In July 2008, SUNY Oneonta welcomed a new College President, Dr. Nancy
Kleniewski. Expressed as one of her four “key architectural elements”, Dr.
Kleniewski committed to strive toward a more sustainable future through learning, construction, how we acquire and use resources, and maintenance of college property.
One of the most serious environmental problems today involves the effects of the emissions fossil fuel combustion and other forms of carbon release. As a higher education institution, SUNY Oneonta is an important part of the community, both economically and in serving as a role model for surrounding businesses and institutions. Understanding the responsibility the college has toward the community is essential and serves as an impetus for writing the SUNY-Oneonta
Climate Action Plan.
Over the last three semesters, SUNY-Oneonta student interns have been actively collecting emissions data from a variety of sources. With the aid of the
Clean-Air Cool-Planet ® Campus Carbon Calculator, the interns were able to convert their data into metric tons of eCO
2
. Inventories for years 2000 and 2008 have been completed at this time.
To ensure that all aspects of campus carbon sources are addressed in this plan, the college has decided to approach emission reductions by separating campus operations into three general categories. Each category will target specific emissions sources that fall within the activities of the particular practice, but they will also identify basic sustainability efforts that may be covered by the other two categories. Although the title of this document indicates that its purpose is to reduce carbon emissions, SUNY-Oneonta feels that we can use the Climate Action
Plan to instill the importance of sustainability into our students, so they may take this knowledge with them in their further pursuits. Therefore, the SUNY-Oneonta
Climate Action Plan will primarily focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions but may also address other forms of sustainability.
The three campus operations categories include:
Facilities: The College has dedicated resources to the improvement of campus buildings and infrastructure. These improvements include projects designed to increase the water, HVAC, electrical and thermal efficiency of residence, academic, and administrative buildings. The eventual goal is to attain a 20% GHG reduction by
2020. The college has also invested in energy saving projects at the central heating facility which will greatly increase energy efficiency and reduce the college’s overall carbon footprint.
Education: Although the college offers majors that focus on sustainability and the environment, the majority of academic majors offered do not. During the time that the greenhouse gas inventories were being conducted, an academically diverse

group of faculty, staff, and students called The Sustainability Task Force was asked to produce a report that would identify ways of incorporating sustainability into the college curriculum. The report written by The Sustainability Task Force will be the primary reference for the emission reductions addressed in this section.
Cultural: In reducing carbon emissions, it is essential to reach members of the campus community on a non-academic and individual level. Other than educational opportunities, the campus provides room and board. Several efforts have been made in the residence and dining halls to raise sustainability awareness and to reduce emissions. Some of these student services fall under the responsibilities of a non-for-profit organization, The Oneonta Auxiliary Service (OAS). OAS is actively involved in The Sustainability Task Force and is continuously working toward more efficient ways to provide these supplementary services.
Through all of these aspects, it is our goal to reduce current emissions 10% by 2015, and by an additional 10% every ten years following. To keep track of our carbon footprint, we will continue to have interns conduct greenhouse gas inventories. Every five years we will use the new data to improve and customize the
Climate Action Plan.
Before beginning the Climate Action Plan, we wanted to compile a data set that would enable us to target specific areas of especially high emissions. Student interns collected data for years 2000 and 2008 from a variety of campus and community sources. The Clean-Air Cool-Planet ® Campus Carbon Calculator uses raw, collected data and converts it to metric tons of CO
2
emissions. The calculator is divided into three scopes:
Scope 1 – all direct sources of emissions that are owned or controlled by SUNY-
Oneonta. This includes university fleet and heating with natural gas & residual oil.
Scope 2 – emissions from purchased electricity, heat or steam.
Scope 3 – emissions from the activity of the institution from outside sources owned or controlled by another company. This includes campus community transportation, waste and paper purchased.
In a comparison of emissions by scope for 2000 and 2008, SUNY-Oneonta increased emissions by 21.3% in scope1 and 10.7% in scope 3. However, in scope 2
SUNY-Oneonta decreased emissions by 44.8%. Overall, the college decreased emissions by 12.5%. This is probably due to a conversion from electric to natural gas for cooking and baking.

Figure 1. Comparison by scope in MT eCO
2
When compared to other institutions, SUNY-Oneonta’s emissions per 1000 ft 2 are relatively low. As far as the size of the institutions, Oneonta is most comparable to Ithaca College.

Figure 2. Metric tons CO
2
emissions per 1000 SF
The Carbon Calculator specified what data was needed to perform a greenhouse gas emissions inventory. By examining the categories provided by the calculator, we can conclude that the following sources of emissions that are highlighted in yellow should be of particular focus.
Scope 1
Other on campus
Stationary
Direct Transportation
Refrigerants and
Chemicals
Agriculture
Scope 2
Purchased Electricity
Scope 3
Faculty and Staff
Commuter
Student Commuter
Directly Financed
Transportation
Air Travel
13,235
Table 1
2000
429.7
330.8
4.1
13,286.4
2,596.4
2,022.2
228.8
17,043.7
408.7
330.8
12.3
7,332.9
2,904.4
2,167.6
729
2008

