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 Greening the Campus: Let the Green Eagle SoarPosted by Elisa Lai | March 10, 2010
(Image Courtesy of American University) The eagle is the mascot of American University (AU). Ever since AU started greening itself, the “green” eagle has become an increasingly iconic figure for students at American University and for alums like me. A new slogan of AU presents its green vision, which says “The American Dream is Green.” Here at the UN Foundation, we wish to see the green eagle not only soaring at American University but also perhaps in a different form, everywhere in campuses worldwide. Be sure to follow up on the previous blog post about adaptation. This blog is about how schools can help mitigate the impacts of climate change. Below is a local mitigation effort that takes place at the AU campus in Washington, DC! Since 2006, AU students have partnered with the Energy Action Coalition, launching a Campus Climate Challenge Campaign that aims to pressure the university to increase the use of renewable energy by at least 50 percent by 2012. The student initiative aroused much attention from not only students but also from the administration at AU. In the summer of 2007, AU began construction on a new eco-friendly building for use as the new School of International Service (SIS). This new building utilizes environmental friendly materials (ie. low emitting materials), adopts energy efficient lighting, and increases the use of renewable energy. An array of solar panels is to be installed on the roof of new SIS building, and these panels are expected to generate 33,000 kWh per year. The new SIS building has so many eco-friendly designs that AU is seeking to obtain a LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. (For more information on LEED Certification, please go to http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19) The new green building is one of many additions to the greening policy at American University. In order to act more aggressively on climate change and campus greening, the President of American University, Cornelius M. Kerwin, decided to formally commit to extra effort in combating climate change. In 2008, Mr. Kerwin signed the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (AUPCC), which stipulates commitments to 1) reducing and offsetting green house emissions from the school, 2) achieving climate neutrality, 3) promoting research and education on climate neutrality. Hundreds of schools in the United States and internationally have already signed the AUPCC (674 to be exact), but the word still needs to be further spread about how important it is for more schools to commit. In order to implement the climate commitments thoroughly, AU recently established the Office of Sustainability, whose job is to develop and monitor a climate neutrality action plan. The effort of greening a campus is not limited to school administrators though. For students, there is also the great opportunity of helping monitor the school’s implementation of the climate commitments. From the ACUPCC’s website, students can track each school’s detailed Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions data and see how much has been offset. Based on the 2007 data from ACUPCC’s reporting system, American University has been emitting 38,903 metric tons of CO2, of which 3.8% has been offset through the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). A 3.8% offset might not be enough to alter the climate system, but this is definitely a start. Hopefully in the future, we will see more aggressive measures and reductions in GHG emissions. In terms of campus greening, AU is not the only positive example. There are many other schools that are also doing incredible work. A lot of different NGOs are also working with schools in the United States and internationally. Some noteworthy organizations include the Alliance to Save Energy which has worked with 12 campuses in California on a green campus program, and Net Impact which started more than 250 student chapters worldwide. To find out whether your school is involved in the trend of campus greening, check these websites:
The American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment To see other stories of greening campus initiatives, see: Worldwatch Institute:Campus Greening Initiatives
Of course, we welcome you to join the Global Debate and share your campus greening experience with us!
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