Through DriveNeutral and the Wind Energy Challenge, the CU Environmental Center has implemented two exciting programs aimed at helping individuals to off-set their carbon emissions. The programs provide CU students, faculty and staff with the opportunity to effectively neutralize their carbon footprints through the funding of zero-emission energy projects. 

In its first semester at CU, DriveNeutral is a nationwide collaboration enabling drivers to compensate for their vehicle’s CO2 emissions through the funding of large-scale carbon emission reduction efforts. A portion of the funding also goes toward local student-led community projects geared toward reducing energy consumption in low-income homes. Individual contributions are determined by the level of CO2 one’s car releases into the atmosphere each year and typically add up to the cost of a single tank of gas.

After a successful opening campaign last spring, the Wind Energy Challenge enters its second semester at CU and has been expanded to include the entire campus community. While the Challenge previously only targeted students living on campus, the program is now offered to all students, faculty and staff. Similar to DriveNeutral, donations are determined by an estimate of a participant’s on-campus energy usage and are then put toward building zero-emission wind power plants. The cost ranges from $3/semester for part-time faculty/staff to $29/year for a student in the residence halls. 

The Environmental Center is pleased to offer carbon offset programs which are one part of a rounded approach to combating global warming.  We will continue to emphasize conservation and efficiency as first steps to undertake. 

To learn more about and sign up for DriveNeutral, click here.
To learn more about and sign up for the CU Wind Energy Challenge, click here.

First LEED Certification for Campus

The University of Colorado at Boulder University Memorial Center (UMC) has proven to be more than just a place where students relax, dine and socialize—it’s also one of the greenest buildings on campus.

On June 19, 2006, the University Memorial Center’s new addition was awarded LEED Silver certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification system for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB). The UMC is the first building on the Boulder campus to receive LEED certification and the second building in Colorado to receive this prestigious honor under the LEED-EB system. A certification ceremony was held at the UMC on September 7.

Open since 2002, the University Memorial Center addition included roughly 50,000 square feet of new space and the renovation of another 136,000 square feet of existing area. As directed by students through the University of Colorado Student Union, environmental sustainability was one of the primary design priorities from the onset of the expansion project, initiated before LEED certification existed.

“We’re very pleased and honored that the UMC is CU’s first LEED certified building. Environmentally sustainable design was a goal of the UMC expansion and renovation project from the beginning,” Carlos Garcia, director of the UMC, said. “It is wonderful to see this goal recognized with the U.S. Green Building Council’s certification.  As the center of student life on campus, we’re especially proud that our building reflects the ‘green’ values and environmental concerns of CU students.”

Through an analysis of system processes and the use of environmentally friendly materials, students and staff at the CU Environmental Center worked in collaboration with UMC staff and the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) to improve maintenance procedures while preserving the safe, comfortable and inviting nature of the building.

“It’s rewarding to see the efforts of so many dedicated students and staff pay off through the recognition of the Silver LEED rating,” Garcia said.

Rocky Mountain Institute’s RMI/ENSAR Built Environment Team assisted with the initial design of the addition and also provided assistance to the CU Environmental Center in the LEED certification process. The Built Environment Team is one of the world’s leading proponents of green development, a fast-growing field in which the pursuit of environmental excellence produces fundamentally improved buildings and communities that are more comfortable, more efficient, more appealing and ultimately more profitable.

The Memorial Center’s key sustainability achievements include:

1. An EPA Energy Star score of 91 out of 100, denoting the highest standard of energy efficiency compared to similar buildings
2. Powered by 100 percent renewable wind energy
3. Use of recycled and sustainable materials in the building process, including bamboo flooring and workstations made of 98 percent recycled content
4. An estimated 89% recycling diversion rate
5. Lighting through strategic window placement and a bright, spacious atrium
6. Extensive use of compact fluorescent light bulbs
7. Access to 18 bus lines connecting students and employees to the greater Boulder/Denver metro area
8. Use of non-toxic, environmentally friendly green cleaning products
9. And Native flora used in the surrounding landscape.

As the first LEED-EB project at CU, the UMC serves as a model for current and future campus building renovations as well as an example for other universities seeking to promote sustainability in the remodeling process.

New Campaign for Individual Environmental Action

This semester, through the “CU Buffs Live Green” campaign, hundreds of students have partnered with the CU Environmental Center to stay informed in the fight to protect the environment. With the slogan, “The Future is in Your Hands,” the program emphasizes the impact of individual choices on the planet and students’ personal responsibility in environmental protection.

After making the “Pledge to Live Green,” participants receive a monthly Live Green email newsletter featuring different topics, tips, tools and resources for sustainable living.
The campaign fuses the numerous sustainability programs of the E-Center (Recycling, Waste Reduction, Transportation, Water Conservation, Energy Conservation, Renewable Energy, and Consumption) in one place for students, faculty and staff to use as accessible resources for making personal choices for a sustainable lifestyle. 

“By marketing the issues in a central place, it is our hope that people will be able to better navigate and access tools for sustainable living and, as a result, will find that it does not need to be difficult or more expensive or about sacrifice to reduce one’s footprint on the planet,” said Marianne Martin, associate director of the Environmental Center.

The campaign is in its first semester and was organized and implemented by a team of CU students over the past spring and summer.

CU Recycling collects More Than 20 Tons in Semester’s First Week Alone

In their first two major collection efforts of the new school year, CU Recycling enjoyed resounding successes with on-campus student move-in and Global Jam.

