Fill - Free fillable reenhouse as Inventories for A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE Massachusetts PDF form

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

A companion document to MAPC's Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory Tool

COAUTHORED BY

Megan Aki and Lily Perkins-High

(Metropolitan Area Planning Council)

Jim Leahy and Benjamin Butterworth

(DNV GL Energy Services USA, Inc.)

WITH SUPPORT FROM

Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental

Affairs, City of Melrose, Town of Arlington, Town of Natick

UIDEBOOK DESINED BY

Kit Un (Metropolitan Area Planning Council)

reenhouse as Inventories for

Massachusetts Cities & Towns

April 10, 2020

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

CONTENTS

Acronym Key 3

Introduction to the Guide 4

Step 1: Cover the Basics 6

Step 2: Gather the Data 10

Checklist to Dene Local Characteristics 11

1. Stationary Energy 14

2. Transportation 21

3. Waste 24

Data Collection Summary Worksheet 30

Step 3: Calculate Emissions Using the Tool 34

Further Resources and Tools 40

Appendix A: MAPC Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory Tool Methodology Template 41

Appendix B: MAPC Calculation Methods for MBTA Data 55

Appendix C: Adjusting the Tool for Alternate Inventory Years 58

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Acronym Key

The following acronyms will be used frequently throughout the

guide. Terms will be defined upon first use.

CN – Compressed Natural Gas

CO2 – Carbon Dioxide

CO2e – Carbon Dioxide Equivalent

EPA – Environmental Protection Agency

H – Greenhouse Gas

PC – Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas

Inventories (also referred to as Global Protocol)

Wh – kilowatt hour

IOU – Investor Owned Utility

ISO – Independent System Operator

MassDEP or DEP – Massachusetts Department of Environmental

Protection

MAVC – Massachusetts Vehicle Census

MEI – MassEnergyInsight

MOVES – Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator

MP – Miles Per Gallon

MT – Metric Ton

MWRA – Massachusetts Water Resources Authority

NAICS – North American Industry Classification System

RTA – Regional Transit Authority

VMT – Vehicle Miles Travelled

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

INTRODUCTION

TO THE GUIDE

is uide

will provide you with:

1. A consistent and Massachusetts-

specific approach to calculating

greenhouse gas emissions from the

primary sources of emissions in

your community.

2. Instructions on where to collect

local activity data and how to

estimate activity where actual data

is not readily available.

3. Guidance on how to use MAPC’s

Community Greenhouse Gas

Inventory Tool for accounting and

tracking your community’s GHG

emissions over time.

is guide will help you and your community to develop data-informed climate action plans. Using this guide, you

will be able to identify and target the largest sources of local greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions. is guide was

created by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (“MAPC”) and DNV GL Energy Services, Inc., (“DNV GL”) to

simplify and streamline the process for Massachusetts cities and towns to create local GHG inventories.

1 2 3

This guide was designed to provide a brief overview of the need-to-

know basics of developing a community GHG inventory. It includes

instructions on where to find state and local sources to increase the

accuracy and relevance of GHG inventory data, and a process for

using the tool to establish a GHG inventory baseline and update these

data on a regular basis to inform local planning and implementation

efforts. This guide should be used to support use of MAPC’s

Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory Tool (“the Tool”).

This guide was created with municipal staff and volunteers in mind as

the primary users. A basic working knowledge of Excel spreadsheets

and experience managing small- to medium-sized datasets will be

useful to fully leverage the Tool for your community’s GHG inventory.

You will need to be able to answer questions about services and

programs that your municipality participates in that relate to the

different sources of GHG emissions covered by the Tool.

We recommend having a copy of the 2014 Global Protocol for

Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Inventories (“Global Protocol”)

on hand while reviewing the guide and using the Tool. You do not

need the Global Protocol to complete a GHG inventory using the Tool,

but some users may find it helpful to reference the methods and

calculations. All the primary methods used come from this resource,

and specific sections of the Global Protocol will be referenced

throughout this guide to connect users to additional background on

the calculations used in the Tool.

Download the Global Protocol at

https://ghgprotocol.org/greenhouse-gas-protocol-accounting-

reporting-standard-cities

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Project Bacround

This guide and the accompanying Tool were developed as a part of

MAPC’s Planning for Net Zero by 2050 project. This project seeks to

create a suite of resources for Massachusetts cities and towns to set

ambitious climate goals and create plans to take action. This two-year

project is funded by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental

Affairs and match funds from the project partners (MAPC, DNV GL,

City of Melrose, Town of Arlington, and Town of Natick).

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

STEP 1

COVER THE BASICS

A greenhouse gas (“GHG”) inventory can be developed to guide the actions of local decision-makers and

municipal sta and focus work to reduce GHG emissions in their community. A GHG inventory provides

a baseline from which to measure progress against and a method for benchmarking the eectiveness of

local climate mitigation programs and policies. e data produced provides a local understanding of how

residents, businesses, and municipal operations contribute to the community’s GHG emissions footprint.

Establishing a robust GHG inventory baseline is an important rst step to take to set climate goals and

inform implementation of local climate action.

INTERESTED IN

TAKING CLIMATE ACTION?

Check out MAPC’s resources on net zero

planning and ﬁnd out more about how your GHG

inventory can inform bold local actions to reduce

GHG emissions. www.mapc.org/net-zero

What is a reenhouse as Inventory?

A GHG inventory accounts for the emissions resulting from a

defined geographic area (e.g., city, town, state, etc.) in a given year.

GHG emissions can be accounted for through different methods,

the most common of which is to look at emissions that result from

activities occurring within the city or town boundary.

WHAT GREENHOUSE GASES

ARE INCLUDED?

The primary greenhouse gases included in a

typical community-scale inventory are carbon

dioxide (CO), methane (CH), and nitrous

oxide (NO). For accounting purposes, CH and

NO are converted to total metric tons (MT)

of CO equivalent (COe) converted based on

their Global Warming Potential (GWP).

The Global Protocol also covers four other

greenhouse gases: perﬂuorocarbons

(PFCs), hydroﬂuorocarbons (HFCs), sulfur

hexaﬂuoride (SF6) and nitrogen triﬂuoride

(NF3). This guide does not address these gases

because they primarily result from industrial

processes and product use (IPPU) and

agriculture, forestry, and land use (AFOLU),

which are not covered in the Tool.

CO2

CH4

N2O

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

What is included in the Tool?

This guide and the accompanying Tool follow the methods

put forth by the 2014 Global Protocol for Community-Scale

Greenhouse Gas Inventories (“Global Protocol”).

The sectors and subsectors included in the Tool align most

closely with the BASIC level reporting for Global Protocol

inventories. By using these resources, your GHG inventory will

account for emissions resulting from your community’s homes,

businesses and industries, municipal operations, large energy

production facilities, passenger and commercial vehicles,

public transportation, natural gas leaks, electricity line losses

municipal solid waste, and wastewater.

1 As electricity is distributed across a service area a percentage of

that energy is “lost” in supplying the total end amount consumed.

Including this in your GHG inventory accounts for inefficiencies in the

transmission and distribution of electricity.

WHAT IS THE GLOBAL PROTOCOL?

The Global Protocol was developed by the World Resources

Institute, C40 Cities, and ICLEI Local Governments for

Sustainability. This protocol was designed to provide

guidance to local governments across the globe on

developing eﬀective community GHG inventories. It

establishes reporting requirements for all community GHG

inventories and provides detailed accounting guidance

for quantifying GHG emissions associated with a range of

sources and activities.

The Global Protocol provides communities with two levels

for reporting GHG emissions: BASIC and BASIC+. BASIC

level reporting includes GHG emissions sources that

most commonly occur in communities and, for the most

part, have readily available data. BASIC+ level reporting

expands on the sources covered by BASIC and is a more

comprehensive inventory of all GHG emissions.

Sector Sub-sector Emissions sources Energy types

Stationary

Energy

Residential

Energy use in residential buildings as well as losses

from distribution systems

Electricity

Natural gas

Heating fuel oil

Petroleum Products

Commercial, Industrial,

and Manufacturing

Energy use in commercial, government and

institutional buildings, manufacturing and industrial

facilities, as well as losses from distribution systems.

Construction and

Landscaping

Energy use from construction and landscaping

equipment and activities.

Energy Industries

Stationary combustion of fuel in various equipment,

such as boilers and generators.

Various – may include

natural gas, propane, diesel,

and waste-to-energy

Transportation

On-road vehicles

All trips taken by passenger and commercial vehicles

registered in the community. Portion of trips taken

within the community boundary by on-road buses and

trackless trolleys.

Gasoline

Diesel

CNG

Electricity

Railways

Portion of trips taken within the community boundary

by public light and heavy rail.

Waste

Solid Waste

Municipal solid waste disposed in/by landfills,

incineration, composting, and anaerobic digestion

Landfill gas (methane)

Wastewater

Process and fugitive emissions from treating

wastewater

Not applicable

Sectors and subsectors included in the Tool

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

What is not included in the Tool?

Our primary goal for this guide is to simplify the process of developing a GHG inventory by using publicly available data sets,

while maintaining high levels of accuracy and relevance in the data used. As such, some sources of GHG emissions that are

covered by the BASIC level for Global Protocol inventories are not included in the current version of the Tool. The following

subsectors are excluded from the Tool because public statewide data sets were either not available or not robust enough to

support a method of estimating GHG emissions from community to community.

For two subsectors, we have provided the option for communities to input local data where it is available. These are GHG

emissions from (1) regional transit agencies (outside of the MBTA) and (2) private waste haulers servicing commercial

facilities. While a comprehensive data source is not currently available for these subsectors, communities have the

flexibility to input this data if they have access.

Sectors and subsectors covered within the Global Protocol’s BASIC+ level reporting are also not covered by this guide.

This includes GHG emissions from industrial processes and product use (IPPU), and agriculture, forestry, and land use

(AFOLU), as well as Scope 3 emissions (i.e., occurring outside of the geographic boundary but driven by activities within

the geographic boundary) from the stationary energy and transportation sectors.

Stationary Energy

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing activities: emissions that result from direct fuel

combustion to support these activities (e.g., machinery, generators, pumps, etc.)

Transportation

Commercial and national railways: passenger and freight activities associated with

commercially owned railways servicing or running through communities

Waterborne navigation and aviation: ships, ferries, and other boats operating within

the community boundary, and air travel occurring within the community boundary.

Off-road vehicles: emissions that result from airport equipment, agricultural tractors,

chain saws, forklifts, snowmobiles, etc.

Waste

Industrial waste: waste generated from industrial processes and technologies.

SCOPE 2

SCOPE 1 SCOPE 3

Grid-supplied

energy

Out-of-boundary

waste &

wastewater

Transmission &

distribution

Out-of-boundary

transportation

Other indirect

emissions

Stationary fuel

combustion

In-boundary

transportation

In-boundary

waste &

wastewater

Industrial

processes &

product use

Agriculture,

forestry, and

other land use

Figure A: Emissions Scopes Chart, adapted from the Global Protocol

TO LEARN MORE...

To learn more about GPC scopes

and sectors, go to page 30 in

Chapter 3 of the GPC.

What are scopes?

The Global Protocol is based on a scopes framework for reporting emissions to allow cities and towns to attribute GHG

emissions based on where they are taking place. Scope 1 emissions are physically occur within the geographic boundary,

scope 2 emissions occur as a result of use of grid-supplied electricity, heat, steam and/or cooling) within the city boundary,

and scope 3 emissions occur outside of the geographic boundary but are driven by activities within the geographic boundary.

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

ettin Started

Before diving into data collection and calculation of emissions, there are two key decisions that need

to be made for a community-scale GHG inventory.

What year am I calculating GHG emissions for?

If your community is developing a GHG inventory for the first time, we recommend selecting

the most recent year for which data are widely available. In some instances, where communities

have set specific GHG emissions reductions goal from a specific year, you may want to calculate

emissions for the baseline year if data is available. It can be more difficult to access historic data

depending on how far back the comparison year is (e.g. 2002 vs. 2013).

At the time of publishing, the most complete year of available data was 2017. For this reason,

the Tool is auto-populated with several sets of inputs associated with 2017. To use the tool for

an alternate inventory year, you can follow the guidance provided in Appendix C to collect the

associated data for the new inventory year. Keep in mind that depending on the year selected,

data set availability may vary across different sources.

What is the geographic boundary for this GHG inventory?

We recommend selecting your city or town’s administrative geographic boundary for the

purposes of developing a community-scale GHG inventory. This selection will align most closely

with many of the data source recommendations that follow.

These are both important items to come to consensus on with the necessary stakeholders prior to

data collection as they will both inform how you approach decisions later in the process.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

STEP 2

GATHER THE DATA

Best Practices for Data Collection

The data sources recommended in this guide are informed by local experience and the Global Protocol’s

principles for data collection. Please keep these principles in mind as you consider any substitutions or

alternate data sources to the ones recommended throughout the guide. Follow these principles and you will

be well on your way to being a GHG inventory whiz!

Principle Global Protocol Definition Key Questions to Ask

Relevance

The reported GHG emissions shall appropriately reflect

the emissions occurring as a result of activities and

consumption patterns of the city.

Does the data set directly relate to

the geographic boundary of the GHG

inventory?

Completeness

Cities shall account for all required emissions sources

within the inventory boundary. Any exclusion of emission

sources shall be justified and clearly explained.

Does the data set include all information

for the selected baseline year?

Consistency

Emissions calculations shall be consistent in approach,

boundary, and methodology.

Does the data adhere to the methods

of the GHG inventory? Can the same

methods be used year over year?

Transparency

Activity data, emissions sources, emissions factors,

and accounting methodologies require adequate

documentation and disclosure to enable verification.

Can the data be readily documented

and shared with the public?

Accuracy

The calculation of GHG emissions shall not systematically

overstate or understate actual GHG emissions.

How close to reality is any of the

estimated data being used?

