In compliance with the signing of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) by President Emerita Jo Ann M. Gora, Ball State University (BSU) was required to prepare a comprehensive Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory for its 660 acre campus.
Such inventory had to include the full scope of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2e) Emissions:
Scope 1 : Direct ‘On-Site’ Emissions:These are GHG emissions that occur from sources owned or controlled by the university, such as boilers, vehicles, furnaces, etc.
Scope 2 : Indirect ‘Upstream’ EmissionsThese are GHG emissions that result largely from Electricity Production and its distribution, as well as the manufacture and distribution of consumable products in the supply chain (procurement).
Scope 3 : Other Indirect ‘Downstream’ Emissions:These are GHG emissions that result from the activities of the organization but are not owned or controlled by the organization. This includes production of materials for purchase, transportation of fuels purchased, transportation and disposal of material waste, and employee travel.
This first-ever GHG Inventory for BSU (available in PDF format here) was completed in August of 2008 and is to be updated every two years.
Under a more recent mandate from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the university must file an annual GHG Inventory starting in January 2011.
The American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) has adjusted the schedule for its bi-annual updates to align with the EPA January 2011 date; this will permit the use of our EPA report on our Greenhouse Gas Emissions as a report to the ACUPCC.