Our Scope 3 Emissions Journey
UBC Sauder has taken a step-by-step approach to tracking and managing Scope 3 emissions—our indirect emissions across the value chain. From consulting support to in-house calculations and strategic carbon offsets, here’s how our journey has evolved over the past two fiscal years.
Fiscal Year 2022/2023: Starting the Journey
UBC Sauder began calculating its own Scope 3 emissions with support from a consulting team.
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Our Action Plan: As a first step in tackling emissions, and while building internal expertise on reducing them internally, the school invested in two carbon offset projects:
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Great Bear Rainforest Carbon Project – Improved forest management in BC’s Great Bear Rainforest
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Net Zero Waste Diversion Project – Composting initiatives in Abbotsford, BC
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Why these projects? They were selected for their alignment with UBC Sauder’s sustainability values, co-benefits such as biodiversity protection, Indigenous-led initiatives, and credibility in the carbon offset market.
By offsetting 100% of our emissions through these initiatives, UBC Sauder was recognized as a carbon-neutral business school.
Fiscal Year 2023/2024: Bringing Calculations In-House
With the formation of the Centre for Climate and Business Solutions in 2023, emissions tracking was brought in-house, allowing greater oversight and integration with internal data systems. By managing emissions calculations internally, UBC Sauder gained more control over how emissions are measured and analyzed. Our methodology is outlined below.
Our Action Plan:
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Fund emissions reduction projects internally (also known as "insetting" that support both improved data collection and decarbonization in our top-emitting categories. Focusing on the two largest contributors of our Scope 3 footprint: commuting, and purchased goods and services.
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Continue to offset remaining categories where viable reduction solutions are not yet available.
Emission Reduction Fund Projects:
Research Projects:
- Werner Antweiler - Enabling Smart EV Charging Solutions at UBC – Surveying parkade users and piloting Level-1 EV chargers to optimize charger mix and minimize grid impact.
- Kate White and Jordana Composto - Understanding and Overcoming Barriers to Sustainable Commuting at UBC> – investigating the barriers that lock individuals into unsustainable commuting and establishes the intensity of interventions needed to shift behavior through multi-wave surveys, passive trip tracking, and pilot behavior-change exercises
- Lingtao Yu - Social Norms in Promoting Carpooling Behavior – Exploring how social norms can encourage carpooling among UBC commuters.
Project-Based Initiatives:
- Mike Lakusiak - E-bike Rebate and Education – Expanding the staff/faculty e-bike rebate for UBC Sauder, coupled with educational workshops on e-bike skills and safety. Alongside this, we’ll create spaces for current bike commuters to come together, share experiences, and strengthen our cycling community
- Hammond Yau - Making SPARK (UBC Sauder Orientation) More Sustainable, – Improving sustainability in procurement and orientation swag.
Our Calculation Approach
Scope 1 & 2 Emissions:
Scope 1 and 2 emissions are measured at the university-wide level. They include direct emissions from owned or controlled sources such as natural gas, and university owned vehicles, (Scope 1) and indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy (Scope 2).
Scope 3 Emissions:
While the university does track Scope 3 emissions—indirect emissions from activities like commuting, travel, and waste—the quality of this data varies across faculties. This makes it challenging to report accurately or make informed decisions at the university-wide level. Measuring Scope 3 emissions at the faculty level allows each division to identify its biggest sources of emissions and take targeted action to reduce them.
At the Sauder School of Business, we focus on five categories of Scope 3 emissions that are both common and for which we have accessible data. These categories represent the highest emissions and priorities for reduction at the faculty level:
- Commuting – Travel to campus by students, staff, and faculty.
- Air travel – Travel by staff and faculty for business or research.
- Purchased Goods & Services – Purchases such as office supplies, event catering, research materials, etc.
- Waste/Water Consumption – Food waste, garbage, recycling, and other disposal.
- Homeworking – Emissions associated with remote work, including energy use in home offices.
By tracking these categories, the Business School can identify key opportunities to reduce its environmental footprint.