TO LEARN MORE...

To learn more about these guiding principles, go

to page 25 in Chapter 2 of the Global Protocol.

It is time to collect all the data you need to complete a community GHG inventory. e data that you

need to collect is dened by characteristics that make your community unique. Where available, we

provide options for data collection that can be input directly into the Tool for GHG emissions calculation.

In some instances, a direct source of data may not be easily accessible. Where this is the case, we

provide recommended methods to estimate activity data for inclusion in your GHG inventory.

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Create a Process

There are a few best practices to create a clear and replicable process for updating your GHG inventory periodically.

Identify a department, committee, or other appropriate party who will be responsible

for periodic GHG inventory updates. By designating where the responsibility for the GHG

inventory lies, you can set the foundation for maintaining capacity and knowledge over time.

It may be beneficial to make sure that at least two people understand how to update the GHG

inventory and are familiar with the data sources to create a contingency in case of a transition.

Store all files and supporting data in a central location. This may seem like a no-brainer,

but a well-organized and clearly labeled file storage system will set you up for success moving

forward. This ensures that in the future, staff will be able to identify what data sources were

used and replicate the methods to consistently update the community’s GHG inventory.

Log changes made to the data and methods. This practice is important to maintain

transparency and consistency in how your data is reported publicly. One of the limitations

of using a spreadsheet-based tool is that there is no streamlined way to track changes that

are made to formulas or input data. A best practice to remedy this limitation is to maintain a

separate document where users can log the data inputs and any method changes made, along

with the date and rationale for making the change.

Checlist to Dene Local Characteristics

Review the following questions and check-off all characteristics that apply to your

community. This will provide you with a high-level guide on what community-specific

data you need to collect for your GHG inventory.

STATIONARY ENERY

Who provides your community with electricity and natural gas?

Investor Owned

Utilities

Municipal

Utilities

Both

Is your municipality designated as a Green Community through

the MA Department of Energy Resources?

Yes —

Green Community

Does your community have a green municipal aggregation

program in place?

Yes

Do you have access to heating oil consumption for residential,

commercial, and industrial customers?

Yes — we have

this data

Does your community intend to use EPA MOVES (Motor Vehicle

Emissions Simulator) to calculate emissions from landscaping,

construction, and manufacturing equipment?

Yes

TRANSPORTATION

WASTE

Are there public on-road and/or trolley bus routes within your

municipality? (check all that apply)

Served by MBTA

Served by

another RTA

Municipally

operated

Which MBTA railways provide service within your municipality?

(check all that apply)

Light rail —

Green line

Heavy rail —

Blue, orange

and/or red line

Commuter Rail

Does your Department of Public Works collect data on municipal solid

waste (MSW) by method of disposal?

Yes

Has your community recently completed a waste

characterization survey?

Yes No

Do your municipal solid waste collection services cover all residents,

school buildings and businesses? (check all that apply)

Yes —

all of the above

Some residents Some businesses School buildings

Is your community’s wastewater treated by MWRA at Deer Island or the Lawrence,

Rockland, Clinton, or Pittsfield treatment facilities? (Check all that apply)

MWRA at Deer

Island

Lawrence

treatment

Rockland

Treatment

Clinton

treatment

Pittsfield

treatment

None of

the above

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Step-by-Step

Stationary Enery

Stationary energy accounts for GHG emissions resulting from the use and production of all fuels by non-mobile sources.

This includes the direct emissions from the combustion of fuels and indirect emissions from consumption of grid-supplied

electricity. Primarily, this represents GHG emissions from the buildings within your community – homes, businesses, and

municipal operations. GHG emissions from any energy industries located within your community are also accounted for

in stationary energy. This guide also provides an approach to account for GHG emissions resulting from construction and

landscaping activities. Stationary energy also accounts for any fugitive emissions, such as electricity transmission and

distribution losses and natural gas leaks.

Electricity and Natural Gas

Calculating emissions from the electricity and natural gas consumed in your community requires collection of total kilowatt

hours (kWh) and therms consumed by all buildings during the inventory year. Where you go to collect this data depends on

the electricity and natural gas service providers in your community.

The electricity and natural gas consumed by municipally owned buildings is accounted for in the Commercial and Industrial

account data reported by the Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs). If your community is interested in tracking municipal GHG

emissions separately from community wide GHG emissions, additional data on electricity, natural gas, and other heating

fuels (oil and/or propane) needs to be collected. If your community is a designated Green Community, this data will be

available annually in reports completed by your city or town.

WHAT IF MY COMMUNITY’S DATA IS NOT ON MASSSAVEDATA?

For some municipalities, data may not be available due to the utility’s privacy restrictions. This occurs when

there are less than 100 residential customers and/or less than 15 commercial and industrial customers in

a community. Additionally, MassSaveData is not available prior to 2013 and, as of publishing this Guide, is

only available through 2018.

Question 1A

Who provides your community with electricity and natural gas service?

My community is served by an investor owned utility for electricity and/or natural gas.

As of 2015, all of the investor owned utilities (“IOUs”) in Massachusetts have been publishing electricity

and natural gas consumption data broken out by municipality online. MassSaveData provides

community-wide kWh and therm usage by year. This will be broken out by Residential and Low Income

and Commercial and Industrial customer segments.

Download your community’s MassSaveData at www.masssavedata.com

My community is served by a municipal utility for electricity and/or natural gas.

Communities served by municipal utilities, or without data available on MassSaveData, will need

to make a request for sector-level consumption data to their electricity provider directly.

Total kWh for

baseline year

Total therms for

baseline year

Residential customers

XX XX

Commercial and

industrial customers

XX XX

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Question 1B:

Is your municipality designated as a Green Community through the MA Department

of Energy Resources?

Yes — we are a Green Community

Great! You can download the data needed on electricity and natural gas consumption,

as well as all other fuels consumed by your municipal facilities, through the state’s online

energy benchmarking platform, MassEnergyInsight. You will need to download the

report titled “Energy Reduction Plan Guidance Table 3 (Fuel Units)”. Make sure to switch

the data view to calendar year by selecting the “Fiscal Year Start Month” of January.

Access MEI using your log-in credentials at www.massenergyinsight.net/

While you are there, make sure to download your municipal vehicle fleet’s gasoline and

diesel consumption. This will be needed in the Transportation section.

No — we are not a Green Community.

You may choose to collect the electricity, natural gas, oil, and propane consumption

total for your municipal buildings separately. Reach out to your facilities and

accounting departments to identify how to collect this data for your baseline year.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

WHAT IF MY COMMUNITY’S INVENTORY YEAR IS NOT 2017?

While the Tool was created for easy calculation of emissions for the inventory year of 2017 (the most recent year of

available data at the time of publishing), you may modify the electricity emissions factor data to support alternative years.

If using a year other than 2017 for your inventory, see Appendix C for additional data collection guidance to adjust the

default settings in the Tool accordingly.

Electricity Emission Factors

The Global Protocol allows communities to use either a location-based or market-based approach to calculated emissions

from grid-supplied electricity. The Tool applies a market-based approach to determine the emissions factors for electricity.

The Tool includes default annual emissions factors from MassDEP’s GHG emissions reporting summaries.

For more information see MassDEP’s Emission Factor Calculations https://www.mass.gov/lists/massachusetts-

greenhouse-gas-ghg-reporting-program-data.

Those communities with green municipal aggregation programs in place may choose to customize the emissions factors

applied to the electricity consumed by residential and commercial customers subscribed to the program. This requires the

collection of additional data about your aggregation program.

WHAT IS GREEN MUNICIPAL AGGREGATION?

Municipal aggregation (also known as community choice aggregation) allows a city or town to determine where

its electricity comes from. In a municipal aggregation, a city or town contracts with an electricity supplier on

behalf of residents and businesses who have not already selected a competitive supplier. A green municipal

aggregation program seeks to exceed the state’s requirements for renewable energy by requiring additional

percentages of renewables within the community’s electricity supply. Learn more about green municipal

aggregation with MAPC: https://www.mapc.org/our-work/expertise/clean-energy/green-municipal-aggregation/

Question 1C:

Does your community have a green municipal aggregation program in place?

Yes – we do have a green municipal aggregation program.

Great! You will need to request data from your aggregation provider to calculate a custom

emissions factor that takes into consideration the additional renewables procured through

your aggregation. You will need to know the amount of kWh consumed during the baseline

year by (1) customers subscribed to the base aggregation rate, (2) customers who opted up to

higher percentages of renewables, and (3) customers who opted out of the program entirely.

You will also need to access the aggregation’s Disclosure Label for the baseline year. The

Disclosure Label is a brief document that your aggregation provider is required to provide

you that includes the rate structures for that period of the program.

No – we do not have a green municipal aggregation program in place.

You can move onto the next section for data collection. While some individual residents and

businesses may be purchasing green power from a retail electricity provider, we recommend

using the default annual emissions factors for Massachusetts published by MassDEP.

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Transmission and Distribution

The Tool also accounts for losses from the electricity and natural

gas distribution systems. For electricity transmission and distribution

losses, a standardized approach is taken to account for any losses

associated with the total amount of electricity consumed community-

wide during the baseline year. For natural gas leaks, an average leak

factor of 2.7 percent is applied to the total amount of natural gas

consumed community-wide during the baseline year.

No additional

data is needed to calculate emissions associated with this subsector.

1 McKain, Kathryn, et al., “Methane emissions from natural gas infrastructure

and use in the urban region of Boston, Massachusetts,” PNAS, published

January 23, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1416261112

WHERE IS THE 2.7 PERCENT

FACTOR FROM?

Harvard University led research on methane

emissions from natural gas infrastructure in

the Boston area. The 2015 study, published

in the Proceedings of the National Academy

of Sciences, found that the average loss

rate from all components of the natural

gas system (inclusive of transmission,

distribution, and end use) was 2.7 percent.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Heating Fuel Oil

Unlike electricity and natural gas, there is no publicly available data source for actual consumption of heating fuel oil. We

have provided the option to input that data directly for those who have access to a local data set on heating oil use. The Tool’s

default approach will be to use a method of estimating consumption based on publicly available national and state datasets.

Question 1D:

Do you have access to complete heating oil consumption for residential, commercial

and industrial customers?

Yes – we have access to this data.

Great! You can move on to include that data as a direct input to your GHG inventory.

No – we do not have access to this data.

That’s OK – to estimate heating oil consumption, there are three publicly available datasets you will need to

download and use in the GHG inventory.

For residential heating fuel oil use the Tool uses US Census Bureau data on household heating fuel from the

American Community Survey. The data needed for your municipality are: Housing Tenure by Fuel Type and

Housing Tenure by Units in Structure, aggregated at the municipal level.

Download the housing tenure data for your community at: datacommon.mapc.org/browser/Housing

For commercial and industrial heating fuel oil use the Tool calculates a share of the statewide heating oil

usage, based on number of businesses and industries located within the municipality. This third data set

comes from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The data needed

are from their Employment and Wage (ES-202) survey. To download the data needed for the heating oil

estimation, fill out the fields as follows, making the necessary adjustments for Specific Geographic Area and

Selected Year. You will only need to input data for the 3-digit North American Industry Classification System

(NAICS) codes.

Access the ES-202 survey data at: http://lmi2.detma.org/lmi/lmi_es_a.asp

TO LEARN MORE...

To learn more about our

methodology for estimating

heating oil consumption for

residential, commercial, and

industrial buildings, please

see Appendix A.

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Energy Industries

Following the BASIC reporting principles of the Global Protocol and to

avoid the possibility of double counting emissions from local energy

producers, the GHG inventory tool assumes that the emissions from these

facilities are captured in the community-wide electricity or natural gas

consumption data. Facilities that use natural gas to produce electricity and

heat (co-generation) for use on-site are accounted for in the community-

wide natural gas consumption data. The emissions from facilities within

the community boundary that produce electricity to supply to the electric

grid are accounted for in the grid-supplied electricity emissions factor.

TRACKING EMISSIONS

FROM POWER PRODUCERS

For informational purposes, it may be useful

to consider the emissions from local energy

producers if the community has plans to

work directly with these entities to reduce

emissions at those facilities. This includes

power plants, natural gas and oil production

and processing facilities, co-generation, and

waste-to-energy or bioenergy facilities. For

the most part, municipalities do not have a

high level of inﬂuence over decisions made

to reduce GHG emissions at these facilities.

However, your community might choose to

track GHG emissions from power producing

facilities separately in instances where

mitigation actions may impact their GHG

emissions.

If your community chooses, emissions from

these facilities may be tracked in the Tool.

This supplementary data will not be added

to your inventory total, but you can choose

to track emissions separately using publicly

available data. Generators that emit more

than 25,000 MT CO2e annually are required

to report their GHG emissions to the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency. This data

has been prepopulated in the Tool for 2017.

You may access this data for other reporting

years at https://ghgdata.epa.gov/ghgp/

main.do?site_preference=normal.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Landscaping, Construction and Manufacturing Emissions

GHG emissions from off-road mobile activities are categorized according to how they occur. There are two

sources of off-road mobile emissions that are of primary concern locally – these are emissions from landscaping,

construction, and manufacturing activities. These GHG emissions are included in the Stationary Energy sector

because the combustion of fuel is localized and occurs off public roadways.

GHG emissions from landscape and construction equipment and manufacturing can be derived from a publicly

available U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emission modeling system called the Motor Vehicle

Emission Simulator (MOVES). MOVES estimates emissions for mobile non-road sources at the national and county

level, which then need to be scaled down to the municipal scale.

For communities using an inventory year of 2017, MAPC has generated the county level MOVES outputs for public

use. This is available at: https://datacommon.mapc.org/browser/datasets/410

For landscaping, community level emissions are proportional to county-level data and based on the ratio of

landscaped area in your community versus the total landscaped area in the county. Emissions from construction

equipment are estimated using a proportion of square footage of commercial development under construction at

the county and community level. For manufacturing, community level emissions are proportional to county-level

data and based on a ratio of manufacturing jobs in your community versus the manufacturing jobs in your county.

