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Dec 04, 2019

Sierra Club names ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ one of top 100 "Coolest Schools" in green colleges ranking

Recommending a path to carbon neutrality at ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ

In January 2019, ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ President Greg Crawford charged the ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ Sustainability Committee to prepare a new sustainability plan. One of the 10 objectives of the charge was to consider whether ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ should sign the Presidents' Climate Leadership Commitment (PCLC).

With the input of internal and external stakeholders, the committee prepared a report, "."

In that report the Sustainability Committee strongly recommended that due to the overwhelming evidence that the impact of climate change requires drastic action, ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ should commit to carbon neutrality by one of two pathways:

  1. Sign the PCLC, which provides guidance and ensures transparency.

OR

  1. Implement our own university-based plan that is transparent and rigorous.

After President Crawford's review in August, and the first meeting of the Sustainability Committee this semester on Sept. 20, Crawford presented a new charge: "to further research and explore an internal plan for ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ to achieve carbon neutrality" and report by Feb. 1, 2020.

Top five ways ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ has committed to the environment

cool-schools-logo¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ is 70th among the Sierra Club’s “Coolest Schools" 2019 ranking for the greenest colleges.

¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ is the of 282 schools based on food, energy, waste, research, transportation and curriculum.

The Sierra Club collaborated with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education to gather raw data for the rankings.

Here are five green points of pride at ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ:

1. ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ consumes half the electric and fossil fuel of peers

With efforts that began more than a decade ago, ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ now consumes half the electric and fossil fuel of its private and public peers.

Among energy efficiencies achieved:

  • ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ reduced its carbon footprint by 45% per gross square foot since 2008.
  • ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ has not burned coal on site since 2016.

to see how ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ’s physical facilities’ energy systems has done more in 2018-2019 on conversions of energy systems off carbon-intensive steam.

The conversions — which will provide a path toward carbon neutrality — have reduced energy use and energy costs and increased energy efficiency. 

2. ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ earned gold in STARS sustainability rating 

stars-gold-seal¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ received its first STARS Gold rating in May 2019 in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ achieved a silver rating in 2016 and in 2013. In 2016 ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ's stormwater management plan was noted by AASHE for geothermal wells, rain gardens and pond management that purify, cool and detain stormwater runoff that flows through storm drains, significantly reducing the amount of pollution and superheated water that flows to area creeks.

This progress comes as university leadership and energy engineers from physical facilities meld with a utility master plan.

3. ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ was named a

The Princeton Review’s Green Rating – which gave ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ a score of 96 out of 99 – provides a comprehensive measure of a school's performance as an environmentally aware and prepared institution. It includes:

  • How well a school is preparing students for employment in the clean-energy economy of the 21st century, as well as for citizenship in a world now defined by environmental concerns and opportunities.
  • How environmentally responsible a school's policies are.

4. ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ’s 29 LEED-certified buildings: 28% gsf of Oxford campus

Four buildings at  Gold or Silver rated, giving ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ four LEED Gold and 25 LEED Silver buildings. These buildings account for 28% of the gross square footage (gsf) of ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ's Oxford campus. 

¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ’s 2016 Sustainability Commitments and Goals call for achieving LEED Silver for all new construction and major renovation projects.

Learn more on the .

5. ¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ’s Institute for the Environment and Sustainability predates EPA

ies-50th-banner¾Ã¾ÃË®ÃÛÌÒ’s  (IES) celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. Established in August 1969 as the Institute of Environmental Science, it predates the founding of the Environmental Protection Agency (December 1970).

Believed to be the oldest program of its type in the country, its professional master’s of environmental science degree program was created in 1971.