Campus Organization, Carbon Audit and Mitigation Activities

at Frostburg State University

Jonathan Gibralter President

American College and University President’s Climate Commitment

My role: I signed on behalf of Frostburg State University in April 2007. I am also a member of the Leadership Circle and attended the ACUPCC Summit in Washington, D.C., in June.

American College and University President’s Climate Commitment

Goal is to have 1,000 signatories by 2009.

498 colleges and universities have signed.

Why Involve Higher Education?

“If higher education is not relevant to solving the crisis of global warming, it is not relevant, period.”

David Hales, President

College of the Atlantic

“More than ever, universities must take leadership roles to address the grand challenges of the 21st century, and climate change is paramount amongst these.”

Michael Crow, President

Arizona State University

Campus OrganizationFrostburg State University

Establish a Steering Committee of 23 people representing faculty, staff and students. Committee chaired by Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness.

Sierra Student Coalition is an active participant. 11 subcommittees are being formed. Measures meet ACUPCC requirement: Within

two months of signing this document, create institutional structures to guide the development and implementation of the plan.

Subcommittees

Greenhouse Gas Reduction New Energy Initiatives Energy Conservation “Green” Campus Master Plan Individual Action Recycling & Solid Waste Management Curricular and Co-Curricular Opportunities Space Utilization Community Partnerships Research Student Engagement

Initiate two or more tangible actions (examples)

All new campus construction to be built to at least the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver standard or equivalent.

Appliance purchasing policy requiring ENERGY STAR- certified products.

Policy of offsetting all greenhouse gas emissions generated by air travel paid by institution.

Initiate two or more tangible actions (examples)

Encourage use of and provide access to public transportation for all faculty, staff, students and visitors at our institution

Within a year, begin purchasing or producing at least 15% of electricity from renewable sources.

Campus recycling program.

Solar Installation on Fuller House at Frostburg State University

2-kW grid-tied solar unit generated an average of 7.65 kilowatts per hour in June and July

Wind Turbine at Fuller House on Frostburg State University Campus

2-kW grid-tied wind turbine at former residence converted into a campus office.

WISE Results

As expected, wind energy increased significantly in winter.

New Buildings - New Solutions:FSU Research Center

While drilling to fill (“grout”) abandoned mines beneath the site (drills are blue towers at right), a closed-loop geothermal system was installed in the same hole, using the earth's core temperature to provide heating and cooling to the building.

28 presentations were made on topics as varied as funding options, wind power, wood gasification, small- and large-scale renewable energy, and community impact.

Nearly 150 people attended from all across the Mid-Atlantic region.

Renewable Energy Symposiumand Exposition – Sept. 14-15

University System of Maryland Chancellor William E. Kirwan’s speech led off the second day.

U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., presented the keynote address on peak oil. He is pictured in the General Motors hydrogen fuel cell vehicle on display at the Expo.

Renewable Energy Symposiumand Exposition – Sept. 14-15

Solar-powered utility vehicle

Residential-scale wind turbine

Renewable Energy Symposiumand Exposition – Sept. 14-15

Nearly 20 businesses and organizations displayed their wares as part of the exposition.

Focus the Nation National Teach-in

A national teach-in engaging millions of students and citizens with political leaders and decision makers about Global Warming Solutions

January 31, 2008, Focus the Nation national symposia were held simultaneously at over a 1,500 campuses, places of worship, businesses, and other venues across the country.

Focus the Nation at Frostburg State University

“Waste Not, Want Not” trash sculpture competition

32 community presentations – most by FSU faculty members

4 four panel discussions

9 booth displays

A concert

A trash sculpture competition

More than 1,500 participants

Carbon Audit

CA-CP Campus Carbon Calculator facilitates the collection, analysis, and presentation of data constituting an inventory of the emissions of greenhouse gases attributable to the existence and operations of an institution. It provides an essential foundation for focused, effective outreach on the issue of climate change at a college or university, and the basis for institutional action to address it.

Carbon Audit

There are three steps to the greenhouse gas emission inventory process: – Data collection; – Calculating greenhouse gas emissions; – Analyzing and summarizing the results.

Getting Started: Scope of Emissions

Scope 1 - includes all direct sources of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from sources owned or controlled by your institution, including (but not limited to): production of electricity, heat, or steam; transportation or materials, products, waste, and community members; and fugitive emissions (from unintentional leaks).

Scope 2 - includes GHG emissions from imports of electricity, heat or steam – generally those associated with the generation of imported sources of energy.

Getting Started: Scope of Emissions

Scope 3 - includes all other indirect sources of GHG emissions that may result from the activities of the institution but which occur from sources owned or controlled by another, such as business travel, outsourced activities and contracts, emissions from waste generated by the institution when the GHG emissions occur at a facility controlled by another company (e.g. methane emissions from landfilled waste,) and the commuting habits of community members.

Budget

Operating Budget– All sources of funding for which the University has

financial control. Plainly considered as the cost to operate the institution.

Research Dollars– All sources of financial funding the institution

receives for its research endeavors. Energy Budget

– Amount of money the institution spends on providing the energy needs for all operations.

Energy

Energy sources will likely contribute over 90% of the university's emissions. This source is further divided into on-campus stationary sources, off-campus electricity production, off-campus steam production, and transportation.

On-campus stationary sources will include all the fuels purchased other than gasoline or diesel fuel for vehicles. Most will probably be used for heating buildings, primarily oil, coal, or natural gas.

Electricity

This section will estimate emissions from off-campus electric production. If your campus produces its own electricity, the associated emissions will be captured in the “On-Campus Stationary Sources” section (since it will be produced with the other fuels). Likely uses include lighting, computers, refrigeration, air conditioning, and cooking.

Electricity

You will need to know how much electricity was purchased (or produced) each year, generally gathered in kilowatt-hours (one kilowatt-hour – kWh – is the amount of energy that will power ten 100-watt light bulbs for an hour). This data is often already compiled, but may require digging through monthly energy records.

Transportation

Most universities keep a fleet of vehicles that are used for everything from employee travel, moving equipment around campus, collecting solid waste or materials to be recycled, delivering campus mail, or managing the grounds and roads.

The information gathered needs to be in gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel, MMBtus of natural gas, and kWh of electric used for the fleet. There is a field in the Calculator for alternative fuels.

Commuter Traffic

This category may be the most difficult to estimate. The goal is to estimate the number of annual miles traveled by faculty/staff and student commuters. To estimate this you will need to know how large these communities are, what their "average" commuter habits are (frequency of trips from home to school and back), the distance from home to school, and the number of commuting days.

Air Travel

Include air travel by faculty and staff on business and any student programs.

Agriculture

Methane and nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture. Many animals, especially dairy cows, release methane generated by microbes in their guts and also from the decomposition of their manure. While this source will likely be only about 1% of total emissions if your university has animals, they are worth noting.

Solid Waste

Institutions have several methods for managing solid waste. The two most common are incineration and landfilling.

Refrigeration

When chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were found to be damaging to the ozone layer, alternatives such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs) were required.

These chemicals were later discovered to also be strong greenhouse gases.

Offsets

Purchase of Tradeable Renewable Energy Certificates (TRECs), also known as “green electricity credits” or “green tags.” These represent the fact that electricity was produced using one or several renewable technologies, such as wind, solar or small-scale hydroelectric.

Composting. Carbon offset stored in trees.

Total Emissions in Metric Tons of CO2