Question 1E:

Does your community intend to use MOVES to calculate emissions from landscape equipment?

Yes — we have run this modeling, or have access to it, for our county.

Great! To allocate the county-level emissions figure for landscaping emissions from MOVES to your

municipality, you will need to create a proportion of total square footage of landscaped area in your

municipality to total landscaped area in the county. Where available, we recommend using local GIS

datasets to obtain this information. However, MassGIS publishes a land cover dataset that can be used to

approximate total landscaped area. MAPC has provided one data set to assist, by aggregating the amount

of “Developed Open Space” in the 2016 Land Cover/Land Use data set produced by MassGIS at the county

and municipal levels.

Download the land cover data for your community at: https://datacommon.mapc.org/browser/

datasets/411

To allocate the county-level emissions figure for construction emissions from MOVES to your municipality,

you will need to create a proportion of total square footage of commercial development under

construction in your municipality during the inventory year to the total square footage of commercial

development under construction in your county.

You can access this data from the commercial real estate database, CoStar, by submitting a data request

to MAPC’s Analytical Services Group: https://www.mapc.org/our-work/expertise/data-services/.

To allocate the county-level emissions figure for manufacturing emissions from MOVES to your

municipality, you will need to collect data from the American Community Survey on total employment

and manufacturing employment for your county and municipality.

Download the data for your county and municipality at: data.census.gov

No — we do not have access to MOVES estimates

At the time of publishing this guide, there is not a widely applicable alternative to using MOVES to

estimate GHG emissions from landscaping and construction equipment and manufacturing. You

may move onto the next section of the guide.

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Step-by-Step

Transportation

Emissions from on-road transportation and railways are calculated within the Transportation sector. GHG emissions

in this sector are caused directly, through the combustion of fuel, and indirectly, through the consumption of grid-

supplied electricity. Municipalities intersected by public transportation routes – regardless of whether there is a stop

within their boundary – must also account for these emissions. Public transportation that occurs on roadways, by

buses and trolley buses, is accounted for in the on-road transportation subsector. Public transportation that occurs

on railways, by commuter rail, heavy rail, and light rail, is accounted for in the railways subsector. This guide provides

data for public transportation operated by the MBTA for the 2017 base year. It also includes instructions for applying a

similar method to evaluate emissions from other regional transit authorities (RTAs).

On-road Passenger and Commercial Vehicles

All municipalities, regardless of size and location, must calculate emissions generated by the vehicles moving along

their roadways. There are a few approaches for doing so; this guide employs the resident activity method, where each

municipality quantifies the impact of only those vehicles registered within their city. This method is preferred because

it can be replicated on an annual basis and reduces the risk of double counting emissions from the allocation of cross-

boundary trips across multiple communities.

The Massachusetts Vehicle Census (MAVC), which is available for download on MAPC’s website, is the recommended

source when using the resident activity method. The MAVC combines information from vehicle registrations,

inspection records, mileage ratings, and other sources to document the ownership and mileage history of each vehicle.

To access the required information, you will need to download the MAVC tables for your community. Once downloaded,

you will need to navigate to the row with information on your municipality and copy data from the following fields.

Download the MAVC data for your community at: https://datacommon.mapc.org/browser/datasets/412

Noncommercial Passenger Vehicles Commercial Vehicles

Total vehicles by fuel type Total vehicles by fuel type

Total vehicles with valid mileage estimates

(DVMT) and fuel economy ratings (MPG)

by fuel type

Total vehicles with valid mileage estimates

(DVMT) and fuel economy ratings (MPG)

by fuel type

Average Daily Vehicle Miles Travelled

(DVMT) by fuel type

Average Daily Vehicle Miles Travelled

(DVMT) by fuel type

Average Fuel Efficiency (MPG) by fuel type Average Fuel Efficiency (MPG) by fuel type

TO LEARN MORE...

Read more about the Vehicle

Census here: https://www.mapc.

org/learn/data/#vehiclecensus

HOW TO INCLUDE MUNICIPAL FLEET VEHICLES

The MAVC does not include municipal ﬂeet vehicles. If you are a Green

Community you may choose to input the data from MassEnergyInsight on

gasoline and diesel use to account for all of municipal operations within your

GHG inventory. Refer to Question 1B.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Public Transportation (On-road and Railway)

Municipalities should begin their calculations by identifying what public transportation operates within their boundaries.

On-road buses and trolleys

Question 2A:

Are there public on-road and/or trolley bus routes within your municipality?

(Select ALL OPTIONS that are relevant)

Yes – the MBTA operates public buses in my municipality.

The MBTA operates buses in 55 municipalities in Massachusetts. If your municipality has bus

service, you should account for these emissions in your inventory. MAPC has prepared these

figures by municipality for a base year of 2017.

The MBTA operates two trolley bus networks, one, serving Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, and

Watertown through bus routes 71, 72, 73, and 77A, and a second, serving downtown Boston through

the Silver Line. If your municipality has trolley bus service, you should account for these emissions

in your inventory. MAPC has prepared these figures by municipality for a base year of 2017.

Download the data for buses and trolleys at:

https://datacommon.mapc.org/browser/datasets/408?max=200&min=150

Yes – another regional transit authority operates public buses in my municipality.

In addition to the MBTA, there are 15 regional transit authorities (RTAs) operating within Massachusetts. If

one of these RTAs serves your municipality, you will need to request emissions attributable to routes within

your municipality. If the RTA does not have this information available, you may choose to exclude these

emissions or work with the RTA to calculate it using similar methods. (Check out the instructions below)

Yes – my municipality operates public buses

If your municipality operates its own public on-road or trolley buses, you will need to include

emissions attributable to these routes based on fuel consumption data. If your municipality does not

have this information available, you may choose to exclude these emissions from your GHG inventory.

No – there are no public bus or trolley routes within my municipality.

If this is the case, please proceed to the next set of questions on railways.

HOW TO ESTIMATE EMISSIONS FROM RTA OR MUNICIPALLY OPERATED ON

ROAD OR TROLLEY BUS ROUTES

If your municipality is served by one or more of the ﬁeen regional transit authorities (RTAs) that provide ﬁxed route and

paratransit service across the state, your inventory should account for these emissions. We’ve outlined one approach for doing

so here, which is based on what information the RTA is likely to have available and what is possible to complete with limited

resources. If your RTA does not have the required information available, you feel you cannot conduct these calculations, or you

would like to pursue a more sophisticated approach, you should reach out to MAPC for technical assistance.

To start, contact your RTA and explain you are conducting a greenhouse gas inventory. Then request the following information:

• Total fuel used for transportation during your inventory base year, by fuel type

• Total route distance for the system during your inventory base year, by route or vehicle/fuel type

• Total route distance for your municipality during your inventory base year, by route or vehicle/fuel type

Once you have this information on hand, create a ratio of route distance for your municipality to route distance for the system.

Then, multiply this ﬁgure by the total fuel used in your base year. Input this number in the Inventory Tool.

(route distance for your municipality / route distance for the system)*(total fuel used in base year) = fuel use attributed to

your municipality in base year

You will need to perform a separate calculation for each fuel type used within the regional transit authority serving your

community.

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Railways

This guide covers calculations for three different types of rail emissions: light rail and heavy rail, which use

electricity, and commuter rail, which uses diesel fuel. MAPC has prepared data tables for each line with

information on miles traveled by line and by fuel type for each municipality served by the MBTA in 2017.

Download the MBTA frequency weighted trip miles data for your community at:

https://datacommon.mapc.org/browser/datasets/408

Question 2B:

Which MBTA railways provide service within your municipality?

(Select ALL OPTIONS that are relevant)

The MBTA operates Light Rail in my municipality.

The Green Line and the Mattapan Trolley are both light rail systems operated by the MBTA. As

of the writing of this guide, the Green Line serves Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Newton

and the Mattapan Trolley serves Boston and Milton. Municipalities that are not served by the

Green Line or Mattapan Trolley do not need to include light rail calculations in their inventory.

The MBTA operates Heavy Rail in my municipality.

The MBTA operates three heavy rail lines: Blue, Orange, and Red. As of the writing of this

guide, at least one of these lines serves the following municipalities: Boston, Braintree,

Cambridge, Malden, Medford, Milton, Quincy, Revere, and Somerville. Municipalities

outside this territory do not need to include heavy rail calculations in their inventory.

The MBTA operates Commuter Rail in my municipality.

MBTA-operated commuter rail service extends to 101 out of the 351 municipalities in the Commonwealth.

Municipalities outside this territory do not need to include commuter rail calculations in their inventory.

None of the above – the MBTA does not operate any railways in my municipality.

If this is the case, please proceed to the next set of questions.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Step-by-Step

Waste

The waste sector is composed of all emissions that result from the disposal of solid waste and treatment of

wastewater generated within the geography boundary of the GHG inventory. This guide covers data collection for

municipal solid waste and for wastewater generated within the community.

Solid waste is generated by residents and visitors, businesses, public entities, and other organizations in the

community. There are two main sources of emissions from solid waste: waste sent to landfill and waste sent to

incineration. Emissions from composting and anaerobic digestion are also considered.

Municipal Solid Waste

Landfilled waste results in methane emissions as organic materials decompose in the anaerobic (non-oxygen)

environment of a landfill. Organic materials (e.g., paper, plant debris, food waste, and so forth) generate methane

while non-organic materials do not (e.g., metal, glass, and so forth). Landfill emissions estimates are based on a

variety of factors, including whether it is an open or closed landfill, the volume of waste, and whether the landfill

has a landfill gas collection system.

• For landfilled waste, GHG inventories should account for methane emissions. These emissions are

estimated using the Methane Commitment Model, which assigns the total lifetime emissions based on the

amount waste sent to landfill in a given year.

• Incineration of waste results in carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions as the waste is

burned. GHG emissions from waste generated within the city boundary that is incinerated outside the city

are included but are considered as Scope 2 emissions (i.e., those emissions resulting from the consumption

of grid supplied electricity) and included as part of the grid-supplied electricity emissions factor.

• The biological treatment of waste through either composting or anaerobic digestion results in methane

and nitrous oxide emissions. The emissions factors used are determined based on type of treatment

occurring and any methane gas recovery that may be occurring onsite.

You will need to collect information on the amount of waste generated by residents and businesses,

characteristics of the waste stream, and how the waste is disposed of in your community to determine the

amount of waste management related emissions.

This guide does not cover all waste generated outside of the Municipal Solid Waste stream. However, depending

on who is served by your municipal solid waste collection services, some additional data may need to be collected

to ensure that all waste generated by residents and municipal operations is included in your GHG inventory.

TO LEARN MORE...

To learn more about the

Methane Commitment Model,

go to page 90 in Chapter 8 of

the Global Protocol.

WHY ISN’T RECYCLING

INCLUDED IN A GHG INVENTORY?

Any energy consumed on-site to

recycle the materials would be

accounted for in the stationary

energy sector from any electricity

use or combusted fuel. Recyclables

also do not emit any methane gas

during the refurbishing processes,

so the total tonnage of recycling

does not need to be accounted for

in a methane commitment model.

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Question 3A:

Does your Department of Public Works collect data on municipal solid waste (MSW)

by method of disposal?

Yes – we have data on MSW by method of disposal.

Great! To complete your inventory, you will need to collect the total tons of municipal

solid waste generated during the inventory year. You will also need to determine a

breakdown in total tonnage for MSW sent to landfill, incineration, composting, and

anerobic digestion. You can choose to do this by applying your known percentages

to the total tons of MSW, or by providing the specific tons by disposal method. Any

reported yard waste collected should be added to either compost or anaerobic

digestion – depending on the method through which it is disposed.

Disposal Method

Tons Generated in

Inventory Year

Percentage of

Total MSW

Landfill %

Incineration %

Composter %

Anaerobic digestion %

No – we do not have data on MSW by method of disposal.

You may use a default diversion rate of 65% of solid waste

goes to incineration and 35% goes to landfill. This aligns with

the Massachusetts statewide average.

NOT SURE IF THE MA

AVERAGE IS APPROPRIATE

IN YOUR COMMUNITY?

There are a few characteristics that may

guide whether to use the MA statewide

average for diversion. Most municipalities

that send their solid waste to an incinerator

have long-term contracts that require all

waste be sent to that location only. In this

case, you could assume a 100% diversion

rate to incineration. However, municipalities

that use transfer stations are likely sending

a portion of the waste to landﬁlls. In this

case, we recommend using the MA statewide

average in the absence of local data from your

Department of Public Works.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Question 3B:

Has your community recently completed a waste characteristics survey?

Yes – We recently completed a waste characteristics survey.

Great! You will need to collect this information to identify the percent of waste content in household

trash. You will need to align the content categories from your local survey with the following as much as

possible: Food Waste, Garden and Plant Waste, Paper, Wood, Textiles, and Industrial Waste. For categories

that include multiple categories from your survey, you will need to sum the percentages accordingly.

% of waste content Inventory Category Categories Included from Survey

Food Waste Ex: organic materials, compost

Garden and Plant Waste Ex: yard waste, leaf collection

Paper Ex: recyclable items, other trash

Wood Ex: construction or demolition debris

Textiles

Industrial Waste Ex: household hazardous waste

No – We have not done a waste characteristics survey.

You will use the weighted averages found in the Massachusetts Summary of Waste

Combustor class II Recycling Program Waste Characterization Studies.

The average

waste characteristics from this study will be automatically populated in the Tool.

2 https://www.mass.gov/guides/solid-waste-master-plan#-waste-characterization-&-capacity-studies-

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Question 3C:

Do your municipal solid waste collection services cover all residents, school buildings

and businesses?

Yes — Our municipal solid waste collection covers all residents, schools, and/or businesses.

