The U’s crimson got a little greener this summer after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized the school for its participation in the College and University Green Power Challenge.
The challenge identifies schools that purchase over 10 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy. Of the 39 schools recognized, the U ranked eighth nationally and first in the PAC-12 after buying almost 86 million kilowatt-hours of green power, 28 percent of its total energy use. Stephanie Dolmat-Connell, sustainability manager in Facilities Management, said this is just one of many environmental initiatives the U is currently participating in.
“[These programs have] really been a way for us to recognize all of the hard work people are doing to reduce our energy footprint,” Dolmat-Connell said.
The U’s participation stems from an ASUU resolution passed 10 years ago to dedicate a portion of student fees each semester to support renewable energy. Dolmat-Connell said students pay around $1 to $1.50 for green power.
Traditionally, the funds have gone to purchasing wind power in renewable energy certificates — or RECs — which offset the U’s electricity use. When someone generates renewable energy, they can put it into the electric grid and that REC can be sold on the open market.
The U has traditionally bought wind power from neighboring states, but Sawson Gholami, a junior in biology and economics and ASUU’s director of sustainability, said this might change. Working with the Sustainability Office and Facilities Management, a shift may come to focus on more local renewable energy credits.
In addition to the Green Power Challenge, the U is currently on track to reduce the energy output in its buildings by 20 percent by 2020 as a part of President Obama’s Better Buildings Challenge. Last fall, the U.S. Department of Energy recognized the U for reducing energy in the Dumke Health Professions Education Building.
Dolmat-Connell said programs like these have “been a really good way to showcase the student commitment to renewable energy,” as their fees and movements often provide the base for these initiatives. Dolmat-Connell said students can make an impact on a more individual basis as well, even if it’s as small as shutting off the lights in classrooms or closing unused fume hoods in the science labs.
Gholami said another way students can reduce their greenhouse footprint is to eat responsibly, meaning less meat and more locally-grown food.
According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization’s Livestock’s Long Shadow report, animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the global exhaust from all transportation.
The U is participating in reducing its agricultural footprint by participating in the Real Food Campus Commitment. The school has a goal to buy 20 percent of its food from humane, ecologically sound, fair and local growers by 2020.
“When a person or organization cares about their impact on the environment around them, it shows a profound sense of responsibility, compassion and conscientiousness,” Gholami said. “The effects of food systems, energy usage and waste management are … integral to our lives.”
Gholami said ASUU is appointing a group of student ambassadors to attend meetings to promote a unified sustainability effort. Currently the cross-campus goals are undecided since membership has yet to be established. The three areas they would like to focus on are energy production, waste management and food systems.
Gholami said students who want to get involved with ASUU’s Sustainability Board and other like-minded groups can contact him at [email protected].
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