Leading by Example
The list of Climate Change & Energy Leaders is comprised of 28 schools that earned "A" grades in this category. Below is a sample of seven very different institutions that all earned high marks. These summaries are based on data from each school’s profile page.
A carbon emissions inventory has been completed at Arizona State University and will be used to develop a strategic plan to reach carbon neutral status; President Crow is a co-founder of the Presidents Climate Commitment. ASU recently issued a mandate for building temperatures to be raised two degrees in the summer and lowered two degrees in the winter. The new cogeneration plant on campus received an award from the EPA for its superior energy efficiency. Two additional solar arrays are currently under construction, with a 4-megawatt system being developed.
At Cornell University, 10 percent of the entire campus electrical use has been eliminated through the use of Lake Source Cooling to air condition campus buildings. Currently, 16 percent of electricity used by Cornell is sustainably produced, and the university is planning a combined heat and power project that will improve energy efficiency by nearly 50 percent. President Skorton has also signed the Presidents Climate Commitment.
As part of New York City’s PlaNYC 2030 Initiative, New York University has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent over the next ten years. The university expects to meet this commitment ahead of schedule, once its highly efficient cogeneration facility goes online. In October 2006, NYU purchased 118 million kilowatt-hours of wind energy–the largest such purchase by any U.S. university–equal to all the power NYU buys from the grid. President Sexton has also signed the Presidents Climate Commitment.
At Tufts University, a combination of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and a new electricity contract is reducing the university’s emissions to close to 1990 levels, 21 percent below the New England average. The new Get Clean! Power Your Room Green program gives students the opportunity to purchase renewable energy credits to offset their rooms’ electricity consumption.
The University of British Columbia has reduced its energy use by 23 percent and its carbon emissions by 25 percent since 2000, despite a 46 percent increase in building area. The university plans to work with other institutions of higher education to set up a Canadian University and College Climate Alliance. The university also purchases some green energy certificates and has introduced alternative energy solutions, including geothermal at the Okanagan campus. In 2006–2007, UBC’s 145 part-time sustainability coordinators saved the university $75,000 through electricity reductions alone.
The University of Illinois is pursuing the purchase of three utility-scale wind turbines to install on one of the first university-owned, multi-turbine, on-campus wind farms in the nation. Chancellor Manning of the Chicago campus has signed the Presidents Climate Commitment.
The University of New Hampshire has been ranked in the top 5 percent of universities in its peer group for energy efficiency. In partnership with Clean Air–Cool Planet, UNH developed a greenhouse gas emissions inventory calculator, using it to document the university’s emissions from 1998 through 2005. In 2008, UNH will become the first university in the nation to use renewable landfill methane gas as its primary energy source. The cogeneration plant, fueled mostly by landfill gas, will reduce the Durham campus’s emissions approximately 57 percent below 1990 levels. The UNH community receives discounts on Energy Star and energy-efficient appliances and electronics at selected area hardware stores. Former Interim President Newman also signed the Presidents Climate Commitment.