This means that no residents are served by private waste haulers in your community. No additional

data needs to be collected for your GHG inventory.

No — Some residents are served by private waste haulers.

To determine this, your will need to obtain the number of households from the ACS and determine the

difference between that and the number of households reported in the MassDEP survey (see below).

If they match, you may move on to the next step! If not, you may choose to use the MSW number and

divide by households served to determine an average amount of waste generated and apply that to

the remaining households to estimate residential waste disposed by private waste haulers. This is an

optional input that can be included in the Tool for tons of waste collected by private waste haulers.

Access total number of households at https://datacommon.mapc.org/browser/datasets/211

No — Our public schools are serviced separately from municipal solid waste.

You may choose to estimate emissions from public schools separately as an optional input to include

in the Tool for tons of waste collected by private waste haulers. To do so, you will need to collect data

to support an estimation of the amount of solid waste generated by public schools. You will need to

collect data on the number of students enrolled at each school during the inventory year and the type

of school (e.g., elementary, middle, or high school).

These inputs can then be used to estimate food waste (i.e., organic waste) generated by

schools in your community following guidance from RecyclingWorks Massachusetts: https://

recyclingworksma.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Elementary-and-Secondary-Schools.pdf

No — Businesses are served by private waste haulers.

You may exclude this category from the inventory since

this will be a small portion of the overall GHG emissions.

At the time of publishing this guide, localized and/or

industry specific waste generation factors do not exist

at a level robust enough to support inclusion of an

estimation methodology for waste disposed by private

haulers. In the interim, the Tool provides open input fields

for communities that do have access to robust data or

estimates on commercial waste.

NOT SURE WHAT’S

INCLUDED IN YOUR

MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE?

While you can always check with your

DPW, you may also be able to conﬁrm

this by reviewing the data reported by

MassDEP on an annual basis through

their Municipal Solid Waste and Recycling

survey. This data is available at www.

mass.gov/lists/recycling-solid-waste-data-

for-massachusetts-cities-towns

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Wastewater

Wastewater treatment can result in methane and/or nitrous oxide emissions. The wastewater from many

Boston-area communities is treated at the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in Boston. Typically, very

little methane is released from the treatment process at Deer Island. The plant uses up to 97% of the methane

for heating the digester tanks or a cogeneration system where it is used to heat buildings and generate

electricity via steam turbine generators. Similarly, treatment plants in Lawrence, Rockland, Clinton and Pittsfield

use methane capture systems that significantly reduce the release of GHG emissions. Because of this, methane

emissions associated with wastewater treatment can be excluded from communities served by these facilities.

If your community’s wastewater is not treated at one of these facilities, methane emissions will be estimated

using default population-based emissions factors use by MassDEP for the statewide emissions inventory.

Nitrous oxide emissions also occur as a bi-product of the wastewater treatment process after it is discharged

into waterways. At Deer Island nitrous oxide emissions are primarily from treated effluent being discharged into

the ocean. For communities by any wastewater treatment facility, the nitrous oxide emissions from the treated

effluent also needs to be accounted for. To determine the amount of nitrous oxide emissions from wastewater

treatment effluent, the total population of the community served by the treatment facility is needed as well as

the per capita protein consumption value.

Question 3D:

Is your community’s wastewater treated by MWRA at Deer Island or the Lawrence,

Rockland, Clinton, or Pittsfield treatment facilities?

Yes — we are served by one or more of these treatment facilities.

Only nitrous oxide emissions will be estimated for the wastewater that is sent to these

facilities. You will need to contact your Department of Public Works for the number of people

in your community served by a treatment plant in the Tool.

For those in your community who are not served by these facilities, both Methane and nitrous

oxide emissions will be estimated. You will need to download the annual estimates for your

community’s population from the U.S. Census Bureau’s City and Town population data set.

Access population data at: https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/demo/

popest/2010s-total-cities-and-towns.html#tables

No — we are not served by any of these facilities.

Both Methane and nitrous oxide emissions will be estimated for your entire community. You

will need to download the annual estimates for your community’s population from the U.S.

Census Bureau’s City and Town population data set.

Access population data at: https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/demo/

popest/2010s-total-cities-and-towns.html#tables

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Data Collection Worsheet

This worksheet can be used to collect the necessary data in one place

to streamline the process of inputting data into the Tool later on. Refer

back to the questions in the Checklist to Define Local Characteristics

and the supporting information provided in the step-by-step sections of

this guide to complete the worksheet. This worksheet will also provide

you with a consolidated list of all of the data sources used for your

community’s GHG inventory, making documentation of your methods

at the end of the process much easier.

Data Collection Worksheet

Use this worksheet to collect all the necessary input data to complete your community’s greenhouse gas

inventory. This is a single location for you to collect all of the information and document any data sources

specific to your community. This worksheet correlates directly with the INPUTS tab of the Tool.

Stationary Energy

Question 1A: Electricity & Natural Gas (Mandatory)

Data source: Data year:

Question 1E:

Construction, Landscaping, & Manufacturing (If YES)

Part 1: Landscaping

Data source: Data year:

Question 1B: Municipal Operations (Optional)

Data source: Data year:

Question 1C: Electricity Emissions (If YES)

Data source: Data year:

Question 1D: Heating Oil (if YES)

Data source: Data year:

Total MWh Total therms

Residential customers

Commercial and Industrial

customers

Total square

footage

(municipality)

Total square

footage

(country)

Estimated landscaped

area

Total square

footage

(municipality)

Total square

footage

(country)

Commercial

construction under

development

Country

Employment

City/Town

Employment

Total Employment

Manufacturing

Employment

Total

kWh

Total

therms

Total

gallons oil

Total

gallons

propane

Municipal

Buildings

Total gallons diesel Total gallons gasoline

Municipal

Vehicles

Total Annual Electricity

Consumption (kWh/

Yea r)

% of Class

I Voluntary

RECs

Residential Rate 1

Residential Rate 2

Residential Rate 3

Residential Rate 4

Commercial &

Industrial Rate 1

Commercial &

Industrial Rate 2

Commercial &

Industrial Rate 3

Commercial &

Industrial Rate 4

Total oil use

(gallons)

Total therms

Residential customers

Commercial and Industrial

customers

Question 1D: Heating Oil (if NO)

See Page 2 of this worksheet

Part 2: Construction

Data source: Data year:

Part 3: Manufacturing

Data source: Data year:

PAGE 1

PAGE 2

Question 1D: Heating Oil (If NO)

Collect the following inputs to support estimation of heating oil

across residential, commercial, and industrial buildings.

Part 1: Housing Tenure by Units in Structure

Data source: Data year:

Units in Structure Number of Households

1-unit, detached

1-unit, attached

2 units

3 or 4 units

5 to 9 units

10 to 19 units

20 or more units

Mobile homes

Heating Fuel

Percent Occupied Housing

Units in Community

Fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

NAICS Code

Number of

Establishment

Avg. Monthly

Employment

Part 2: Housing Tenure by Fuel Type

Data source: Data year:

Part 3: Industry Employment and Wages

Data source: Data year:

PAGE 3

Transportation

Question 2A: On-road buses and trolley buses

Data source: Data year:

Question 2B: MBTA Railways

Data source: Data year:

On-road passenger and commercial vehicles (Mandatory)

Data source: Data year:

Vehicle Fuel Total Vehicles Total DVMT and MPG Vehicles

Average Daily Vehicle

Miles Travelled (DVMT)

Average Fuel Economy

Rating (MPG)

Passenger Vehicles

Gasoline

Diesel

FlexFuel

Gasoline (Hybrid)

Electric

Commercial Vehicles

Gasoline

Diesel

FlexFuel

Gasoline (Hybrid)

Electric

VMT with

diesel

VMT with

diesel

CNG

VMT with

electric

MBTA Silver Line

Trackless Trolley

All MBTA Bus

(Excluding Silver Line)

VMT with

diesel

VMT with

electric

Blue Line (Heavy Rail)

Orange Line (Heavy Rail)

Red Line (Heavy Rail)

Green Line (Light Rail)

Mattapan Trolley (Light Rail)

Commuter Rail

If served by a municipally operated bus or an RTA (optional)

Data source: Data year:

On-road Public Transit Type

City/Town Annual

Gasoline Consumption

(gal/year)

City/Town Annual Diesel

Consumption (gal/year)

City/Town CNG

Consumption (MMBTU/

year

City/Town Electricity

Consumption (kWh/

year)

RTA 1 Bus Routes

RTA 2 Bus Routes

RTA 3 Bus Routes

Municipally-operated buses

PAGE 4

Waste

Question 3A: Municipal Solid Waste Disposal (If YES)

Data source: Data year:

Question 3B: Waste Characterization (If YES)

Data source: Data year:

Question 3C: Share of Residents Served (If NO)

Data source: Data year:

Question 3C: Public Schools (If NO)

Data source: Data year:

Question 3D: Waste Treatment

Data source: Data year:

Tons Generated in Inventory Year Percentage of Total MSW

Landfill %

Incineration %

Composting %

Anaerobic digestion

% of waste content Inventory Category Categories Included from Survey

Food Waste Ex: organic materials, compost

Garden and Plant Waste Ex: yard waste, leaf collection

Paper Ex: recyclable items, other trash

Wood Ex: construction or demolition debris

# of household waste

Served by MSW collection

Total in Municipality

# of students enrolled # of schools

Elementary Schools

Middle Schools

High Schools

Total Population

% of Population served

by Treatment Plant

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

STEP 3

CALCULATE

EMISSIONS USING

THE TOOL

e next step to completing your GHG inventory will be to input all the data you have collected in

the corresponding elds in the “Inputs” section of the Tool. To proceed in this section you will need:

• A completed data collection worksheet for your community with data for the appropriate

inventory year

• A blank copy of the Tool to input the data

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Naviatin the Tool

When using the Tool, the only tab you will need to add your data to is the “Inputs” sheet of the

spreadsheet. This tab is connected to all of the summary sheets and sector-specific sheets. You can also

update the “Introduction” sheet to reflect the name of your municipality and appropriate inventory year.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

The “All Emissions – Summary” sheet and “Report Charts” is where you can view

all of your emissions data outputs. These two sheets provide you with summary

tables and charts by sector, subsector, fuel type, and scope.

Each sector (Stationary Energy, Transportation, and Waste) has summary sheets

that will populate with the output data from the subsectors covered by the sector.

Example: Stationary Energy – Summary

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

The final “Emissions Factors” sheet in the spreadsheet is where you can view

all of the information about the emissions factors and other conversion factors

applied throughout the Tool. This is where you can see the methodology

applied if your community has a Green Aggregation Program (Question 1C).

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Input the collected data

The “Inputs” sheet provides guidance as you walk through

each sector and subsector on how to gather and where to add

the data collected. You will need to enter community-specific

data from your worksheet using the instructions provided.

Green cells must be updated for the Tool to function properly

(mandatory inputs). Blue cells are not applicable to all

communities (optional inputs). Read the instructions provided

throughout the “Inputs” sheet to determine if the orange cells

are applicable to your community.

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Review all inputs and summary tables

and charts

One you have completed entry of all of your data, review the “All

Emissions – Summary” and “Charts” tab to verify that the data is

displaying correctly and there are no errors in the formulas.

Once everything looks good, you are ready to incorporate your

GHG inventory results into other documents as context on GHG

emissions within your community!

Document your choices

Using the information in your completed inventory, Check List on

Local Characteristics, and Data Collection Worksheet, you can move

on to document the methodology choices made in the Methodology

Template in Appendix A.

The Methodology Template will provide you with the base

documentation of all of the calculations and data sources used in

the guide and the space to document the key decisions you made

on what data to collect and include in your inventory. The Template

also provides a space for communities to input their data sources

and estimation approach for any of the optional data inputs, such as

regional transit authorities and waste collected by private haulers.

The Methodology Template is organized to align with the questions

raised throughout the guide, so that you can easily check off the

data decisions and applicable method sections to use to document

the methodology supporting your GHG inventory.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

FURTHER

RESOURCES AND TOOLS

is guide is meant to be a companion to MAPC’s Community Greenhouse Gas

Inventory Tool and relies on several key resources to support its technical methods and

approaches. e authors recommend that users of this guide also refer to the following

resources and tools for additional support and detail on the supporting methodologies.

The Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (“GPC”) is the

foundational resource that guided the development of this guide. Published by World Resources Institute,

C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) in 2014 – this

is the globally accepted framework for creating an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions at the community

level. The framework provides communities with guidance on how to calculate emissions for each sector and

what activity data is needed to calculate these emissions. The GPC refers to and relies on methodologies put

forth in the IPCC guidelines and scales the national approach down to the community-scale.

The GPC also draws on methods produced in the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

These guidelines were updated in 2006 at the request of the United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change (UNFCCC). These guidelines serve as good practice guidance on internationally agreed upon

methodologies for use by countries to estimate greenhouse gas inventories to report to the UNFCCC. Each

chapter provides detailed guidance on the appropriate methods to account for GHG emissions and average

factors to use at the national level. These national factors are often used in local GHG inventories in the

absence of more localized information.

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network for local and regional governments

and provides resources and support through the network. ICLEI USA has produced several accompanying

protocols, including the U.S. Community Protocol for Accounting and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas

Emissions, the Local Government Operations Protocol, and the Recycling and Composting Emissions

Protocol. Another free resource to ICLEI members is ClearPath, which is an online GHG emissions inventory

development tool that is available to all ICLEI members and consultants supporting ICLEI members.

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Appendix A:

MAPC Community reenhouse as Inventory Tool Methodoloy Template

This Appendix summarizes the inventory methodology used for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s (MAPC)

Community Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory Tool (“the Tool”). The inventory methodologies are described in detail by

sector and subsector.

Throughout the appendix, you will be prompted to add information and select the appropriate sections that apply to

your community based on the data collection decisions you made in creating your GHG inventory using the Tool.

