News
Working toward a carbon-neutral UB
UB is seeking input from the university community in its quest for climate neutrality.
A Fall Sustainability Forum will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 21 in the Student Union Theater, North Campus. The workshop-style meeting will provide members of the campus community with the opportunity to hear a report on the progress of the Committee on Environmental Stewardship—which is charged with leading UB’s sustainability efforts—as well as express their views and offer ideas for making UB a more sustainable institution.
As part of President John B. Simpson’s signing of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment in March 2007, UB—and all of the 560 institutions of higher education nationwide that signed the commitment—must develop a plan by September 2009 to make their campuses “carbon neutral,” defined as having no net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Through its UB Green office, UB has completed the first significant step in developing that plan by compiling an inventory of GHG emissions for all university activities. The Fall Sustainability Forum, the first in a series of public events sponsored by the Committee on Environmental Stewardship, is part of the process in developing the climate action plan.
“The plan has to reflect our campus values; it won’t be successful if we don’t win the hearts and minds of the students, the faculty and the staff,” says committee chair Robert G. Shibley, professor of architecture and planning, senior advisor to Simpson for campus planning and design, and point person for the development of UB’s comprehensive physical plan. “Our purpose is to engage these constituencies for help on the value choices in the plan.”
A second forum, which will include a review of the climate action plan at the mid-point of the process, is scheduled for February 2009. A final review of the plan is set for spring 2009.
“The only responsible action any institution can take [to climate change] is to reduce the impact of its carbon emissions,” said Shibley. “We’ve done a lot of the low-hanging-fruit work on this campus—the next step is a little bit of a harder reach—but we’re ready to take that next step and that’s what this planning process is all about.”
The Committee on Environmental Stewardship holds regular meetings on the first Wednesday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Members of the university community are welcome to attend. Click here for locations and schedule changes.
Reader Comments