During the move-in period in late August, over 43,000 lbs. of cardboard was recycled, in addition to over a half-ton of block foambeing collected and kept out of landfills. With the help of the student recycling team, who flattened boxes and pulled recyclables from dumpsters, loading docks and entrances were also kept clean, facilitating the move-in process.

Around this same time, on August 25, nearly 6,000 incoming students enjoyedthe festivities of Global Jam, a zero-waste event featuring all recyclable and compostable materials. Over the course of the afternoon, 900 pounds of material was recycled, along with the collection of over 3,500 pounds of compost.

 

It’s been a few months since we released the 2006 Blueprint for a Green Campus: A Sustainability Action Plan for the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the reaction and support has been very positive.

Several important organizations have stepped up in support of the goals, policies and action steps compiled by a broad cross section of campus and community members. The City of Boulder, Boulder County and our student government—the University of Colorado Student Union (UCSU)—have all endorsed the plan unanimously. We are expecting the Boulder Faculty Assembly to follow suit. Discussion with UCB’s vice chancellor for administration has begun about how to implement the details of the plan.

Among the plan’s many goals is a commitment to a “zero climate impact” campus by 2025. This is certainly ambitious, and if UCB formally adopts it, the university will become the nation’s first institution of higher education to commit to a target date for this necessary goal.

The first question people usually ask about this goal is: Can we do it? My response is: Nobody really knows, but I think we can if we put our collective talents toward it. I am reminded of JFK’s “Put a Man on the Moon” decade-long challenge of our nation in 1962, and I am certain we can do a feat far less daunting on one college campus in 19 years.

To further the conversation of how to pursue this goal, I am offering the following 10-step plan to climate neutrality:

1. Take the plunge

• Sooner or later, we will have no choice; C-neutral is inevitable. We need to reaffirm CU as the leader and commit now to the goal of a Climate Neutral CU by 2025. We need our leaders to articulate the vision so we all know that’s what we are supposed to do.

2. The end of fossil fuels

• We need to begin the conversation about a deadline for 100% renewables, i.e., the end of fossil fuels on this campus.  The nation of Sweden is planning for the end of fossil fuels by 2020. So can we.

3. Include campus sustainability in our definition of academic excellence at CU

• We should strive for CU to become the most sustainable campus on the planet. Students learn what’s taught in the classroom and by what CU itself says and does. We need to model the behavior we wish to teach to others.

4. Make sustainability work for people today

• To fulfill sustainability’s promise, we must expand its support base by channeling the assets derived from conservation into direct social benefits for people in need today. If, say, the savings from energy conservation are channeled into helping low-income citizens lower their energy bills, it gives all of us another reason to turn off the lights. And more people will want to support our efforts.

5. Climate justice for all

• We should signal CU’s sincere commitment to social justice and climate protection by focusing our attention and resources on those first touched by the effects of climate change: under-resourced people of color and indigenous peoples. This emerging environmental and social issue is ripe for leadership. CU can do the right thing here and make others want to follow.

6. Put it in the budget

• “We pay for sustainability whether we get it or not,” says David Orr. Therefore, budgets should be vetted, in part, by their contribution to CU’s overall progress towards Blueprint goals. We need a “sustainability return on investment” criterion in the budget so decisions are made with a greater eye toward broader benefits.

7. Honor CU students’ legacy of leadership

• UCB students have led the national campus movement toward sustainability for decades. What are they saying now? They are saying adopt the Blueprint, work on social justice and be a leader. All of those directives have passed UCSU unanimously this year!

8. Go local!

• We should join forces with our local governments and interest groups behind a strong push for a relocalized economy, cultural base and social justice positions. We should pioneer real integration with community affairs and eliminate town-gown walls.

9. We are what we eat

• We should unite with local farmers and growers behind a robust sustainable local food campaign for CU students and low income community residents.

10. A national championship

• We should work with Athletics to make it a model program for sustainability, leadership and winning--on and off the field. This is not a frivolous thing. Athletic programs get a lot of attention—good and bad—for CU. Look for them to become national leaders.

The question of “climate neutral by 2025” is really one of how long we should wait until we act.  What will it take? Greenland melting, a reversal of the Gulf Stream, a protracted and severe drought? Or perhaps simply seeing Stanford or ASU or Harvard commit to carbon-neutrality first.

Let’s not wait. Let’s do the right thing now.

The Environmental Center has said goodbye to Ghita Carroll, the Center's energy program manager of more than six years, and Rebecca Wallach, recycling program manager.  Ghita left to raise her new baby and complete her Ph.D.  Rebecca relocated to New York City.

The following students graduated in May:

Debbie Bock,
Caitlyn Bolton,
Rose-Marie Coleman,
Matt Heck,
Laura Johnson,
Laurel Kalish,
Lisa Kaufmann,
Tyler Lagasse,
Ryan Patterson,
Bryan Richey,
Marc Spooner,
Scott Davis
and Kevin Villegas

Please welcome Rob Hall as the new energy program manager and Daniel Baril as our new recycling program manager.

September 30-October 8:  Boulder Solar Week 2006

October 16: Leaders in Sustainability Series: Will Toor on Moving Transportation Forward in Boulder County and Beyond – Noon -1 p.m., UMC 247

October 20-22: Bioneers: Visionary and Practical Solutions for Restoring the Earth and People – October 20-22, CU-Boulder

October 25: Campus Sustainability Day – 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., UMC 245, followed by a lunch discussion, 12:30-1:30

October 25: Rich Louv: Biophilic Design and Nature Deficit Disorder – 7:00 p.m., Math 100

November 15: CU Recycling 30th Anniversary