Methodology Basics

The Tool is designed to enable communities in Massachusetts to complete a community-wide inventory that follows the

Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (“Global Protocol”) which was developed by

the World Resources Institute, C40 Cities, and ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability and is required by The Global

Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (Global Covenant).

Emission Sectors and Sources

The Tool accounts for emissions from the following sources, as required by the Global Protocol’s BASIC level of reporting:

• Stationary energy use from residents, businesses and off-road equipment

• On-road private and public transportation and rail transportation

• Solid waste and wastewater disposal and treatment

As part of this process, DNV GL and MAPC assessed the possibility of including emissions from product use, industrial

processes, and land-use. Due to the limited data availability for these activities, they were not included. Table 1

summarizes the sectors, sub-sectors, emissions sources and energy types included in the Tool.

1 The Global Covenant of Mayor’s for Climate and Energy is the new designation for the Compact of Mayors. The Compact of Mayors

was launched by UN Secretary, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40), ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) and the

United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) –with support from UN-Habitat, the UN’s lead agency on urban issues.

Sectors, Sub-sectors, Emissions Sources and Energy Types included in the Tool

Sector Sub-sector Emissions sources Energy types

Stationary

Energy

Residential Buildings

Energy use in residential build-ings as well as

losses from distribution systems

Electricity

Natural gas

Heating Fuel Oil

Petroleum

Products

Commercial and &

Institutional Buildings &

Manufacturing Industries

Energy use in commercial, government, industrial

and institutional buildings as well as losses from

distribution systems

Construction Energy use associated with construction activities

Energy Industries*

Stationary combustion of fuel in various

equipment, such as boilers and generators.

Various – may include

natural gas, propane, and

diesel

Transportation Transportation

All on-road vehicles

Railways

Off-road vehicles/equipment

Gasoline

Diesel

CNG

Electricity

Waste

Solid Waste

Landfills

Incineration of waste generated in the community

Landfill gas (methane)

Wastewater

Process and fugitive emissions from treating

wastewater

Not applicable

*Note: Reporting of Energy Industries emissions is not required under GPC BASIC reporting requirements. For this reason, Energy Industries

emissions are included for informational purposes only

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Geographic Boundary

For the Tool, the administrative boundary for each community has been chosen as the geographic boundary for

inventory purposes. Establishing this geographic boundary does not exclude emissions related to community activities

that occur outside the community geographic limits (e.g. electricity generation or landfilled waste emissions).

Municipality

Inventory Year

V4 of the Tool is set up to quantify GHG emissions for an inventory year of 2017, based on the availability of public data sets.

The Tool identifies the additional data sets that will need to be updated to quantify GHG emissions for a year other than 2017.

If your community chose a year other than 2017 for the GHG Inventory, indicate the appropriate year in the following table.

Inventory Year

Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions

All emissions in this inventory are quantified using activity-based methodologies, which calculate emissions using activity

data from each sector and emission factors. To calculate emissions accordingly, the basic equation is:

Activity Data (units) x Emission Factor (MT of GHG / unit) = Emissions (MT GHG).

Activity data refer to the relevant measurement of energy use or other GHG-generating processes such as fuel consumption

by fuel type, metered annual electricity consumption, and annual vehicle miles traveled. Known emission factors are used

to convert energy usage or other activity data into associated quantities of GHG emissions. Emissions factors are usually

expressed in terms of emissions per unit of activity data (e.g., metric tons of CO2 per kWh of electricity).

Stationary Energy – Electricity

Data Summary

Grid-supplied electricity is provided throughout each community and powers the residential, commercial, and industrial

sectors, in addition to community infrastructure and many transport systems. A majority of Massachusetts communities

served by investor-owned utilities have access to aggregated community-wide electricity consumption data through the

MassSaveData website. For this reason, MassSaveData was used as the primary source for electricity consumption data in the

Tool. Electricity consumption data from MassSave is broken out into two sectors – Residential and Commercial & Industrial.

The Global Protocol also requires accounting of losses from transmission and distribution systems. A Massachusetts-specific

electricity transmission and distribution grid loss factor of 5.13% (for the year 2017) was calculated using guidance from the

U.S. Energy Information Administration. The loss factor was determined by dividing the state’s estimated losses by the result

of total disposition minus direct use. Direct use electricity is the electricity generated mainly at non-utility facilities and that

is not put onto the electricity transmission and distribution grid, and therefore direct use electricity does not contribute to

transmission and distribution losses. This data is provided by EIA in their state electricity profile for Massachusetts within

Table 10: Supply and Disposition of Electricity.

For those communities served by municipal utilities or whose data is not available through MassSaveData:

In this instance, electricity data may have been collected separately through a direct request to the electric utility serving

your community. Please document the data source for your electricity data in the table provided below.

Utility Name Contact Name and Email Data Year Date Received

For those communities that collected data for their GHG inventory in response to Question 1B:

For municipally-owned buildings and facilities, electricity consumption data is sourced from MassEnergyInsight (MEI).

MEI is an online energy benchmarking tool provided to Massachusetts cities and towns that are designated through the

Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Green Communities Program.

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Global Protocol Quantification Method Used

In accordance with Section 6.5 of the Global Protocol, the market-based approach for determining electricity emission factors

was used in the Tool. The Global Protocol allows communities to use either a location-based or market-based approach to

calculate emissions from grid-supplied electricity. The Tool includes default annual emissions factors for 2017 from MassDEP’s

GHG emissions reporting summaries.

Per guidance from DEP, and in accordance with the State's GHG inventory, the

"Massachusetts-based approach" non-biogenic electricity emissions factor was used as the base assumption. CO2, CH4 and

N2O electricity emission factors are provided in the DEP data.

Once the state-level default emission factor is determined, the Tool enables utility-specific adjustments to the electricity

emission factors based on that utility’s percent of total electricity sales reported to the DEP as non-emitting. Some utilities

voluntarily report the percent of electricity sales from non-emitting resources to the DEP. If a utility voluntarily reports this

information to the DEP, it is used as an input in the Tool to adjust the default State electricity emissions factor accordingly. If a

utility does not voluntarily report this information to the DEP, the State average percent of electricity sales from non-emitting

resources is used as a default in the Tool.

Reported emissions from all grid-supplied electricity consumed within the community boundary are reported as Scope 2

emissions. BASIC/BASIC+ reporting avoids double counting by excluding Scope 1 emissions from electricity generation supplied

to the grid.

For those communities that collected data for their GHG Inventory in response to Question 1C:

Cities with municipal aggregation programs will have multiple electricity emission factors depending on the specific service

offering (e.g. 5% Class I RECs, 50% Class I RECs, 100% Class I RECs). If a community has a municipal aggregation program, this

data on the percent of Class I RECs by service offering is also used as an input in the Tool to adjust the default State electricity

emissions factor.

Please document the data source for your community’s green municipal aggregation program in the table provided below.

Aggregation Provider Contact Name and Email Data Year Date Received

Stationary Energy – Natural Gas

Data Summary

Grid-supplied natural gas is provided throughout most cities in Massachusetts and is primarily used by the residential,

commercial, and industrial sectors for heat and hot water production. Natural gas is provided to cities either by an investor-

owned utility (IOU) or through a municipal utility.

A majority of Massachusetts communities served by IOUs have access to aggregated community-wide natural gas consumption

data through the MassSaveData website. For this reason, MassSaveData was used as the source for natural gas consumption

data for most cities in the Tool. Natural gas consumption data from MassSave is broken out into two sectors – Residential and

Commercial & Industrial.

The Global Protocol also requires accounting of losses from distribution systems. Based on an assessment of several studies

that have been done on the subject of gas leakage from the distribution system network in and around the Boston, the Tool

uses an average leakage rate of 2.7%. According to the Harvard study in the Boston area, 2.7%

is the average fractional loss

rate of natural gas to the atmosphere from all downstream components of the natural gas system, including transmission,

distribution, and end use.

For those communities served by municipal utilities or whose data is not available through MassSaveData:

In this instance, natural gas data may have been collected separately through a direct request to the natural gas utility serving

your community. Please document the data source for your natural gas data in the table provided below.

Utility Name Contact Name and Email Data Year Date Received

1 MassDEP. “Draft 2017 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Factors to be used by Retail Sellers of Electricity Reporting under 310 CMR 7.71(9)

‘Reporting Requirements for Retail Sellers of Electricity.” 2019. https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2019/05/30/rsef17-tsd.pdf

2 McKain, Et al., 2014. “Methane emissions form natural gas infrastructure and use in the urban region of Boston, Massachusetts.” https://www.

pnas.org/content/pnas/112/7/1941.full.pdf

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

For municipally-owned buildings and facilities, natural gas consumption data is sourced from MassEnergyInsight (MEI).

MEI is an online energy benchmarking tool provided to Massachusetts cities and towns that are designated through the

Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Green Communities Program.

Global Protocol Quantification Method Used

In accordance with Section 6.3 of the Global Protocol, real consumption data for each fuel type, disaggregated by sector

was used for the inventory. Reported emissions from the usage of natural gas within the community’s boundaries were

reported as Scope 1 emissions. A universal emission factor provided by The Climate Registry was used to calculate natural

gas emissions.

Table A1: Natural Gas Combustion Emissions Rate

Type of Emission CO2 Emission Factor

(kg CO2 / MMBtu)

CO2 Emission Factor

(MT CO2 / Therm)

Source

Natural Gas Consumption 53.06 0.0053 TCR

*Note CH4 or N2O are not included because these emissions are considered to be de minimis

Methane (CH4) emissions associated with distribution system leakage is also accounted for in the Tool. The total CO2

equivalent (CO2e) emissions factor for fugitive emissions from natural gas leakage was determined based on:

• Volume of natural gas per heat energy (m3 gas/therm gas)

• A density value of natural gas of 0.7 kg/m3 based on values provided in the GHG Protocol stationary combustion tool

• The IPCC Tier 1 default for the mass fraction of methane in delivered natural gas (93.4%)

• A carbon dioxide content of 1.0% in the delivered natural gas

The overall emissions factor was then calculated to be 0.0518 MT CO2e/leaked therm.

Stationary Energy – Fuel Oil

Data Summary

Residential Buildings

For the Tool, residential oil usage data was based on the number of housing units in each community by type from the

2017 American Community Survey (ACS), and a percentage of units determined to be heated with fuel oil from the 2017

ACS. The property types identified were:

• Single-Family, Detached

• Single-Family, Attached

• Multi-Family, 2-4 Units

• Multi-Family, 5+ Units

• Mobile Homes

The average residential site fuel oil consumption by property type in Massachusetts was estimated using data from the

U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) on the average fuel oil

consumption by property type and percent of total housing units by residential building type in the U.S., the number of

housing units in Massachusetts by property type in Massachusetts, and the average fuel oil consumption averaged across

all residential building types in Massachusetts. National-level and state-level data was used in places where community-

level data was not available. This combination of national-level, state-level and community-level data was used to

estimated annual fuel oil consumption by property type in the community.

3 2015 Climate Registry Default Emissions Factors, released April 2015

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Commercial Buildings

For the Commercial sector, fuel oil use estimates were based on the total number of employees and total number

establishments by Primary Building Activity (PBA) in each community and the average expected energy use per employee

in the Northeast region. The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOWLD) ES-202 Employment and

Wages Survey lists the number of employees and establishments by industry for each community, sorted by North

American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes.

The EIA 2012 Commercial Building Energy Survey (CBECS)

analyzes energy use and consumption data per employee in the northeast based on Primary Building Activity (PBA). Table

A2 below (generated by EIA) correlates the PBA codes used in CBECS with standard three-digit NAICS codes.

Table A2: Commercial Primary Building Activity (PBA) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes

PBA NAICS Code (3-digit)

Education 611

Food Sales 445

Food Service 722

Inpatient Health Care 622

Lodging 623,721

Office 454, 481, 511, 516, 517, 518, 519, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 531,

533, 541, 551, 561, 624, 921, 923, 924, 925, 926, 928

Other 562, 927

Outpatient Health Care 621

Public Assembly 482, 485, 487, 512, 515, 711, 712, 713

Public Order/ Safety 922

Religious Worship 813

Retail (Mall) 446, 448

Retail (Non-mall) 441, 442, 443, 444, 451, 452, 453, 532

Service 447, 483, 484, 488, 491, 492, 811, 812

Warehouse/Storage 423, 424, 493

Fuel oil consumption by building type was not available for all PBAs but natural gas use for all PBAs was available. For these

building types, a comparison between average fuel oil use to average natural gas use in the same building types was used,

using Office buildings as a baseline. So, for example, if a specific PBA that uses natural gas uses 50% more natural gas

than an Office building using natural gas, the analysis assumes that if the same PBA used fuel oil, it would use 50% more

fuel oil than an Office building. This is the preferred method, as it yields a more conservative estimate.

4 Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. “EOWLD ES-292 Employment and Wages Survey” http://lmi2.detma.org/lmi/

lmi_es_a.asp

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Industrial Buildings

For the industrial sector, data was collected similarly to commercial data. Fuel oil use estimates were based on the total

number of employees and total number of establishments by PBA in each community and the average expected energy

use per employee in the Northeast region. The EOWLD ES-202 Employment and Wages Survey lists the number of

employees and establishments by industry for each community, sorted by NAICS codes.

The EIA 2014 Manufacturing

Energy Consumption Survey (MECS) analyzes energy use and consumption data based on PBA. Table A3 below

(generated by EIA) correlates the PBA codes used in MECS with standard three-digit NAICS codes. Industrial energy uses

between 100 and 200 (such as power generation and utility operations) were not incorporated in this methodology.

