"Sustainability," was defined as “development which implies meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”as defined by the 1983 Brundtland Commission (formally the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED)). As sustainability gains support and momentum worldwide, universities across the United States have expanded initiatives towards more sustainable campuses, commitments, academic offerings, and student engagement.
In the past several decades, drastic changes in higher education administration, resource efficiency, food, recycling, and student projects have sprung up in colleges and universities of all types and sizes. In the U.S., the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) serves as the primary professional organization and resource hub for these universities.
American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) is an effort for colleges and universities to collaboratively address global climate change by making institutional commitments to reduce net campus greenhouse gas emissions and promote the research and educational efforts of higher education to prepare society to re-stabilize the earth's climate. Today, the ACUPCC lives on in Second Nature's Presidents' Leadership Climate Commitments and the Climate Leadership Network.
There were many early leaders in college and university sustainability efforts, including:
Oberlin College in Ohio had the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified music facility and Carnegie Mellon University had the first LEED dorm (Silver). Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut pledged that all new buildings would meet these same Gold standards. Princeton and Ohio University have both made strides toward cutting yearly carbon emissions on campus. Florida Gulf Coast University has implemented solar energy throughout various buildings. A number of universities across the U.S. have created bicycle rental stations for students and employees to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobile traffic while helping reduce roadway congestion as well.
College and university sustainability efforts can provide these higher education institutions moral and ethical fulfillment alongside financial, environmental, social, and community benefits. Likewise, these universities are responsible for training future generations in sustainable practice, with an increasing number of formal certificate, minor, and major offerings. By providing undergraduate and graduate students more options focused at the nexus of equity, environment, and economics, higher education is providing more systems thinking and approaches as part of the educational and campus experience, helping ensure the responsible stewardship of land, resources, and communities for generations to come.
2022 study has concluded that universities can play a key role in regional and global agendas with their contribution through the incorporation of sustainability strategies, since universities "can not only achieve carbon neutrality, but they can help other organisations by delivering graduates who are aware of sustainability and provide specific training towards building a sustainability culture."
Climate change
It has been evident that climate change has become the main focus in the pursuit of sustainable solutions. As more evidence grows on the significant changes in the weather patterns in the past few decades and the impacts it has on disrupting human and natural systems far more quickly than what has been predicted, actions need to be made in order to maintain efforts in eliminating greenhouse gas emissions. With the lack of help from the government in reinforcing policies to further reduce these emissions, colleges and universities have taken it upon themselves to sustain this world through efforts around their own campuses.
Several programs have been implemented into action in order to keep track and encourage these institutions in committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ('mitigation'). The American College & University President's Climate Change Commitment (ACUPCC) is an effort to address the issue of global climate disruption promised by a network of colleges and universities that have made commitments to eliminate greenhouse gas emission from specific campus operations, "while promoting the research and educational efforts and to promote the research and educational efforts of higher education to equip society to re-stabilize the earth’s climate. Its mission is to accelerate progress towards climate neutrality and sustainability by empowering the higher education sector to educate students, create solutions, and provide leadership-by-example for the rest of society." With nearly 673 active signatories to date, 1343 GHG inventories submitted, and 419 submitted climate action plans – greenhouse gas emissions should no longer further to exist in the future.
University of California at Berkeley “The university has made great progress on climate action by completing an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and formalizing its commitment to reduce these emissions to 1990 levels by 2014. The campus will meet its 2014 target through a series of mitigation strategies including energy efficiency projects, installation of on-site renewables, reducing fuel usage by the campus fleet and commuters, and educational projects led by students aimed at changing behavior. So far, strategies are working. Campus greenhouse gas emissions were down by 4.5%- reaching its lowest level since 2005.” With Berkeley's efforts to take action has implemented the CalCAP program that collaborates administration, faculty, and student working to reduce gas emissions on campus by one “conducting an annual ten-source greenhouse gas emission inventory to track progress, developing and implementing infrastructure and behavioral strategies to reduce the climate impacts of buildings and transportation, and setting and meeting a series of emission reduction targets until climate neutrality is achieved.”
