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The report, released this week, concludes that Boise State emits just 2.3 metric tons of carbon dioxide for each person (students, staff and faculty) on campus each year. This places Boise State among the smallest known greenhouse gas emitters in higher education in the nation and provides campus planners with a baseline for improvement as the university grows.
Written by John Gardner, Boise State's associate vice president for energy research, policy and campus sustainability, the report provides a comprehensive inventory of the greenhouse gas emissions due to campus operations over the past five years. It was a requirement of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment signed by Boise State President Bob Kustra in 2007.
"This report, and the underlying analysis, is only the first step of a long-term commitment to make Boise State a national leader in sustainability," Gardner wrote. "This study indicates that we are very effective in using our resources. We provide essential educational access to far more students per unit of energy than most institutions of higher learning. We are poised to show the way in achieving climate neutrality and do so in a manner that does not compromise our core mission or values."
Specific reasons for Boise State's strong performance include:
--Size and square footage of campus buildings compared to the number of students served.
--Ongoing work to modernize and improve campus infrastructure and modify campus activities to lower energy consumption.
--Relatively mild climate in the Boise area; the harshest conditions are prevalent during the summer when demand for buildings and services are low.
The report also provides Boise State planners a baseline to compare the university's progress as it grows and incorporates energy efficient building design, practices and education into its physical plant and daily practices.
"Our academic programs continue to be intricately tied to the overarching notion of sustainability," Gardner wrote in the report. "From engineering to business and many places in between, our faculty incorporates the lessons of sustainability, conservation and stewardship in all of our academic programs. We plan on sharpening that focus to allow interested students to engage this issue in great depth, regardless of their chosen academic plans."
Over the period covering the report, Boise State's carbon emissions have grown 3 percent each year, which is commensurate with the overall growth of the university. Gardner's position was created last year, in large part, to address this issue as the university begins implementing a far-reaching, sustainable construction program incorporating best practices for sustainability in development. In fact, Gardner hopes Boise State's construction program can become a laboratory for sustainable urban development in the midst of one of the fastest growing regions in the nation.
"Our first priority should be to eliminate the rate of increase," Gardner said. "As we refurbish our older buildings and create new indoor spaces on campus, we will keep our goal to become climate neutral in clear focus."
Gardner said the next step is the creation of a comprehensive, long-term plan to make climate neutrality on campus a reality. That plan is expected to be completed in one year.
While comprehensive school-to-school comparisons are not available, random examples included in the report suggest Boise State ranks among the lowest-impact higher education institutions in the nation in regard to emission of greenhouse gases. For example, institutions such Penn State, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Harvard University emit about 11 metric tons of carbon dioxide per person annually.
Among those included in the report, Yale University posted the largest number at 25.1 metric tons per person, while Tufts University posted the lowest with 2.2 metric tons per person.
For more information about Boise State's sustainability efforts or to download the entire report, go to www.boisestate.edu/sustain.
To see more of the Idaho Statesman, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.idahostatesman.com Copyright (c) 2008, The Idaho Statesman, Boise Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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