Quarterly Updates

 

Welcome to the SIMAP Quarterly Communication: April 2019

 

carbon and nitrogen symbols

 

REPORTING SEASON is underway for Climate Leadership Network
Second Nature's reporting system is open and May 1 is the due date for the signatories’ Annual Progress Evaluation. We are here to help!

  • You can export your footprint report from SIMAP to the Second Nature reporting platform from the Reports tab. Please follow these instructions.
  • Before submitting your report, schedule your data review with the SIMAP team. This process will provide a verification of your data and results. Completing the data review with the SIMAP team will also earn AASHE STARS points (0.625 points) as an independent validation/verification of your institution’s GHG inventory.
  • We have partnered with Second Nature to provide another year of SIMAP discounts for Second Nature climate signatories.
  • Our webinar recordings are here.

Resources

The following resources are currently available on the SIMAP ‘Resources’ tab:

  • Q & A open forum: bring your questions about SIMAP and GHG reporting - April 12, 1-2 pm EST -TODAY!
  • User’s guide
  • Training webinars and slides, including Account Setup, Introduction to SIMAP, Renewable Energy Credits, and Projections, Solutions, and Goal Setting.
  • Changes in SIMAP, which includes an update log of all changes made
  • FAQ

And as always, we are here to answer your questions. You can contact us at simap@unh.edu
 
PARTNERING WITH USERS TO IMPROVE FOOTPRINTING
We are convening four working groups to facilitate user conversations to tackle big methodology and development questions. Please let us know if you would like to participate in any of the groups. They are:

  • Commuting – March 2019 launch. Convened in partnership with Second Nature. We are addressing 3 objectives:
    • Data alignment across various reporting platforms
    • Standardization of data collection
    • Recommendations for SIMAP changes and other improvements
  • Purchased food – April 2019 launch
  • Biogenic/biomass – May 2019 launch
  • Purchased goods – June 2019 launch

 NEW SIMAP FEATURES

  • Data review: check box and complete documentation upload for campuses that complete their data review
  • Emissions factors 2018 version: this NEWLY RELEASED version of emissions factors includes updated eGrid and residual emissions factors for US and Canada. You can select this version on the Data Mgmt tab. For more information, go to this Emissions Factors versions page.
  • Normalizations: degree days normalizations are now available on the results tab! All normalization graphs now have more descriptive y-axis labels.
carbon degree days normalization chart
  • Multi-campus beta testing: thank you to the beta testers for their time and thoughtful feedback! We are using your feedback to improve the Tier 2 functionality.
  • In process: detailed references and documentation for all emissions factors and methodologies are coming soon.

NITROGEN FOOTPRINT UPDATES

REMEMBER TO RENEW YOUR ACCOUNT
SIMAP Tier 1 account subscription last for 1 year, and renewals have begun. Renew your annual membership to retain access to SIMAP’s full functionality. Second Nature Climate Commitment signatories will continue to receive a 40% discount on their Tier 1 accounts.
 
MEET THE TEAM
Have you ever wondered who is working behind the scenes on SIMAP? Check out our ‘meet the team’ page to find out.

 

SIMAP Quarterly Communication - January 2019

REPORTING SEASON is underway for Climate Leadership Network, Princeton, Sierra
We are here to help! We are offering a series of webinars and have resources available on the SIMAP website.

carbon and nitrogen symbols

 

Register for our monthly webinars: 

  • SIMAP 101: refresher and updates - February 1, 1-2 pm EST
  • Second Nature and SIMAP: reporting best practices and methodologies - March 1, 1-2 PM EST
  • Q & A open forum: bring your questions about SIMAP and GHG reporting - April 12, 1-2 pm EST

New Features

  • Detailed references and documentation for all emissions factors
  • Updated emissions factors
  • Multi-campus: we are testing and finalizing the multi-campus functionality, which will allow you to track data for more than one campus within one account. This will be a part of Tier 2 upgrade. We can’t wait to share it with you!

