Media Contact: David Dean, david_dean@ncsu.edu
NC State’s proactive commitment to the economic, environmental and community impacts of a changing climate is exemplified by report’s release.
North Carolina State University has taken a proactive step in addressing its impact on climate change by releasing its inaugural Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory. The report is the first step in developing a Climate Action Plan (CAP) to help to guide the institution toward a sustainable future.
The GHG Inventory serves as a benchmark of emissions associated with the main, Centennial and Centennial Biomedical campuses, as well as some satellite offices. The major sources include electricity, fuel use, refrigerants and commuting.
Among peer institutions, the inventory found that NC State’s emissions were comparable with some of the environmentally conscious East Coast schools and are inline with current trends.
“This inaugural inventory provides a baseline for future actions to reduce our impact on the environment,” says Jeff Hightower, director of utilities infrastructure.
For example, Hightower said that a proposed combined heat and power plant would help reduce GHG emissions – created by projected student enrollment growth and new buildings – by approximately 12 percent. Another project in discussion is a performance contract that is designed to install energy conservation measures in 13 buildings across the NC State campus.
As a part of signing the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), NC State will update the GHG Inventory every year and host a variety of information sessions to engage the campus community. Several open-table sessions are planned over the coming months to help drive campus involvement in developing strategic plans, including the CAP, to reduce the university’s climate impact.
The Sustainability Office will hold an information session regarding the purpose, calculations and impact of the GHG Inventory in the South Gallery of Talley Student Center Sept. 2 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. A podcast interview with Jeff Hightower regarding his processes for compiling the inventory will be released exclusively via NC State’s iTunesU site Sept. 4. The Industrial Extension Service and Office of Sustainability are partnering to present a Webinar Sept. 16 from 2 to 3 p.m. More information on all these programs can be found here: www.ncsu.edu/sustainability/climate_impact.
To reduce the environmental impact of printing the report it is only available online via the Office of Sustainability Web site at: www.ncsu.edu/sustainability.