Methodology
Below is an overview of the calculation methodology for each category of emissions that we track. We are continuously working to improve these methods and provide more accurate and comprehensive estimates over time.
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Commuting Emissions
How We Estimate Commuting Frequency
UBC Sauder monitors commuting habits through surveys of faculty, staff, and students to better understand and manage our carbon footprint.
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Full-time employees: Typically commute three days per week, totaling 156 days per year.
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Part-time faculty: Estimated at 98 days per year, based on teaching schedules and other on-campus commitments.
Calculating Emissions:
Using survey results and extrapolating across the total number of staff, faculty, and students, we can estimate how many individuals commute by car versus public transit, as well as their typical weekly commuting frequency. This information allows us to calculate the overall carbon footprint of commuting activities across different travel modes:
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Driving: Average round-trip distances are multiplied by standardized emissions factors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
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Transit: Emissions are calculated using average per-person emissions provided by TransLink for public transit travel.
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Waste Emissions
UBC Sauder tracks waste-related emissions to understand the environmental impact of our disposal practices. Waste is measured by weight across several categories, including:
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Landfill
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Paper
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Glass and plastics
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Cardboard
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Compost
Calculating Emissions:
Each waste stream is multiplied by its corresponding emissions factor to estimate its carbon impact. This method accounts for both positive and negative effects—for example, composting food waste can result in avoided emissions, which are factored into the total calculations. -
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Purchased Goods & Services
This category captures emissions associated with the procurement of goods and services at UBC Sauder. It represents the largest area of emissions for the school, but is also the most challenging to track accurately.
Key subcategories include:
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Professional fees: Accounting, legal, investment management, and external consulting services
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Hospitality and entertainment: Catering, social events, and related services
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Supplies and sundries: Equipment, furniture, technology, books, maintenance materials, and office essentials
Calculating emissions:
Due to limited detailed activity data (actual physical units of resource use or activity, rather than financial spending), emissions are calculated using a spend-based approach. We analyze the income statement to identify relevant expense categories and apply standardized emissions factors per financial expenditure. This method provides a practical estimate of the carbon footprint associated with purchased goods and services, allowing UBC Sauder to identify hotspots and track progress in reducing procurement-related emissions. -
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Flight Emissions
Flight data is tracked for all staff and faculty on flights related to business or research. Different flight lengths are separated because emissions factors vary depending on the distance flown. Planes consume fuel less efficiently during takeoff and landing, so shorter flights tend to have a higher emissions intensity per kilometer than longer flights.
Flight categories
Flights are classified based on distance using U.S. EPA guidelines:-
Short-haul: Less than 1,500 km (approximately 930 miles)
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Medium-haul: 1,500–3,700 km (approximately 930–2,300 miles)
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Long-haul: Greater than 3,700 km (approximately 2,300 miles)
Calculating emissions:
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Data collection: Flight data is first aggregated from expense reports across faculty and staff.
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Distance tracking: Airport codes are used to calculate the exact air distance for each flight.
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Emissions calculation: Distances are multiplied by the appropriate emissions factor for the flight category to determine total CO₂e emissions.
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Water Consumption Emissions
Water consumptions emissions come from two main sources:
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Effluent emissions
Gases released from treated water discharged from the facility. This includes methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) produced during treatment. -
Sludge emissions
Gases released from solid waste (sludge) produced during treatment. This includes methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) generated as the sludge decomposes or is further treated.
Calculating Emissions:
Water use: Total water consumption is tracked through meters, and multiplied by a standard emissions factor to estimate related emissions.
Tracking both effluent and sludge emissions allows UBC Sauder to measure the full carbon impact of water use and wastewater management.
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Homeworking Emissions
With remote work becoming increasingly common, emissions from home energy use are now a notable part of UBC Sauder’s carbon footprint. Using the inverse of commuting data, we estimate how often students, staff, and faculty work from home.
Calculating Emissions
- Home office energy use: An average energy intensity per square meter (based on typical office energy use) is applied to an estimated home office size.
- Energy mix adjustment: Calculations are adjusted using the average electricity and natural gas mix for homes to determine total greenhouse gas emissions.