Table A3: Industrial NAICS Codes

PBA NAICS Code (3-digit)

Apparel 315

Beverage and Tobacco Products 312

Chemicals 325

Computer and Electronic Products 334

Electrical Equip., Appliances, and Components 335

Fabricated Metal Products 332

Food 311

Furniture and Related Products 337

Leather and Allied Products 316

Machinery 333

Miscellaneous 339

Nonmetallic Mineral Products 327

Paper 322

Petroleum and Coal Products 324

Plastics and Rubber Products 326

Primary Metals 331

Printing and Related Support 323

Textile Mills 313

Textile Product Mills 314

Transportation Equipment 336

Wood Products 321

For those communities that collected data for their GHG inventory in response to Question 1B:

For municipally-owned buildings and facilities, natural gas consumption data is sourced from MassEnergyInsight (MEI).

Fuel oil is manually entered into MEI on an annual basis for Green Communities reporting. For those communities not

participating in the Green Communities program, municipal government will have to work with internal departments

or heating oil companies to determine the total fuel oil consumption associated with municipally-owned buildings and

facilities in a given calendar year.

5 Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. “EOWLD ES-292 Employment and Wages Survey” http://lmi2.detma.org/lmi/

lmi_es_a.asp

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Global Protocol Quantification Method Used

In accordance with Section 6.3 of the Global Protocol, and as detailed above, a collection of representative

consumption surveys, modelled energy consumption, and regional and national fuel consumption data was used to

properly characterize fuel oil consumption in each community within the Tool. Reported emissions from the usage of

fuel oil within each community’s boundaries were reported as Scope 1 emissions. Universal emission factors provided

by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was used to calculate fuel oil emissions.

Table A4: Fuel Oil Combustion Emissions Rates

Type of Emission

CO2 Emission Factor

(MT CO2 / MMBtu)

CH4 Emissions Factor

(MT CH4 / MMBtu)

N2O Emissions Factor

(MT N2O / MMBtu)

Source

Fuel Oil Combustion

(Distillate Fuel Oil #2)

0.07396 0.000003 0.0000006 EPA

Stationary Energy – Off-Road Vehicles and Equipment

Data Summary

The off-road data is derived from a publicly available U.S. EPA emission modeling system called the Motor Vehicle

Emission Simulator (MOVES). MOVES estimates emissions for mobile non-road sources at the national and county

level for criteria air pollutants, greenhouse gases, and air toxics. The Tool is designed to take county-level off-road

emissions data for each county and apportion it to individual communities based on a proportionality multiplier.

The MOVES2014b modeling tool multiplies equipment population, average load factor expressed as an average

fraction of available power, available power in horsepower, hours of use per year, and emission factors with

deterioration and/or new standards. Emissions are then temporally and geographically allocated using appropriate

allocation factors. This produces emissions estimates attributable to many non-road activities but does not include

aircraft, commercial marine vessels, or rail, which are the primary non-road transportation sources contributing to

GHG emissions.

Table A5 summarizes the methodologies used for each of the off-road emission sources.

Table A5: Off-road Emissions Sources and Methodologies

Off-Road Mobile Emission Source Proportionality Multiplier Source Category

Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Jobs Manufacturing Industries

Lawn and Garden Equipment Square Feet of Developed Open Space Comm. & Inst. Buildings

Light Commercial Equipment Total Jobs Excluding Manufacturing Jobs Comm. & Inst. Buildings

Construction Equipment Square Feet of Commercial Development

Under Construction

Construction

Data on manufacturing employment and total employment at both the community and county level is derived from

the U.S. Census. MAPC generated a supporting dataset on square feet of developed open space by municipality and

county from the 2016 Land Cover / Land Use data set produced by MassGIS. Aggregated data from CoStar was used

to determine square feet of commercial development under construction by municipality and county.

GPC Quantification Method Used

In accordance with Section 6.3 and 7.7 of the Global Protocol, the community-wide inventory used the modeling

tool MOVES2014b data, disaggregated by sub-sector. Emissions factor modeling parameters in MOVES2014b

were developed and used to produce emissions factors and the emissions outputs were restricted to county-level

geographic bounds, the smallest subdivision possible in the model.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Stationary Energy – Energy Industries

Data Summary

Data on emissions generation by the energy industry for each community was provided by the EPA's Greenhouse Gas

Reporting Program (GHGRP). All facilities included in the database, excluding landfills that do not generate electricity, are

included in the Tool. These facilities are required to report biogenic CO2 emissions and CO2 emissions excluding biogenic CO2

separately.

or co-generation power plants, if the electricity generated from these facilities is consumed directly within the community

(e.g. co-generation facility at large business or university), the emissions from this power plant should be captured under

BASIC/BASIC+ GPC reporting guidelines. The natural gas consumption and associated emissions required to generate

electricity at these power plants is captured in the utility data used to calculate emissions from the Stationary Energy:

Buildings sector and included in the total reported emissions. Therefore, the EPA data on emissions associated with each co-

generation facility is provided for informational purposes only.

For traditional power plants without co-generation, all electricity produced is sent directly to the regional electrical grid. This

energy is part of the regional electricity mix and consumed by all communities that use electricity from the regional grid.

For this reason, the direct emissions from these power plants should not be captured under BASIC/BASIC+ GPC reporting

guidelines. In other words, the emissions from these power plants are dispersed across the region instead of solely being

attributed to the community in which the power plant is physically located. The emissions are captured in the Tool as part of

the regional electricity emission factor that influences Scope 2 emissions from electricity consumption associated with the

regional grid.

Global Protocol Quantification Method Used

For the reasons stated in the data summary above, emissions from this subsector are not quantified to avoid double counting.

Transportation – On-road Passenger and Commercial Vehicles

Data Summary

At the time of releasing the Tool, 2014 was the most recent year of complete and accurate data available from the

Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles as they transition to a new system for storing their data. Communities should use

more recent years as they become available in the future.

The private on-road vehicle data is derived from the Massachusetts Vehicle Census (MAVC)

, which is a catalog of information

about vehicles registered in the Commonwealth from 2009 to 2014 developed by MAPC. The MAVC combines information

from vehicle registrations, inspection records, mileage ratings, and other sources to document the ownership and mileage

history of each vehicle (Massachusetts Vehicle Census v.3, 2009 – 2014 Technical Documentation October 10, 2016).

In the context of the Tool, the MAVC provides counts of the number of vehicles garaged in each municipality broken out by

passenger and commercial vehicles and by fuel type. Fuel types included gasoline, diesel, flex fuel, hybrid, and electric. In

addition to counts, the MAVC provides average vehicle miles travelled (VMT) and average fuel efficiency of vehicles. The MAVC

data for 2009 to 2014 include commercial vehicle fleets and rental cars but do not include municipally-operated vehicles, such

as police cars or school buses.

6 https://www.mapc.org/learn/data/#vehiclecensus

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Table A6: Detailed Attributes Reported for On-road Vehicles Garaged in Massachusetts

Attribute Details

Count

Total vehicles, based on the municipality where the vehicle is garaged. For the Inventory

Tool, counts are tabulated by vehicle type (non-commercial passenger vehicles and

commercial vehicles) and by fuel type (gasoline, diesel, flex fuel, hybrid, and electric).

Count of Vehicles with Valid

Mileage Estimate and Fuel

Economy Rating

Total vehicles that have a valid mileage estimate and drive less than 200 miles per day,

based on the municipality where the vehicle is garaged, and have a valid fuel economy

rating. As with the overall count, counts for vehicles with a valid mileage estimate and fuel

economy rating are tabulated by vehicle type (non-commercial passenger vehicles and

commercial vehicles) and by fuel type (gasoline, diesel, flex fuel, hybrid, and electric).

Average Daily Vehicle Miles

Travelled (DVMT) by Fuel Type

Average daily mileage for vehicles with a valid mileage estimate and fuel economy rating.

Calculated by vehicle type (non-commercial passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles)

and by fuel type (gasoline, diesel, flex fuel, hybrid, and electric).

Average Fuel Economy Rating

(mpg) by Fuel Type

Average fuel economy rating for vehicles with valid mileage estimates, weighted by average

daily mileage. Calculated as total estimated fuel consumption (gallons/day) for vehicles

with valid mileage estimates and fuel economy ratings, divided by total daily miles for same

vehicles. Calculated by vehicle type (non-commercial passenger vehicles and commercial

vehicles) and by fuel type (gasoline, diesel, flex fuel, hybrid, and electric).

For those communities that collected data for their GHG inventory in response to Question 1B:

For municipally-operated vehicles that are not included in the MAVC, the on-road vehicle data is sourced from

MassEnergyInsight (“MEI”). MEI is an online energy benchmarking tool provided to Massachusetts cities and towns that are

designated through the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Green Communities Program.

Table A7: Vehicle Data Collected from MassEnergyInsight

Type and Use Unit

Municipal Vehicle Fleet Gasoline Gallons

Municipal Vehicle Fleet Diesel Gallons

Global Protocol Quantification Method Used

In accordance with Section 7.3 of the Global Protocol, the resident activity method was used to quantify on-road

transportation emissions. This method quantifies emissions from transportation activity undertaken by community residents

and businesses that garage their vehicles in the community.

Universal emission factors were used to calculate gasoline and diesel emissions. Because electric vehicles registered in one

community may charge in multiple communities, the average electricity emission factor of Eversource & NGRID was used to

approximate emissions associated with charging electric vehicles.

Table A8: Private On-road Vehicles Emissions Factors

Fuel Type Emission Factor Emission Factor Units Source

Gasoline 0.00878 MT CO2e / gallon TCR

Diesel 0.01021 MT CO2e / gallon TCR

Electricity 0.000225813 MT CO2 / kWh Eversource & NGRID Average

Transportation – Public On-road and Rail-based Transportation

Data Summary

Public transportation, consisting of buses, rapid transit, and commuter rail, spans the on-road and rail-based transportation

subsectors. For on-road and rail-based public transportation in Greater Boston, the Tool uses consumption and route data

provided by the MBTA. At the time of publishing for the Tool, the MBTA only had access to system-wide fuel and electricity

consumption data. MAPC, therefore, developed a method to allocate system-wide totals to individual municipalities using route

length and route frequency. The specifics of the calculations MAPC used to produce the supporting MBTA data set used in the

Tool are provided in Appendix B. The calculations produce an estimated number of annual vehicle miles travelled that is based

on the length and frequency of routes that take place within the geographic boundary of the inventory. These annual vehicle

miles travelled are used to portion out the system-wide fuel and electricity consumption data to each respective municipality.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

For those communities that collected data from a regional transit authority in response to Question 2A:

Data on route distance, frequency, and fuel consumption may be available in different formats from each respective regional

transit authority (RTA). To accommodate a variety of inputs, the Inventory Tool will accept inputs of total track distance and fuel

consumed by each applicable route running through your community. Please document the data source for your RTA data in

the table provided below.

Regional Transit Authority Contact Name and Email Data Year Data Fields Date Received

Please document the approach taken to distribute any system level data received from the RTA to your respective geographic

boundaries. GPC Quantification Method

Trackless trolley and bus emissions were calculated in accordance with Section 7.3 of the GPC. Heavy rail, light rail, and

commuter rail emissions were quantified in accordance with Section 7.4 of the GPC.

Universal emission factors provided by The Climate Registry were used to calculate gasoline and diesel emissions. Because

electricity used in public transportation spans across multiple communities, the average electricity emission factor of

Eversource & NGRID was used to approximate emissions associated with electricity consumption in public transportation

vehicle.

Table A9: Public Transit Emissions Factors

Fuel Type Emission Factor Emission Factor Units Source

Diesel 0.01021 MT CO2e / gallon TCR

CNG 0.05294 MT CO2e / MMBTU TCR

Electricity 0.000225813 MT CO2 / kWh Eversource & NGRID Average

Waste – Solid Waste Disposal & Incineration

Data Summary

For most communities in Massachusetts, solid waste is collected through a combination of a municipal curbside-pick up and

private waste haulers. To calculate the emissions associated with solid waste, information is needed on the amount of solid

waste collected from residents and businesses as part of the curbside pickup, as well as the amount of solid waste collected by

private haulers. Information on where the MSW is disposed of (landfill or incineration facility) is also needed.

Data on the total weight of waste collected that is destined for landfill or incineration must be provided by individual municipal

waste collection programs and individual private haulers. If a community knows the percent of their collected waste that is sent

to a landfilling versus incineration facility, they can enter that data into the Tool. If a community does not have this information,

the Inventory Tool assumes the State-level percent of disposed waste sent to landfill (29.4%) and incinerated (70.6%) based on

data in MA DEP 2017 Solid Waste Update.

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

The amount of methane generated by landfilled waste is highly dependent on the amount of degradable organic carbon in

the landfilled waste. To determine the amount of organic carbon in landfilled waste, communities can provide data from a

community-specific waste characterization study. If community does not have this information, the Tool assumes the State-

level waste composition based on data from MA DEP’s Summary of Waste Combustor Class II Recycling Program Waste

Characterization Studies. The waste subcategories from the Massachusetts waste composition study (e.g. “Waxed Cardboard”)

were mapped to the GPC waste categories (e.g. “Paper”) in order to use the appropriate Global Protocol equations to calculate

emissions from landfilled and incinerated waste. See Table A10 below for default State waste composition data and the

corresponding Global Protocol categories.

