Office of the Chancellor > Speeches, Columns and Letters > CU will lead on sustainability

CU will lead on sustainability
Colorado Daily
February 21, 2007

Clearly, energy is at the forefront of the American consciousness. Whether it is events in the Middle East, the new energy economies being established across the American West, or the bold energy agenda announced by Gov. Ritter here in Colorado, there is a spirit of innovation and resolve overtaking the nation that we can and must achieve energy independence and environmental sustainability in this century.

That spirit is well-represented at the University of Colorado at Boulder. On Feb. 22 and 23, we will host our annual Sustainability Summit, a two-day gathering that brings together higher education administrators, campus environmental leaders and energy experts from around the nation to discuss strategies and goals to create sustainability. Coinciding with this event, I am pleased to announce a series of additional measures that will advance CU-Boulder's position as a national leader in sustainability and renewable energy.

First, on behalf of CU-Boulder I have pledged to participate in the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (PCC), which will solidify our goal of reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. CU-Boulder will begin immediately, a detailed inventory of our current emissions; then, within two years, the campus will outline short and long-term strategies for emission reductions to reach the PCC goal of "climate neutrality" - zero net GHG.

This is a bold challenge, but CU-Boulder has an excellent record to build upon. Today, the University purchases 10 percent of the campus's electricity from renewable sources, and we have reduced our electrical consumption by 13 percent per square foot since 2001. In addition, CU-Boulder has helped to generate 3.2 million rides per year on RTD buses through participation in RTD's Ecopass program, created a recycling program that is diverting 1600 tons from landfills annually (and has saved the campus about $2.4 million in avoided costs over the past three years alone) and pioneered water conservation programs that save over 110 million gallons annually on campus.

Most of all, our students are to be credited for their leadership in helping to make the recently completed ATLAS building at CU-Boulder the first public building in the state of Colorado to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification - one of only seven buildings statewide to achieve such a designation.

With the need for a centralized heating and cooling facility to be built, we must take new and stronger measures to offset our purchase of electricity from sources that increase our carbon output. To assist in this process, I am pleased to announce that in the next fiscal year, we will begin investing $250,000 annually in projects to reduce campus energy consumption, particularly electrical consumption. At some point in the near future, we expect we may seek new funds or a reallocation of a portion of the $250,000 for renewable energy production systems on campus properties or close to the campus.

I am also asking that investments beyond the $250,000 per year be considered for future funding as a pressing campus priority in order to aggressively pursue options for greatly reducing CU-Boulder's GHG emissions. To offset our carbon output in the meantime, our campus has committed to spending an additional $50,000 per year for the purchase of renewable wind energy.

Finally, I am pleased to announce one more measure that I believe will lay the groundwork for even more progress toward sustainability. That is the establishment of the Chancellor's Committee on Energy, Environment and Sustainability (CCEES), a working group to be led by Vice Chancellor for Administration Paul Tabolt, charged with setting sustainability goals for the campus and advising the university on all environmental matters.

Besides drawing from a cross-section of campus constituencies, this working group will mark a new sustainability partnership with the City of Boulder. Recognizing that CU's and Boulder's fortunes are tied together in moving toward sustainability and the use of renewable energy, I have requested that Boulder Mayor Mark Ruzzin and City Manager Frank Bruno appoint a city representative to serve as a permanent member of this committee.

Many more steps remain to be taken, but with the broad support of the entire cross-section of our campus community, CU-Boulder's nationally recognized Environmental Center, and the state, county and city governments, our sustainability future will burn bright and clean for many years to come, securing the University of Colorado at Boulder's reputation as a national environmental leader for a new generation.

G.P. "Bud" Peterson is the chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder. Send "Your Take" submissions (of between 400-600 words) to letters@coloradodaily.com . Please include a one-sentence biography of the author and an address and telephone number. The Colorado Daily does not guarantee publication, and all "Your Take" submissions represent the views of their authors alone, and not necessarily those of the Colorado Daily management or staff.