Greenhouse Gas Inventory Narrative
Spelman College, founded in 1881, is a private, independent, liberal arts, historically Black
college for women, located in Atlanta, Georgia. The Spelman College campus, dating back to
1893, consists of 25 buildings on 39 acres in the Atlanta University Center CAUC), the largest
consortium of historically Black institutions of higher learning in the world. Its four partner
institutions include Clark Atlanta University (CAU), the Interdenominational Theological Center,
Morehouse College and Morehouse School of Medicine. Spelman shares cross-registration with
its undergraduate partners. They also share the Robert W. Woodruff Library and the John
B. Shepherd Central Utility Plant.
In August 2010, Spelman College President Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum signed the American
College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. Spelman completed its ACUPCC
Implementation Profile in November 2010 by selecting the following Tangible Actions:

Establish a policy that all new campus construction will be built to at least the U.S. Green
Building Council's LEED Silver standard or equivalent. On October 16, 2010, The
Spelman College Board of Trustees approved a resolution calling for all new and
renovated construction to be designed to achieve the USGBC’s LEED™ Silver
Certification or equivalent at a minimum. Design standards and specifications are being
developed to reflect LEED requirements.

On February 18, 2009, The Spelman College Senior Leadership Team approved an
Energy Management Policy. Spelman’s Energy Management Policy is being revised to
include an energy-efficient purchasing policy requiring the purchase of ENERGY STAR
certified products in all areas for which such ratings exist.

Encourage use of and provide access to public transportation for all faculty, staff,
students and visitors at our institution. Spelman College participates in the Woodruff
Library AUC Shuttle Service. Currently this shuttle service transports students, faculty
and staff to public transportation, Woodruff Library, and between AUC college campuses
during the academic year. We are studying ways to expand this service to all times of
the year.
The process of calculating of Spelman’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory was led by Art Frazier,
Director of Facilities Management & Services with assistance from several student sustainability
interns and professional guidance from Mark Wenclawiak of O’Brien & Gere Engineers. The
Clean Air-Cool Planet, Campus Carbon Calculator (version 6.7) is used for this inventory.
Spelman elected to use the Operational Control Approach as t,he consolidation methodology for
its organizational boundaries. Utilities consumed on behalf of Spelman College by the John
B. Shepherd Central Utility Plant are included in this calculation.
The Shephard Plant is located on the campus of CAU where the campuses of Spelman College,
Morehouse College & CAU intersect. Under the operation of Energy Systems Group (ESG), the
plant supplies all three campuses with steam and Spelman & CAU with Medium Temperature
Hot Water & Chilled Water. In lieu of entering the volumes of Purchased Steam & Chilled Water,
the utilities consumed to produce steam & chilled water are included in the calculation.
Clean Air-Cool Planet, Campus Carbon Calculator Notes
1) Institutional Data
a) Budget Information – provided by Associate Vice President of Business & Financial
Affairs
b) Population Data – provided by The Office of Institutional Research, Assessment and
Planning (OIRAP) Physical Size
2) Scope 1 Emissions Sources
a) On-Campus Stationary Sources
i)
On-Campus Cogeneration Plant(s) - Not Applicable
ii) Other On-Campus Stationary Sources –
(1) Distillate Oil (#1-4) – Diesel fuel is used in 5 emergency generators. Davis Oil
provided fuel records for FY2009-FY2011
(2) Natural Gas – The majority of the natural gas is used to produce steam in the
central plant. Natural gas is also used for cooking and research. ESG provided
Spelman’s central plant gas usage while Resource Supply Management (RSM)
provided records of on-campus gas usage.
(3) LPG (Propane) - Propane is used as a backup fuel to produce steam in the
central plant. ESG provided Spelman’s central plant propane usage.
b) Direct Transportation Sources
i)
University Fleet
(1) Gasoline Fleet – Vehicles used by the President, Public Safety & Facilities are
fueled at a PSG Energy Fleet fueling station near campus. The Provost Office,
Athletics & Community Service use a BP account for fueling their vehicles.
c) Refrigerants & Chemicals – Refrigerants are installed by Siemens. Siemen’s HVAC
Technician provided records.
d) Agriculture Sources
i)
Fertilizer Application – Fertilization is applied by Davey Tree which provided
documentation of fertilization applied for the period of the calculation.
3) Scope 2 Emissions Sources
a) Purchased Electricity, Steam, and Chilled Water
i)
Electricity – On campus electrical usage was taken from the Georgia Power Energy
Direct website. ESP provided Spelman’s Central Plant electricity usage. Electricity is
used in the production of steam and chilled water.
ii) Steam – the utilities used to generate steam are included in the calculation
iii) Chilled Water - – the utilities used to generate chilled water are included in the
calculation
4) Scope 3 Emissions Sources
a) Commuting
i)
Commuting Faculty / Staff – Spelman Sustainability Interns conducted a survey that
was used to measure the impact of commuting
ii) Commuting Students - Spelman Sustainability Interns conducted a survey that was
used to measure the impact of commuting
b) Directly Financed Outsourced Travel
c) Air Travel
i)
Faculty / Staff – The majority of travel is billed using a Diners Club credit card that
provides the total cost of air travel. The cost was translated to airmiles.
ii) Students - The majority of travel is billed using a Diners Club credit card that
provides the total cost of air travel. The cost was translated to airmiles.
iii) Study Abroad Travel – The Study Abroad office provided the destinations of students
in the program. A Spelman Sustainability Interns calculated the air miles for each
destination.
d) Solid Waste – All waste from the Spelman Campus is removed by Waste Management,
Waste that is not recycled is taken to a landfill that employs CH4 Recovery and Electric
Generation. Waste Management provided waste data.
e) Wastewater - – All wastewater from the Spelman Campus is piped to an Atlanta
Watershed Management Central Treatment facility and treated aerobically. Atlanta
Watershed bills in the Controller’s Office and Facilities Management were reviewed to
calculate this data.