Table A10: Overall Massachusetts Waste Composition by Detailed Material Category Mapped to Global

Protocol Waste Categories Waste Category/Sub-category Weighted Average Global Protocol Waste Category

Paper

Uncoated Corrugated Cardboard/Kraft Paper 9.2% Paper

Waxed Cardboard 0.3% Paper

High Grade Office Paper 0.5% Paper

Magazines/Catalogs 0.8% Paper

Newsprint 0.7% Paper

Other Recyclable Paper 3.6% Paper

Compostable Paper 5.8% Paper

Remainder/Composite Paper 0.7% Paper

Plastic

PET Beverage Containers (non-MA deposit containers) 0.7% Other

PET Containers other than Beverage Containers 0.2% Other

Plastic MA Deposit Beverage Containers 0.1% Other

HDPE Bottles, colored and natural 0.4% Other

Plastic Tubs and lids (HDPE, PP, etc.) 0.4% Other

Plastic Containers #3-#7 (which originally contained non-

hazardous material)

0.5% Other

Expanded Polystyrene Food Grade 0.4% Other

Expanded Polystyrene Non-food Grade 0.2% Other

Bulk Rigid Plastic Items 1.6% Other

Film (non-bag clean commercial and industrial packaging film) 0.5% Other

Grocery and other Merchandise Bags 0.5% Other

Other Film means plastic film 4.9% Other

Remainder/Composite Plastic 2.8% Other

Metal

Aluminum Beverage Containers (non-MA deposit containers) 0.0% Other

Aluminum MA Deposit Beverage Containers 0.1% Other

Tin/Steel Containers 0.6% Other

Other Aluminum 0.3% Other

Other Ferrous and non-ferrous 0.8% Other

White Goods 0.2% Other

Remainder/Composite Metal 1.6% Other

Glass

Glass Beverage Containers (non-MA deposit containers) 0.5% Other

Other Glass Packaging Containers (non-MA deposit containers) 0.3% Other

Glass MA Deposit Beverage Containers 0.3% Other

Remainder/Composite Glass 0.4% Other

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Organic Materials

Food Waste 26.0% Food

Branches and Stumps 0.1% Garden Waste and Plant Debris

Prunings, Trimmings, Leaves and Grass 2.5% Garden Waste and Plant Debris

Manures 0.1% Garden Waste and Plant Debris

Remainder/Composite Organic 2.6% Garden Waste and Plant Debris

Construction and Demolition (in the MSW stream)

Asphalt Pavement, Brick, and Concrete 0.1% Other

Aggregates, Stone, Rock 0.4% Other

Wood – Treated 5.7% Wood

Wood – Untreated 2.0% Wood

Asphalt Roofing 0.3% Other

Drywall/Gypsum Board 0.6% Other

Carpet and Carpet Padding 3.3% Other

Remainder/Composite Construction and Demolition 2.6% Other

Household Hazardous Waste

Ballasts, CFLs, and Other Fluorescents 0.0% Other

Batteries – Lead Acid 0.0% Other

Batteries – Other 0.0% Other

Paint 0.1% Other

Bio-Hazardous 3.3% Other

Vehicle and Equipment Fluids 0.1% Other

Empty Metal, Glass, and Plastic Containers 0.1% Other

Other Hazardous or Household Hazardous Waste 0.2% Other

Electronics

Computer-related Electronics 0.2% Other

Other “brown goods” 0.7% Other

Televisions and Computer Monitors 0.2% Other

Other Materials

Tires and other rubber 0.7% Other

Textiles 5.8% Textiles

Bulky Materials 0.9% Other

Mattresses 0.1% Other

Restaurant Fats, Oils and Grease 0.1% Food

Other Miscellaneous 1.0% Other

Total 100%

Global Protocol Quantification Method Used

Landlled Waste

Solid waste sent to landfills produces methane (CH_4). For waste sent to landfills, methane emissions were calculated using

Global Protocol Equations 8.1, Equation 8.3, and Equation 8.4.

• Equation 8.1 is used to calculate the total degradable organic carbon (DOC) in the landfilled waste based on the fraction

of landfilled waste that is food, garden waste and other plant debris, paper, wood, textiles, and industrial waste.

• Equation 8.4 uses the DOC estimate derived from Equation 8.1 to calculate the overall methane generation potential of

the waste sent to landfill. Equation 8.4 assumes a methane correction factor of 1.0 because landfills in Massachusetts are

actively managed, assumes a default GPC input of 0.6 for the fraction of degradable organic carbon degraded variable,

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

assumes a default GPC input of 0.5 for the fraction of methane in landfill gas, and uses the DOC variable calculated in

Equation 8.1.

• GPC Equation 8.3 uses the total mass of waste sent to landfill, the methane generation potential of the waste calculated

in GPC Equation 8.3, a GPC default fraction of methane recovered at landfills of 0 and a default oxidation factor of 0.1

because landfills in Massachusetts are actively managed. The methane generation potential of waste sent to landfill

calculated by GPC Equation 8.4 is used to calculate the overall methane commitment for solid waste sent to landfill in

GPC Equation 8.3.

Incinerated Waste

Solid waste that is incinerated produces methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2). GHG emissions

from incineration of municipal solid waste are calculated using Global Protocol Equation 8.6, Equation 8.7, and Equation 8.8.

Emissions generated as a result of incineration out of community boundaries is considered Scope 3 emissions.

• Equation 8.8 is used to calculate the N2O emissions from waste incineration using the mass of waste incinerated, the

percent of waste in each organic material category, and the default N2O emission factor for municipal solid waste from

Global Protocol Table 8.6.

• Equation 8.7 is used to calculate the CH4 emissions from waste incineration using the mass of waste incinerated, the

percent of waste in each organic material category, and the default CH4 emission factor for contiuous incineration: stoker

from Global Protocol Table 8.5.

• Equation 8.6 is used to calculate the non-biogenic CO2 emissions from waste incineration using the mass of waste

incinerated, the percent of waste in each organic material category, and the default values from Global Protocol Table 8.4

on dry matter content by material type, fraction of fossil fuel carbon in each material type, and oxidation factor.

The emissions factors associated with solid waste disposal and incineration are embedded in the assumptions in the Global

Protocol equations used to calculate emissions from landfilled waste (Equations 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4) and the Global Protocol

equations used to calculate emissions from incinerated waste (Equations 8.6, 8.7 and 8.8). See Global Protocol Quantification

Method Used section directly above for explanations on assumptions used in those equations.

Waste – Biological Treatment

Data Summary

To calculate the emissions associated with biological treatment, information is needed on the amount of separated organic

waste collected in the community from residents and businesses as part of the curbside pickup, as well as the amount of

separated organic waste collected by private haulers. Information on where the separated organic waste is disposed of

(compositing facility or anaerobic digestion facility) is also needed. Data on the total weight of separated organic waste

collected that is destined for composting or anaerobic digestion must be provided by individual municipal waste collection

programs and individual private haulers.

If a community knows the percent of their collected separated organic material that is sent to a composting facility versus

an anaerobic digestion facility, they can enter that data into the Tool. If a community does not have this information, the Tool

assumes the State-level percent of disposed separated organic material sent to composting (50.0%) and anaerobic digestion

(50.0%).

GPC Quantification Method Used

Compositing of separated organic material produces nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4), while anaerobic digestion of

separated organic material produces only methane (CH4). Global Protocol Equation 8.5 is used to calculate emissions from

both composting and anaerobic digestion and uses the mass of organic waste treated by each treatment type, the default CH4

emission factor from Global Protocol Table 8.3 based on treatment type, the default N2O emission factor from Global Protocol

Table 8.3 based on treatment type, and the estimated percentage of CH4 that is recovered at each facility. Compositing facilities

in Massachusetts do not have CH4 recovery, while anaerobic digestion facilities have 100% CH4 recovery.

The emissions factors associated with biological treatment of separated organic material are embedded in the assumptions in

the Global Protocol Equation 8.5 used to calculate emissions from compositing and anaerobic digestion facilities. See Global

Protocol Quantification Method Used section directly above for explanations on assumptions used in those equations.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Waste – Wastewater

Data Summary

Data used to estimate wastewater emissions in communities served by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority

(MWRA) uses a combination of default values from the EPA and the GPC and data on methane recovery rates at

MWRA facilities. Data used to estimate wastewater emissions in communities not served by the MWRA uses data from

the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) "Statewide Greenhouse gas Emissions Level: 1990

Baseline and 2020 Business as Usual Projection Update" report.

Global Protocol Quantification Method Used

For communities not served by a MWRA wastewater treatment plant, indirect nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from

wastewater effluent and CH4 generation emissions from wastewater treatment were calculated using the methodology

outlined in the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) "Statewide Greenhouse gas Emissions

Level: 1990 Baseline and 2020 Business as Usual Projection Update" report. This methodology is in compliance with

methodologies recommended by the Global Protocol. Communities that are not served by an MWRA wastewater

treatment plant do have some methane emissions associated with wastewater treatment because methane capture

and co-generation systems are not in place.

The Massachusetts DEP equation for calculating methane (CH4) emissions includes the total population served by the

wastewater treatment plant, total statewide CH4 emissions from municipal wastewater treatment, and the total State

population not served by MWRA. The general approach is to use that State’s data on total methane emissions from

wastewater treatment (13,706 MT CH4/year) and the total State population not served by MWRA (4,279,130 people) to

determine a per capita wastewater treatment methane emissions factor (0.003203 CH4/year/capita) that can be used

by all Massachusetts cities not served by MWRA to estimate CH4 emissions from wastewater treatment.

The Massachusetts DEP equation for calculating nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions includes the total population served

by the wastewater treatment plant, total statewide N2O emissions from municipal wastewater treatment, and the total

State population not served by MWRA. The general approach is to use that State’s data on total nitrous oxide emissions

from wastewater treatment (308.4 MT N2O /year) and the total State population not served by MWRA (4,279,130

people) to determine a per capita wastewater treatment methane emissions factor (0.000072 N2O /year/capita) that

can be used by all Massachusetts cities not served by MWRA to estimate N2O emissions from wastewater treatment.

Some communities are only partially served by an MWRA wastewater treatment plant. For these communities, the

percentage of the total community population served by the MWRA wastewater treatment plant is used to calculate

total wastewater emissions using the MWRA and "non-MWRA" methodologies outlined in this section.

For those communities who are served by a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) treatment plant

(Question 3D):

For communities served by an MWRA wastewater treatment plant (Clinton, Deer Island, Greater Lawrence, Pittsfield,

Rockland) indirect nitrous oxide emissions from wastewater effluent were calculated using GPC Equation 8.11. For these

MWRA facilities, no methane is released from the treatment process. Methane is captured and diverted to co-generation

systems where it is used to heat buildings and generate electricity via steam turbine generators. Equation 8.11 include

the total community population served by the wastewater treatment plant, the annual per capita protein consumption

provided by the EPA, and the default Global Protocol factors for adjustment of non-consumed protein, fraction of

nitrogen in protein, factor for industrial and commercial co-discharged protein into the sewer system, nitrogen removed

from sludge, and emissions factor for N2O emissions from discharged wastewater. Emissions generated as a result of

methane capture and co-generation occurring outside of a community's boundary are considered Scope 3 emissions.

According to the Global Protocol, wastewater used to generate energy is considered a stationary energy source.

Stationary energy sources outside of each community’s boundary are not included in the inventory.

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Appendix B:

MAPC Calculation Methods for MBTA Data

Public transportation, consisting of buses, rapid transit, and commuter rail, spans the on-road and rail-based

transportation subsectors. For on-road and rail-based public transportation in Greater Boston, the Tool uses consumption

and route data provided by the MBTA. At the time of publishing for the Tool, the MBTA only had access to system-wide

fuel and electricity consumption data. MAPC, therefore, developed a method to allocate system-wide totals to individual

municipalities using route length and route frequency.

This appendix details the specific methods MAPC applied to the MBTA data to support communities in Greater Boston

with completion of GHG inventories.

Preparation of Fuel and Electricity Consumption Data

The MBTA provided MAPC with system-wide consumption data for calendar years 2017 and 2018, for the following fuel

types and uses:

Table B1: Data Provided by the MBTA by Fuel Type and Use

Type and Use Unit

ULS (“Ultra-low-sulfur”) Diesel for Buses Gallons

ULS Diesel for Ferries* Gallons

ULS Diesel for Commuter Rail Gallons

Non-Revenue Diesel for Commuter Rail Gallons

Non-Revenue Gasoline for Commuter Rail* Gallons

MBTA Non-Revenue Gasoline* Gallons

Gasoline for The RIDE* Gallons

CNG for Buses MMBTU

Heating Oil (#1/#2 Diesel Fuel)* Gallons

Natural Gas for Buildings* Therms

Jet Fuel* Gallons

Electricity (System-wide) MWh

Steam for Buildings* Klbs.

*Asterisks denote consumption data not used by MAPC.

Another challenge presented by the consumption data provided by the MBTA is the presence of a single figure for

electricity. Based on conversations with MBTA representatives, an estimated 60% of electricity consumption is used to

power vehicles, and the remaining 40% powers buildings. MAPC applied this ratio to the data.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Route Length and Frequency Calculations

To estimate route lengths and frequencies, MAPC downloaded General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) schedule data archived

on the MBTA’s website.

The MBTA publishes a GTFS feed every time there is a known change in service, which means there are

multiple versions for a single year. For example, in 2017, the MBTA published 48 GTFS feeds.

Each of the MBTA’s GTFS feeds consist of 22 tables, of which MAPC utilized six for our calculations:

• The Calendar table defines dates when service is available for particular routes. This file specifies start and end dates, as

well as the days of the week when service is available.

• The Stops table defines the locations of stops on the network by latitude and longitude

• The Stop Times table defines the times that a vehicle arrives at and departs from stops for each trip.

• The Trips table defines trips for each route. A trip is a sequence of two or more stops that occur during a specific time

period.

• The Shapes table provides a geospatial representation of the path followed by the transit vehicles on each route

• The Routes table provides additional descriptive information on each route

The MBTA aggregates GTFS feeds into four seasonal feeds per year (winter, spring, summer, and fall). MAPC combined the data

from each seasonal feed as described below.

MAPC joined the Calendar, Stops, and Stop Times tables by Service ID field, and then joined this table to the Trips table using

the Trip ID field. MAPC calculated the total number of days in the year that each route was in service using the start and end

dates from the Calendar table and the days of week the service is running. We then calculated the total number of annual trips

for each service ID by multiplying the number of trips per Service ID per day from the Trips table with the number of annual

operating days.

