Campus Committee for Sustainability and Climate Neutrality

Campus Committee for Sustainability and Climate Neutrality

CCSCN

October 11, 2011, 3:30-5:00pm

Student Center Room #336

Old Business

• Appointing more faculty members to the committee
  • Personally contact people who are interested
  • Less people on the committee, the easier it will be to reach a consensus
  • For research/large projects, form groups with people outside the committee
• Role of the CCSCN
  • Review and revise the CAP, as well as successive work plans
  • Take on the responsibilities previously held by the Conservation Council (consider means to move SLU towards sustainability)
  • Communicate our efforts to the campus community
  • Seek to educate people about sustainability through classroom curriculum

Offsets

*Create one statement with three criteria

*2,500 tons of carbon = unavoidable offsets

When will we buy those? Where will the capital for that come from?

*Suggestion: Gradual build cost into budget, avoid shocking the system

LED streetlights

*i.e. Ann Arbor

*Save money in the long term

*Visible commitment to sustainability

*Need cost estimates and savings

Weave climate change into academic life

*College workshop (like the QRC)

*Faculty panel or academic speaker

*Integrate sustainability and climate change into classroom curriculum

Master Plan - driver of what facilities will do

Biomass boiler is not currently on the table

*Need to consider: Return on investment, labor-intensive work, cost-effectiveness compared to natural gas, convenience, and cost of maintenance

*Pilot? Is it possible to have a small biomass boiler to be a demonstration?

*Need to decentralize our campus energy sources

*The time is now, i.e. Ogdensburg  http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/5785/ogdensburg-project-shows-biomass-potential-in-upstate-ny

*Heating à 55% GHG emissions (largest sector)

*Local energy (pellets from Massena)

Keep committee small

*Recruit people outside the committee to help with specific projects

*Then report project efforts to committee

Have a short list of goals/efforts and do them well

How will we make decisions?

*First, try to reach a consensus

(Want to work towards a consensus, but also want to be productive and mobile)

*Can't reach a consensus, write both a majority and minority report that will be given to President Fox (executive decision)

*Green initiative buy-in for alumni

Develop a sustainability "wish-list" (donations)

*CCSCN Secretary: Kate Powers

Next meeting

October 25, 2011, 3:30-5:00pm

Student Center Room #242:

**Note room and time change of meeting

Agenda:

• Aileen O'Donoghue-10-15 minute presentation on LED lighting for campus
• Discuss Pepsi Refresh Challenge (Nick De Filippis)
• Discuss the ADK Youth Climate Summit (Louise Gava)
• Discuss the GHG inventory update presented by Louise Gava
• If time...Offset discussion