Clemson University Founded in 1889 in South Carolina, Clemson University has committed to reducing greenhouse emissions by 20 percent on campus by the year 2020 from 2000 levels as part of their adopted sustainable energy policy in 2008. As part of their plan to further reduce gas emissions, Clemson has adopted a Sustainable Building Policy Plan in 2004 pledging “all new construction and major renovations would achieve at least a Silver LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.” Becoming part of the earliest adopters of this policy, their Advanced Materials Laboratory was the first LEED-certified building in the state. Already resulting in eight more successful projects either certified as LEED-silver or LEED-gold. “Clemson will also pursue opportunities to produce carbon-free energy through three primary approaches: Determine “big-swing” projects to source renewable/clean energy at less than or equal to current prices. Evaluate other sourcing alternatives. Evaluate possible on-site power generation and/or energy storage options including combined Heat 7 Power (CHP), including microturbines; Geothermal heat pump systems (heating & cooling); Bio-fuels; Solar thermal and photovoltaics; and Energy Storage Alternatives (batteries and thermal).”
Ohio University Ohio University plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 2004 levels by 2014. Alden Library located on campus has a program to automatically shut down all computers once the library closes, having most computers already containing energy efficient LED monitors. A campus-wide efficiency upgrade beginning in April 2000 started a 10-year campus renewal project through a performance contract with the company Vestar. Completed projects through the 10-year plan include: “Carbon-dioxide monitors were installed in Morton and Boyd Halls; Heat recovery and heat exchangers were installed in the Life Science Center, Installation of power factor correction capacitor bank—the second half of the 69 kV system had new 1,340 kVAR capacitors installed to reduce KVA billing demand costs; Heat economizers were installed in Lausche Heating Plant” just to name a few. Ohio has also successfully developed the Green House Project that offers incentives of at least $500 to landlords for improving their energy efficiency in off-campus housing which has achieved annual reductions of more than 67,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity and more than 74 tons of avoided carbon emissions.
Princeton University
This Ivy League school has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions 1,990 levels by 2020. In doing so, Princeton is focusing on alternative technologies and fuels to decrease the emissions from the central power facility and the buildings it heats cools, and electrifies which accounts for 85 percent of the Universities emissions. Another strategy the university is planning is to expand energy conservation through retrofits in existing buildings across campus, along with designing new constructions and renovations around campus to use 50% less energy than the amount required by current energy code. With a commitment to design all projects with at least LEED silver equivalency.
A new step in the climate change Princeton has proposed is applying an “internal voluntary “ tax” when conducting financial cost-benefit analysis used to determine on whether to undertake energy-efficient designs and technologies.” Allowing the university to place a monetary value on environmental impact, “which in turn will increase the “savings” that we would achieve by undertaking the project.” Transportation has been another main focus considering it’s the second-largest source for the universities' campus emissions footprint. In resolving this problem Princeton has planned to replace retire campus fleet vehicles with appropriate zero or low-emission vehicles, along with encouraging walking and biking as means of commuting through incentives and enhancing bike lanes and walking paths.
Yale University Also leading by example, Yale aims to achieve reducing a 43 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020, with already achieving the reduction of 7 percent since 2005. “Yale University has established a fifteen-year action plan to take responsibility for its emissions and will focus on increasing efficiency of on-campus energy production and distribution, energy conservation initiatives, testing renewable energy technologies, and requiring a LEED Gold minimum standard for new construction and large renovations.” One of the most significant contributors to Yale's greenhouse gas reduction was the reduction of its Sterling Power Plant to a combined heat and power facility, known as co-generate. Powering the university's medical campus, the Sterling Plant was originally built as a coal-burning steam plant but converted to “accommodate cleaner-burning fuels over the last 88 years.” Since then the new co-generator unit of the plant has “operated at about 79% thermal efficiency and the boiler operates at around 90% thermal efficiency.” An estimate reduction of 15,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, “equivalent to the taking more than 2,600 cars off the road” due to the increase in efficiency from the plant.
According to the EPA's Green Power Partnership, American University is the largest east coast school to purchase 100 percent green power and the second largest in the nation, behind the University of California, Santa Cruz (57 million kilowatt-hours of annual electricity usage). In the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, Catholic University is the only other university green power purchaser (13 million kilowatt-hours).
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