Vehicle Miles Traveled Calculation

MAPC used the Shapes tables to calculate the length in miles of each route. However, not every trip on a route covers the

entire length of the route defined in the Shapes table. Many trips cover only partial distances of the route, depending on day of

week and alternate service schedules. MAPC used the Trips, Stops, and Stop Times tables to identify which trips travel the full

length of the route, and which trips travel only a part of the route, by examining the origination stop and ending stop for each

trip. For the trips that do not travel the full route distance, MAPC used the Google Distance Matrix API and Google Directions

API to obtain the transit mode travel distance between the originating stop and the ending stop locations listed in the Trips

table. MAPC also export a shapefile for each of these partial-route trips, in order to allocate them properly across municipal

boundaries.

To obtain annual vehicle miles travelled, MAPC multiplied the annual number of trips for each route by the route length in miles.

This yielded an annual vehicle miles traveled figure for each route which could be used to allocate system-wide consumption.

Commuter Rail

To estimate commuter rail emissions by municipality, MAPC first allocated the system-wide diesel fuel consumption total for

commuter rail for the 2017 calendar year

to individual routes by multiplying the fuel consumption total by a ratio of annual

vehicle miles traveled for each commuter rail route to annual vehicle miles traveled for all commuter rail routes. MAPC

then multiplied the consumption total for the commuter rail route by a ratio of vehicle miles traveled for that route in each

municipality and the sum of vehicle miles traveled for the route.

Heavy Rail, Light Rail, and Trackless Trolleys

Heavy rail, light rail, and trackless trolleys are all powered by electricity, so, as a first step in estimating emissions by

municipality, MAPC allocated the system-wide electricity figure for transit (60% of the total system-wide figure) to each

electricity-consuming transit mode. MAPC based this distribution on vehicle miles traveled. In the 2017 calendar year, 78.2

percent of total vehicle miles traveled was from heavy rail (red, blue, and orange lines), 19.8 percent was from light rail (green

lines and the Mattapan Trolley), and 2.0 percent was from trackless trolley lines (bus routes 71, 72, 73, and 77).

1 https://cdn.mbta.com/archive/archived_feeds.txt

2 We counted both revenue (ULS Diesel for Commuter Rail) and non-revenue commuter rail diesel (Non-Revenue Diesel for Commuter Rail)

towards commuter rail consumption.

3 This calculation assumes that electricity usage per vehicle mile traveled is roughly similar between heavy rail, light rail, trackless trolley, and

Silver Line. Ideally, this value would be further weighted by an electricity efficiency factor.

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

MAPC then followed a process identical to that used for commuter rail routes, first allocating the electricity figure for each

electricity-consuming transit mode to each route and then allocating the electricity figure for each route to each municipality. A

percent of total electricity is also allocated to Silver Line buses as described in the following section.

Silver Line and Bus (Excluding Trackless Trolleys)

As of the writing of this guide, there are two Silver Line vehicle types in operation: dual mode Electric-Diesel and Battery

Electric. Battery electric buses just started revenue service in April 2019, so only Electric-Diesel hybrid buses were present

during the inventory base year of 2017. Using a method similar to the partial-route distance calculations described above,

MAPC, split the Silver Line vehicle trips into electric and non-electric operation segments. The Silver Line Electric-Diesel hybrid

buses rely on electric power only when travelling in the Transitway tunnel between South Station and Silver Line Way and

operate in diesel-powered mode when elsewhere on their route. The vehicle miles travelled in electric mode are used to allocate

electricity from the total system electricity consumption using the same method as for heavy rail / light rail / trackless trolley

described above. For diesel consumption, MAPC followed a process identical to that used for commuter rail routes to allocate

diesel consumption, first allocating the diesel fuel consumption totals to each bus route (including diesel-powered vehicle miles

travelled by the Silver Line) and then allocating the consumption total for each route to each municipality. MAPC replicated this

process for CNG, excluding Silver Line routes.

4 This calculation assumes a geographically even distribution of CNG and Diesel busses. The MBTA does not currently have estimates of fuel

mix by bus line.

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Appendix C:

Adjustin the Tool for Alternate Inventory Years

Version 4 of the Tool (published March 2020) is auto populated to support the completion of an inventory for

the year 2017. If your community would like to complete an inventory for an alternate year, additional inputs

will need to be updated to datasets from the appropriate year. This appendix outlines guidance on what data

you will need to collect and where to find it.

Please note that at the time of publishing this Tool, 2017 was the most recent year when the necessary data

were widely available. Data availability from the sources listed below may vary depending on the alternate

inventory year you have selected.

Table C1 lists all of the Tool’s tables to review and update prior to creating an inventory for another year. The

data collected can by input into the "Adjust Inventory Year" section of the Tool.

Table C1: Summary of Workbook Tables with Values to Update in the Tool

Workbook Sheet Name Table

Emission Factors - All Table 1: Stationary Fuel Emission Factors

Table 3. MA DEP 2016 Massachusetts-based Retail Level Electricity Emission

Factor

Table 6. List Investor-owned Utilities and % Non-emitting Sales

Table 7. Community Choice Aggregation Electricity Emission Factors

Table 9. List of Municipal Utilities % Non-emitting Sales

Table 11: IPCC AR5 100-Year Global Warming Potentials without Climate-carbon

Feedbacks

Table 12: Transportation Fuel Emission Factors

Stationary Energy - Build-ings Table 7. Massachusetts Electricity Transmission & Distribution Grid Loss Factor

Transportation - On Road Table 6: Private On-road Electric Vehicles Fuel Efficiency

Waste - Solid Waste Table 3: Proportion of Massachusetts In-state Waste Disposed: Landfilled vs.

Combusted by Waste Type for 2017

Waste - Wastewater

Table 3: Indirect N2O Emissions From Wastewater Effluent (GPC Equation 8.11)

for Communities Served by MWRA WWTP

Table 4: Indirect N2O Emissions From Wastewater Effluent and CH4 Generation

from Wastewater Treatment for Communities Not Served by MWRA WWTP**

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Data Not Included in the Adjustment Guidance

There are a few datasets that support calculations within the Tool and are updated on an infrequent basis. These datasets are

sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). These datasets support the heating oil estimation approach

with in the Tool and are not a direct source activity data. For these reasons, it is not required to update these datasets to

quantify emissions for alternate years. The list of the tables and data sources are provided in Table C2.

Table C2: Stationary Energy – Buildings Infrequently Updated Data Sources

Table Data Source Input Location

Table 3. Residential

Fuel Oil Consumption

and Emissions

US EIA Residential Energy

Consumption Survey (RECS)

Table CE2.1 Annual Household Site Fuel

Consumption in the U.S. - totals and averages

Column C, Column D

Table HC2.8 Structural and Geo-graphic

Characteristics of Homes in Northeast Region,

Divisions, and States

Column E, Column F

Table CE2.2 Household Site Fuel Consumption in

the Northeast Region, Totals and Averages

Cell C47

Table 4. Com-mercial

Fuel Oil Consumption

and Emissions

US EIA Commercial Buildings

Energy Consumption Survey

(CBECS)

Table C34: US Commercial Building Fuel Oil

Consumption and Expenditures

Column F, Column G,

Column H,

Table B22. Energy Sources, Number of Buildings Column J

Table 5 Industrial Fuel

Oil Consumption and

Emissions

US EIA Manufacturing Energy

Consumption Survey (MECS)

Table 6.1: Consumption Ratios of Fuel Column E

Table 1.1: First Use of Energy for all Purposes (Fuel

and Nonfuel)

Column F

Table 5.4: End Uses of Fuel Con-sumption Column G

When appropriate, and funding is available, MAPC will release updated versions of the Tool to improve the accuracy of the

estimation methodologies being applied to the heating oil estimates.

How to Adjust the Inventory Year

The “Adjust Inventory Year” section of the Tool is where you will input revised data for an alternate inventory year. This section

is auto populated with all of the necessary data inputs for 2017 and links directly to each respective table in the Tool. Prior to

making any changes to this section, make sure to save a copy of the existing workbook to preserve the 2017 inputs in the event

they are needed again.

If you are adjusting the inventory year to report for a new year and have used MAPC’s Tool for a prior year, make sure to copy

and paste the values (not the formulas) for the current year of data as it appears in the “Multi-Year Emissions Trend” Tab into a

different column. This will support you in tracking emissions over time when the new year of data populates.

Update All Emissions Factors

Depending on the inventory year selected, new or revised emissions factors may be available for combusted fuels like natural

gas and fuel oil and vehicle fuels like diesel, gasoline, and compressed natural gas. Emissions factors can be sourced from either

the Climate Registry or US EPA. Both are free resources and publicly available - however, you will need to create a free account

to access the archive of emissions factors produced by the Climate Registry.

and compressed natural gas: https://www.theclimateregistry.org/tools-resources/reporting-protocols/general-

reporting-protocol/

For fuel oil, access emissions factors from the US EPA for the appropriate inventory year: https://www.epa.

gov/climateleadership/center-corporate-climate-leadership-ghg-emission-factors-hub

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Updating the electricity emissions factors in the Tool requires the input of data reported by the Massachusetts Department

of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). For the average emissions factors, you will need the values for the Massachusetts-

based approach for non-biogenic CO2 equivalent, after accounting for particular generating units and the breakdown by

each GHG (CO2, CH4, and N2O) for the Massachusetts-based electricity consumers retail-level emissions factors.

In the same MassDEP report, you will need to access the data from Appendix 2 that includes the percent of sales reported

as MWh for each electric utility and municipal utility. These percentages support the production of utility specific market-

based electricity emissions factors in the Tool.

Updating the electricity emissions factors in the Tool requires the input of data reported by the Massachusetts Department

of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). For the average emissions factors, you will need the values for the Massachusetts-

based approach for non-biogenic CO2 equivalent, after accounting for particular generating units and the breakdown by

each GHG (CO2, CH4, and N2O) for the Massachusetts-based electricity consumers retail-level emissions factors.

In the same MassDEP report, you will need to access the data from Appendix 2 that includes the percent of sales reported

as MWh for each electric utility and municipal utility. These percentages support the production of utility specific market-

based electricity emissions factors in the Tool.

Access MassDEP’s GHG Reporting Program Summary Report for Retail Sellers of Electricity for the

appropriate inventory year: https://www.mass.gov/guides/massdep-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reporting-

program

If your community has a green municipal aggregation program (see Question 1C of the Guide), you will also need to

update the minimum compliance percentage for Class I under the Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard. Under

Massachusetts General Law, this compliance percentage increases by one percent each year.

Access the minimum compliance percentage for Class I (with carve outs) for the appropriate inventory

year: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/annual-compliance-information-for-retail-electric-suppliers

Occasionally, the calculations used to assess Global Warming Potential (GWP) will be updated or revised. This change

can be due to updated scientific estimates of the energy absorption or lifetime of the gases or to changing atmospheric

concentrations of GHG emissions that result in a change in the energy absorption of one additional ton of a gas relative

to another. The Tool defaults to use the GWP values provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in

the Fifth Assessment Report (2014). The Global Protocol recommends using the most recent GWP values available.

These inputs should only be adjusted if an Assessment Report more recent than 2014 has been released by the IPCC with

revised GWP values, or if this Tool is being used for a historic inventory requiring the use of older GWP values.

Access historic GWP values at this link: https://www.ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/ghgp/Global-

Warming-Potential-Values%20%28Feb%2016%202016%29_1.pdf

Update Stationary Energy Electricity Transmission and Distribution

A Massachusetts-specific electricity transmission and distribution grid loss factor is calculated per U.S. Energy Information

Administration (EIA) instructions. To adjust your inventory year, you will need to collect the data from U.S. EIA's electricity

profile for Massachusetts on total disposition, direct use, and estimated losses.

Access Massachusetts’ electricity profile: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/massachusetts/

Update Transportation Electric Vehicle Fuel Efficiency

The fuel efficiency of electric vehicles is rapidly progressing from year to year. To increase the accuracy of your GHG

inventory for alternate years, you may choose to update the data supporting the average vehicle efficiency applied to

electric vehicles in the Tool's calculations. To maintain consistency, select the seven top selling electric vehicles.

Look up fuel economy for top selling electric vehicles: https://www.fueleconomy.gov/

FOR MASSACHUSETTS CITIES & TOWNS

Update Waste Disposal Proportions

This Tool assumes default State-level percent of disposed waste sent to landfill and combusted unless local data is

entered on the "Inputs" tab of this workbook. This data can be found in MassDEP’s Solid Waste Data Update for the state.

Access MassDEP's Solid Waste Data update for the appropriate year: https://www.mass.gov/guides/solid-

waste-master-plan#-solid-waste-data-updates-

The Tool also relies on data from the U.S. EPA's annual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks to

determine protein consumption per capita.

Access to the most recent summary report released by EPA: https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-

us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks

Update Wastewater Factors and State Data

The wastewater emissions analysis follows the approach used by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental

Protection (DEP) to estimate wastewater treatment emissions for communities in Massachusetts that are not served

by a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) wastewater treatment plant in the "Statewide Greenhouse gas

Emissions Level: 1990 Baseline and 2020 Business As Usual Projection Update" report.

For those communities not served by MWRA, please contact MassDEP for the wastewater module of the State's GHG

Inventory for the selected inventory year to obtain the following inputs. Data from the "Summary" tab of this workbook

was used to obtain data on State total methane and nitrous oxide emissions from municipal wastewater treatment for

2017 and the Massachusetts state population not served by MWRA.

Download
Save PDF to desktop

Email
Email completed PDF

Send for Signing
Email for others to sign

Print
Print document

NAME

reenhouse as Inventories for A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE Massachusetts

View Audit Log
Print With Audit Log
Duplicate Document

Fill Online, Printable, Fillable, Blank reenhouse as Inventories for A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE Massachusetts Form

Related forms

Fillable reenhouse as Inventories for A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE Massachusetts

Fill Online, Printable, Fillable, Blank reenhouse as Inventories for A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE Massachusetts Form

Related forms

First 20 documents completely FREE!