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A List
11/21/07
President Sullivan Updates Community On 'Climate Commitment'
CANTON - St. Lawrence University President Daniel F. Sullivan says that he
is seeing "real movement toward a smaller carbon footprint" by the University
since he signed the American College and University Presidents Climate
Commitment in March.
Sullivan issued a memorandum to the campus community on November 19,
providing an update on "progress toward a sustainable campus and our
obligations" under the commitment. It states, "Although we face a daunting
task, I have been enthused by the upwelling of support and immediate
changes that have been made all across campus. As students, faculty, and
staff continue to make changes in their activities and operations, we're
seeing real movement toward a smaller carbon footprint in the months since
our signing."
Sullivan stated that by signing the Climate Commitment, the University is
obliged to meet a number of intermediate goals within a specified time period.
Among them are that the University initiate the development of a comprehensive
plan to achieve climate neutrality as soon as possible and that within two
months of signing the document, create institutional structures to guide the
development and implementation of the plan.
The memorandum from Sullivan states, "I believe we already had these structures
in place when we signed. The Conservation Council - as the University committee
responsible for overseeing conservation and sustainability initiatives on
campus - has accepted the role of developing the plans related to the Climate
Commitment. While the Conservation Council will need to develop a specific
plan for climate neutrality, it will also help to push us forward by continuing
to develop the Environmental Action Plan and by continuing to promote the
diverse cross-campus/grassroots efforts towards a sustainable campus."
Other accomplishments cited by Sullivan:
"We have decided to purchase only energy-efficient appliances labeled
'Energy Star,' and to ensure a minimum of 15 percent of our electricity is
generated with renewable sources by September of 2008. In pursuit of these
goals, we have recently replaced all of the washers on campus with Energy
Star machines and have become an Energy Star Partner. This partnership
will enable greater measurement, tracking and improvement of energy
efficiency across campus. We have also already begun to purchase
electricity from renewable sources through our purchase of Renewable
Energy Credits: 50 percent of the electricity for the Student Center for
2007-2008 has been purchased from New York hydroelectric facilities and
50 percent of the electricity for the Johnson Hall of Science for 2007-2009
has been purchased from national wind farms."
Sullivan also said that the next steps in honoring the Climate Commitment
include developing a plan to achieve climate neutrality; completion of a
greenhouse-gas inventory; and shifting the University's energy needs to
renewable sources.
"Our recent movements toward sustainability give me confidence that signing
the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment was the
correct decision for St. Lawrence," Sullivan stated. "With Conservation
Council, Administrative Operations and the many committed faculty, staff,
students, administrators and alumni leading the way, I know we will reach
all of the goals of the Climate Commitment while creating a better University
and a better world. In closing, I wish to thank the entire University community
for your efforts toward a sustainable campus and society, and ask that you
continue to push us forward."
Recently, the Sustainable Endowments Institute gave the University a "green
grade" of B- when it issued its second College Sustainability Report Card for
200 public and private universities with the largest endowments, ranging from
$230 million to nearly $35 billion. The Report Card is the only independent
sustainability evaluation of campus operations and endowment investments.
St. Lawrence's grade placed the University in the top third of all schools
evaluated. The cumulative grade distribution for the 200 schools was A,
3 percent; B, 28 percent; C, 42 percent; D, 25 percent; and F, 2 percent.
Grades were determined by reviewing publicly available information,
conducting surveys of appropriate school officials, and then assessing
performance across 39 indicators in eight main categories.
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More: President Sullivan's November 19, 2007 Memorandum On Our Climate Commitment
The Green Pages at St. Lawrence
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