Office of the Chancellor > Speeches, Columns and Letters > Boulder Economic Summit

Boulder Economic Summit
May 11, 2009
Chancellor Philip DiStefano

Thank you. It is my pleasure to be here.

The University of Colorado is proud to be the major sponsor of the Boulder Economic Summit and we are pleased to be a convener for this important discussion on economic opportunities associated with sustainability.

My great thanks to the Boulder Economic Council for hosting this event and especially to Boulder Economic Council Executive Director Frances Draper for organizing the summit. I also would like to acknowledge BEC council members from CU, Ric Porreca, Senior Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer at CU-Boulder; and Professor Richard Wobbekind, director of the Business Research Division at the Leeds School of Business.

It is very important to be highly collaborative with the community and we are pleased to be a major economic partner with the City and County of Boulder and the State of Colorado.

CU plays a significant role in the state's biotech sector, its aerospace industry and in its renewable energy development.

With nearly 29,000 students - 32 percent from out of state - and 7,000 employees - CU-Boulder can't help but have a significant role in the Boulder and the Front Range economy. Just in the last four or five days, 5,282 graduates and their families have been lodging, dining and shopping in the Boulder area.

But beyond that, the university supports the whole life cycle of business development from research and development, to transfer of technology into the marketplace, to our role as an entrepreneurial resource.

One very recent example of technology transfer is the flu chip invented at CU-Boulder in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control. It is a new-age flu test that received federal approval for marketing on April 27. Had that approval come just a few weeks earlier it would have been immensely powerful in tracking the swine flu outbreak. If rogue flu returns next season, public health departments across the country will have the CU flu chips.

Former CU Chemistry Professor Kathy Rowlen, who led that project, now heads the Boulder biotech company, InDevR, that will sell the chip.

It's the latest in 27 new companies - from biotech to renewable energy - that have been formed based on CU technologies in the past five years. Not only do those companies have an economic impact but also a health and societal impact.

Indeed, we are happy to be a part of the business community on many different levels.

I would like to take a moment to talk about CU's role in sustainability. Our research in climate change and sustainable energy has become world renown.

But as a community within the community - with 36,000 students and employees - educated and passionate about sustainability - I would like to mention our actions and leadership. A university like ours can and should be the impetus for critical societal reforms. We have the tools, the vision and the personnel to be leaders in the advancement of society, including sustainability and climate action.

“As one of only 15 U.S. campuses recognized as a top sustainability leader by the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, and as Sierra Magazine's No. 2 Greenest Campus in 2008, we know we must continue to remain campus leaders and to keep up with the leadership in our community.

Therefore, when our Carbon Neutrality Action Plan comes forward in a few weeks, we will immediately set to the task of integrating it into our campus strategic plan, Flagship 2030.

We will apply the same effort to embed sustainability and climate action into the forthcoming revisions of the Campus Master Plan so we can build the campus of the future envisioned by Flagship 2030.

We need to inlay sustainability into every facet of the campus' future.

So this summer, I will convene a faculty committee to report by the end of this year on how best to infuse sustainability more fully into the curriculum and our students' educational experiences.

While CU research reports on environmental matters are already the most numerous of any campus in the literature, we must integrate that leadership more fully into the classrooms.

Our carbon neutrality plan, while plotting bold moves toward zero carbon in the next few decades, will closely focus on the next few years.

Under the leadership of Vice Chancellor Frank Bruno and his sustainability steering committee, we have just begun a robust campuswide action team to increase our efforts toward Governor Ritter's challenging conservation goals.

By 2012, we must meet Governor Ritter's 20% energy conservation goal, 20% paper reduction goal, 10% water conservation goal, and 25% transportation-fuel reduction goal.

We have already begun to pioneer the Governor's “zero-waste” goal for all operations and building projects with last year's kickoff of “Ralphie's Green Stampede” that led to eliminating 80% of the disposable waste from CU home football games.

But as the first NCAA Division 1 Bowl Championship Series stadium to pursue this goal, we know we must keep the ball moving - and this year we want to run up the score - and start scaling this effort up campuswide.

In fact, our zero-waste stadium leadership has begun to change the world's sporting venues.

Earlier this year, Athletic Director Mike Bohn stood with the leaders of Invesco Field, the Pepsi Center, Coors Field, the Colorado Convention Center, and the other major Colorado venues to launch a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiative to green up sports stadiums as we have done at Folsom Field.

The market also is responding to our leadership. Sales of zero-waste wares by local vendor Eco-Products, is growing robustly nationwide. Local businesses, like Seth Ellis Chocolatier, are transitioning to zero-waste packaged candies, which will make its debut at CU football games this fall. Now corporate giant Frito Lay is piloting zero-waste packaging for its entire snack food line.

Not content to only work on campus, we keenly understand that our progress on sustainability and climate action must be in accord with our community's leadership too.

Therefore, we are partners in major local transportation projects that promote bike and pedestrian connections under major vehicle arteries. And a campus group is forming to create a more complete people transportation service – shifting the focus away from single-occupancy vehicles.

Our student-led Energy Green Teams have worked with over 800 Boulder homes to reduce energy and water use, improve recycling, and promote alternative transportation.

Our student energy auditors have gone further still. They have assisted over 500 low-income residences in Boulder and Boulder County by directly installing thousands of compact fluorescent bulbs, programmable thermostats, water saving devices, and upgrading appliances to Energy Star products.

We know that every energy dollar saved stays in the community, promotes economic development, and helps improve residents' quality of life.

Therefore, we also have chosen to invest in energy conservation and renewable energy projects in Colorado communities by directing over $50,000 a year to Governor Ritter's Colorado Carbon Fund.

These funds help create local carbon offsets.

This first-in-the-nation program channels local dollars to local energy conservation and renewable energy projects that help reduce carbon and create local green jobs.

CU is proud to be the first customer of this program - and to invest our human and financial resources in the local market and local communities that we serve.

Likewise, we are looking to expand our community-wide SmartGrid partnerships to broaden campus and community ability to maximize renewable energy development while conserving energy.

Installation of SmartGrid technology into the Chancellor's residence gives CU the opportunity to be an integral player in improving sustainability of the electric grid. We are the consumers, educators and scientists in this exciting leap forward.

The University of Colorado at Boulder intends to remain at the top in sustainability and continue our role as a leader in climate action. Our research, curriculum, student involvement and Climate Action Plan are the building blocks to support this commitment. Working with the Boulder community, faculty, staff and students, our efforts will maintain the healthy, vibrant and innovative community we are known for across the country.

I know we have an exciting discussion forthcoming today and I am pleased that it is taking place at CU. Thank you very much.