1. Hi! Thank you for coming to this presentation! My
name is Paige Gardner, I am a 20 year old junior at Utah State
University. I am studying secondary art education with a minor
in sustainable systems. I am currently working as an intern for
the Utah State University Sustainability Counsel as an intern. I
applied for the position because I care about my community and
want to do my part to keep it a safe and healthy place for my
generation and generations to come.
2. Today I have the opportunity to speak on a unique
program that my university has implemented. I hope that this
will give you ideas about alternative ways to offset the carbon
emissions of your institution.
To begin, let me tell you a little about Utah State
University. The college was founded in 1888 as a small land
grant university and has grown to encompass almost 29,000
students, with 17,000 of those students living on or around
campus. The campus is located in beautiful Northern Utah in a
town called Logan. I have lived in Logan for going on 3 years and
have loved the beautiful mountains and trees that surround the
university.
3. There is, however, one big downside to living in Logan.
The air quality. On some days, Logan Utah boasts the worst air
quality in the entire nation. I remember my first winter in
Logan; the inversion was the worst I have ever seen. The grey air
and smog are terrible and result in many red air days for the city.
Take a good look at this picture, we can see the stark
contrast between a green and red air day in Logan., this is not
exactly what we would call “healthy weather”.
4. This is a big concern for Utah State because the college
is not only committed to it’s students, but the surrounding
community and environment. This was made manifest when
USU President Stan Albrecht signed the American College and
University President’s Climate Commitment. This commitment
states that the college “recognizes the scientific consensus that
global warming is real and largely being caused by humans. It
further recognizes the need to reduce the global emission of
greenhouse gases by 80% by mid-century at least. And lastly the
commitment states that the University will work towards
becoming “Carbon Neutral”.
5. The term “Carbon Neutral” refers to achieving net zero
carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon
released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset, It is
used in the context of the carbon dioxide releasing processes,
associated with transportation, energy production and industrial
work such as production of carbon neutral fuel.
6. Many institutions have achieved “Carbon neutral status” is
through the purchasing of carbon offsets. What is a carbon
offset? When one purchases a carbon offset, the money goes
towards funding sustainability efforts around the country. One of
the most common results of purchasing a carbon offset, is the
funding of tree planting. As we all know, trees help to offset
carbon output through their ability to absorb carbon dioxide.
The average healthy tree absorbs about 13 pounds annually.
(http://www.coloradotrees.org/benefits.htm). A college in Main
claims that it has achieved zero net carbon emissions by
purchasing carbon offsets in Oregon. This method is a good way
for many universities to offset their emissions, but because USU
is committed to improve our LOCAL community. USU’s
Sustainability Council decided early on that it would work to
reduce carbon emissions locally rather than purchase “carbon
credits” from some distant location.
7. The first step in developing the program was to
pinpoint the biggest source of carbon emissions at USU and
provide opportunities for the participants of that activity to
directly help lower the carbon emissions. As you can see in this
graph, a huge portion of Utah State’s emissions are due to air and
automobile travel by faculty and staff. For example, last year
travelers logged over 17 million miles in air travel and over 7
million miles by car. USU is home to over 797 faculty members
and 1,835 full and part time staff, their travels account for nearly
one-fifth (19%) of USU’s carbon emissions.
8. The new USU carbon offset program provides these
travelers with a way to offset the carbon that results from their
trips. This was a grassroots effort that was collaborated on by
the USU travel office and USU Sustainability Counsel. Sharyn
Bradfeild, manager of finance systems, Megan Mapels, travel lead
in the controllers office, and Ryan Merrill, database
administrator in USU’s Information Technology Office all worked
with Nat Frazer and Chris Cocinios to make the program simple
and user friendly.
9. Bradfield said that they wanted to keep the process
simple and easy for participants to use. When members of the
faculty or staff go on a business trip, they are reimbursed
through the University. The travel office set up a new webpage in
January of 2012 that offers USU travelers the chance to make
voluntary, tax-deductible contributions to a fund for reducing
carbon emissions on campus.
When completing their reimbursement forms, travelers may
check a box allowing us to deduct $10 from their reimbursement
check into a fund in the Advancement office. All they have to do
to donate is simply check a box. The travel office takes care of
the rest.
The check-off is entirely voluntary and is optional each
time an individual submits an electronic form for travel
reimbursement.
10.You will notice that the webpage default setting is
“No”. The page is only visible to the traveler and the donation
information is kept confidential. I think that this optional checkoff is a great part of the program because it allows individuals to
make choices because they believe in the program, not because
they are being forced to do so by the administration.
11. So far we have raised over $3,060.00 through the
fund. Over 144 separate parties have chosen to contribute.
12. So what is this money going towards ? outfitting the
USU’s grounds keeping team with new battery powered or
propane mowers. Gas powered lawn mowers are horrible for the
enviorment. A riding lawn mower emits as much CO2 into the
atmosphere as the average car does traveling 100 miles.
Americans use 800 million gallons of gas each year on gasoline
powered lawn equipment. If you trade in your gas mower for a
battery powered one, you will not only be saving money, but also
be lowering carbon emissions. The average electric mower costs
only $5 a YEAR to operate. This is much less than a gas powered
model.
13. Electric mowers also have many more benefits
including:
-They will never leak gas and damage the local
enviorment
-They are much quieter, resulting in lower “noise
pollution”
-They take the price of gas out of the equation
when financing lawn care
-They do not require many tune-ups and need
little to no maintenance
Another option may be to purchase large propane mowers which
also have many environmental benefits and are a great
alternative to gas models.
Later on in the year, the Sustainability Counsel will solicit
additional ideas from faculty and staff on how to best use future
funds generated by the carbon offset program to reduce USU’s
Carbon footprint. Once proposals have been assessed for their
feasibility and costs, we also will ask for help in prioritizing them
so that we can identify the next project that will be supported
with the Carbon Off-set Program funds.
14. Over the past few years, faculty and staff have asked
how they can help the university lower the carbon footprint and
implement sustainable practices on campus. There are currently
many sustainable programs being implemented at Utah State,
ranging from a student sustainability office to a recycling center.
The Carbon off-set program provides yet another great way for
university members to help out with our school’s sustainability
efforts.
15. We learned a lot of valuable lessons from this
first year of the program. One of the biggest areas we could
have improved on is marketing. Having a strong marketing
team would have really helped us get the word out sooner and
could have increased the amount of people that could get
involved.
Another unforeseen benefit is the benefit to the usu
development office. Each individual donation counts towards a
not only a donation to the Carbon Offset Program, but also to
the university itself. This is great because it boosts the
universities donation stats.
We also discovered the amazing benefits that come from
grassroots efforts of faculty and staff. When people do not feel
forced into donating, they are more likely to want to help
because they feel like they are making a conscious and
deliberate decision to contribute to a good cause.
Thank you for allowing me to come talk to you today. I
hope that you will consider the benefits of implementing
alternative carbon off-set programs at your institutions.
Thank you