 3,466,000, RECs, respectively. For fiscal year 2011 and 2012, HCC will purchase 10% of its projected load in RECs. |
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| Sequestration and Carbon Storage | |
| Sequestration due to land owned by the institution | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
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Description of how sequestration was calculated
No information provided |
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| Carbon storage due to composting | 0.0 metric tons of CO2e |
Normalization and Contextual Data
| Building Space | |
|---|---|
| Gross square feet of building space | 3,138,746.0 sq ft |
| Net assignable square feet of laboratory space | No information provided |
| Net assignable square feet of health care space | 125,543.0 sq ft |
| Net assignable square feet of residential space | 0.0 sq ft |
| Population | |
| Total Student Enrollment (FTE) | 17817.0 |
| Residential Students | No information provided |
| Full-time Commuter Students | 17817 |
| Part-time Commuter Students | 65580 |
| Non-Credit Students | No information provided |
| Full-time Faculty | 2878 |
| Part-time Faculty | No information provided |
| Full-time Staff | 2361 |
| Part-time Staff | No information provided |
| Other Contextual Data | |
| Endowment Size | 1400000 |
| Heating Degree Days | No information provided |
| Cooling Degree Days | No information provided |
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Please describe any circumstances specific to your institution that provide context for understanding your greenhouse gas emissions this year.
The reader of this submission should factor the "limitations" in preparing this report, as identified above. In short, HCC identified the absence of reliable internal systems to capture data required to produce an accurate and conclusive report. This is a critical factor to which HCC must and will give due consideration when producing future Green House Gas reports. |
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Supporting Documentation
| Completed inventory narrative | No information provided |
| Completed inventory calculator | Download |