This post is related to the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).

A co-worker asked me today why our greenhouse gas emissions inventory does not include the full and part-time employees of the companies with which we have annual contracts for food service, information technology, facilities project management and custodial. My first answer was, "Because the CACP only asks for FTEs of the university." But as I considered the question more I realized 15 years or so ago we didn't outsource and all these people would have been university employees. I think ethically the outsourced employees should be included. But that would affect our commuting emissions because we do not survey the outsourced employees. I'd appreciate hearing from other schools who have deliberated this issue and what you decided to do.

Even though this is my fifth year gathering greenhouse gas emission inventory data for Seattle University using the Clean Air Cool Planet, every year I think of new questions about what I'm measuring. I wish CACP or AASHE would start a CACP frequently asked questions web page.

Thanks a lot,
karen price
campus sustainability manager
office for sustainability | seattle university
kprice@seattleu.edu | 206-296-6997