Carbon Footprint
Brandeis Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Brandeis reports its greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory publicly online. Below is a brief snapshot of our GHG emissions over time. For more detailed reports on our annual emissions by source and category, please refer to our public reporting page in SIMAP.
Brandeis University measures the following emissions as part of its greenhouse gas inventory:
Scope 1
- Stationary combustion: use of natural gas and oil in onsite equipment such as the central heating plant, residential heating, boilers, water heaters, etc.
- Direct transportation: Fuel used by university-owned vehicles.
- Refrigerants: Refrigerants used in the operation of on-campus refrigeration equipment.
Scope 2
- Purchased electricity.
Scope 3
- Faculty, staff and student commuting.
- University-funded air travel booked via the university’s travel agency (to the extent that data is available).
- Electricity transmission and distribution losses.
- Food purchases.
- Anything else under Brandeis' operational control that is not included in scopes 1 and 2.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions as Proportion of Total
Scope 1 and 2Fiscal year 2021 (July 2020-June 2021); fiscal year 2022 will be posted soon.
| Source of emissions | Percentage of Total |
|---|---|
| Natural gas & oil | 60% |
| Electricity | 38.5% |
| Campus vehicles | 1.4% |
| Refrigerants | 0.1% |
CO2e Emissions and goals
Scope 1 and 2
(FY 2015-FY 2021)
| Year | Emissions (in metric tonnes) | Change over prior year | Goals/ change over baseline |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2015 | 28,363 | Baseline figure | |
| FY 2016 | 25,183 | -11.2% | |
| FY 2017 | 25,477 | +1.2% | |
| FY 2018 | 24,454 | -4.0% | FY 18 goal: -10%; actual: -13.8% |
| FY 2019 | 25,893 | +5.9% | |
| FY 2020 | 23,976 | -7.4% | FY 20 goal: -15%; actual: -15.5% |
| FY 2021 | 23,117 | -3.6% | Most recent FY: -18.5% |