The following resources are currently available on the SIMAP ‘Resources’ tab:

And as always, we are here to answer questions. You can contact us at simap@unh.edu

WORKING GROUPS
Starting in February, we’re forming working groups to capture and channel the collective expertise and perspective of the higher ed sustainability community to tackle big methodology questions. Contact simap@unh.edu if you would like to participate in any of the groups. They are:

  • Commuting – February 20, 2019 launch
  • Biogenic/biomass - 2019 launch
  • Purchased goods – 2019 launch
  • Purchased food – 2019 launch

MEET THE TEAM
Have you ever wondered who is working behind the scenes on SIMAP? Check out our team page to find out more.  
 
REMEMBER TO RENEW YOUR ACCOUNT
SIMAP Tier 1 accounts last for one year, and renewals have begun. Renew your annual membership to retain access to SIMAP’s full functionality. 
 

Second Nature logo

Thanks to a continuation of our valued partnership, Climate Commitment signatories will continue to receive a 40% discount on their Tier 1 accounts. 
It has been a very exciting year, and we are grateful for your participation and for your continued valuable feedback. Your questions and ideas help us improve the platform to ensure it continues to be as robust, relevant, and useful as possible for users!

 

 

SIMAP Quarterly Communication - September 2018

Welcome to the new quarterly SIMAP newsletter! Read on to learn about the latest developments and the projects in the works. As always, please reach out with any questions at simap@unh.edu.

NEW FEATURES
We are continually refining SIMAP and adding support resources based on user feedback. Data review is available now for Tier 1 subscribers - download the check list and follow the instructions. Some of the most recent updates are the new interactive graphs and the Scope 2 market based and location based methodologies. You can always see a running log of changes on our Resource pages.

carbon nitrogen graphs

 

FIND US AT THE AASHE 2018 CONFERENCE

  1. October 3rd: 9:15 – 10:15 am: How Do Sustainability and Resilience Work Together in Practice?
  2. October 3rd: 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM, Understanding the Entire Campus Carbon Footprint: how and why to do Comprehensive Scope 3 Reporting
  3. October 3rd: 2:30 – 4:30 [poster session]: Institution Nitrogen Footprints in SIMAP: Updated Results and New Insights
  4. October 3rd: 2:30 – 4:30 [poster session]: Sustainability Goal Setting at Universities: A Nitrogen Action Plan at the University of Virginia
  5. October 4th: 9:15 – 10:15 am: Projection and Scenario Analysis for climate and nitrogen action planning.

 

SIMAP Team

CONTINUED DISCOUNTS FOR SECOND NATURE SIGNATORIES!
Great news! We are continuing our partnership with Second Nature to further align the tools for the next year of reporting. This means Second Nature signatories will continue to receive significant discounts (40% for Tier 1) for SIMAP annual license fees. We look forward to our collaboration with Second Nature to meet your reporting needs!

RENEWING YOUR ACCOUNT
Depending on the date of subscription, Tier 1 users may need to think about renewal this fall. One month before your subscription expires, you will be receiving an email with the expiration date of your current Tier 1 functionality. You can easily renew on the website.  Do not panic if you pass that date - your data will still be saved in your account and you can renew when you are ready.

SIMAP FEATURES IN THE WORKS
Next phase of improvements will be rolling out early next year and we are always looking for your feedback and participation.

  • Ability to manage and compare multiple campuses and buildings
  • Complete Scope 3 reporting module (based on the WRI Scope 3 Protocol)
  • "Projections" and "solutions" analysis to assist with Climate Action Planning
  • Aligning with other reporting platforms [in addition to Second Nature]
  • Benchmarking capabilities based on sector averages and peer institutions

SIMAP IS GROWING
We are very pleased to share that there has been a wonderful adoption of the new platform by the field of institutions who were already using CCC and CarbonMAP tools. We have 500 official users of the platform. 

It has been a very exciting year, and we are grateful for your participation in the initial beta testing and for your continued valuable feedback. Your questions and ideas help us improve the platform to ensure it continues to be as robust, relevant, and useful as possible for users!