Other Directly Financed
Travel (Rental Car and
Train)
Study Abroad
Solid Waste
Wastewater
Paper Purchased
17.5
419.3
1,192.7
20.1
18.3
30.3
677.2
1,485
14.7
31.3
The State University College at Oneonta has planned facility improvement projects for every building on campus including all residence, administrative, and academic buildings. The facilities improvement projects will increase the efficiency of HVAC, sewer/water, Electricity, and thermal components of each of the buildings.
These improvement projects have been scheduled for completion between
2010 and 2020. The projects will facilitate major reductions in total campus GHG emissions as the college moves toward a goal of 20% emissions decrease by 2020.
Some of the projects have a significant upfront cost, however many of the projects also have a short pay back and the efficiency improvements will generate considerable future savings that can be re-invested.
The college recently implemented a series of Energy Conservation Measures
(ECMs) that will increase the total energy efficiency of campus. These measures include:
 ECM 1: Installing lighting controls in offices, classrooms, & various other spaces.
 ECM 2: Replacing old inefficient lighting fixtures with new energy efficient fixtures in a number of spaces
 ECM 3: Converting the large electric baking oven in the services building to a gas fired operation
They ECM’s will reduce energy usage as well as utility costs which will generate considerable annual savings for the college. In addition, these projects will facilitate a considerable reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. These include reductions in total CO
2
, SO
2
, and NO x
; harmful greenhouse gases which contribute to global climate change.
There are various methods available to reduce GHG emissions through infrastructure planning. Significant reductions and concomitant costs savings can be achieved through capital construction. The four main categories of projects aim to enhance the energy efficiency of the campus systems.

The college facilities office intends to perform two major different types of improvement projects to campus buildings.
 General rehabilitations: Although more expensive, aside from the obvious benefits to classroom, faculty and student benefits, these large projects achieve results at many different levels, including thermal, electrical, and water.
 Commissioning: Requiring commissioning and retro-commissioning achieves maximum efficiencies of all systems.
There are several different types of improvements that will improve the electrical efficiency of the campus facilities. These improvements include: o Motor and pump replacements: Replacing old motors and pumps with newer, more efficient units have a very high “payback” with regard to electrical efficiencies. o HVAC Upgrades: Original HVAC systems can be upgraded to improve both reliability and efficiency. o Electrical Metering Upgrade: While not directly improving efficiency, this project will replace old meters and better our ability to monitor and manage electrical loads.
Thermal quality improvements will significantly increase the heating efficiency of the campus buildings. Thermal deficiency strongly decreases the efficiency of a building. Thermal improvements to the campus buildings will help to mitigate or completely prevent unnecessary heat and energy losses from that contribute to total
GHG emissions. The types of thermal improvement projects that will be completed at SUNY Oneonta include: o Steam Trap Upgrades: Routine, steady repair and or rebuilding of steam traps is one of the most effective, low-cost ways to improve thermal efficiencies. o Roof Replacements: Modern, highly insulated and watertight roofs greatly enhance thermal proficiency and occupant comfort. o Window Replacements: Although a very high initial capital cost item, huge building envelope savings (as well as occupant comfort) can be achieved by these projects. o Central Heating Plant Upgrades: Improving boiler efficiency and installing stack economizer packages will significantly enhance thermal proficiency.

o Fuel Conversion: The conversion of the college’s backup fuel from “#6” to
“#2” fuel, aside from the obvious reduction in GHG emissions from using the
#2 fuel, will render unnecessary the need to heat a fuel oil “tracer” line for the backup fuel supply. o Steam and Hot Water Line Replacement: This is a continuance of an ongoing project to upgrade thermal efficiency through replacement of old lines with new, insulated lines protected from ground water. o Domestic Hot Water Upgrades: Replacement of original domestic hot water systems will greatly enhance thermal efficiency.
The campus water facilities will receive considerable improvements to increase the efficiency of water usage on campus. SUNY Oneonta recognizes that water is a valuable resource and must be managed efficiently. o Restroom Retrofits: Significant water savings can be affected via toilet/restroom retrofits. o Water Line Replacements: A proactive replacement of sections of underground water lines will reduce the likelihood of future underground leaks.

The academic and administrative buildings on campus will be undergoing numerous improvements within the next five years, which will increase the overall efficiency of these buildings.
Drain mitigation improvements have already been completed that will improve the storm water runoff collection of the campus sewage system.
Additionally, thermal improvements have been completed at the Biological Field
Station in Cooperstown, NY.

The campus residence buildings will be undergoing numerous improvements within the next five years, which will increase the overall utilities efficiency of these buildings.

The college will be replacing the roofs on several residence, academic and administrative buildings. The residence buildings Blodgett, MacDuff, and Hulbert will be receiving roof restoration and replacements between 2011 and 2018. In addition, Hulbert dining hall, Wilsbach dining hall, and the Fine Arts building will all be receiving roof replacements between 2011 and 2013. Older roof insulation will be replaced by new rigid insulation, which will increase the thermal efficiency of these buildings.
The college facilities team is currently involved in major renovation improvements to several of the freshman residency buildings. In 2006 the college collaborated with the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) to produce a plan for rehabilitating the freshman residency buildings including, Tobey
Hall, Wilber Hall, Golding Hall, and Littell Hall. The objective was to increase the sustainability and energy efficiency of the buildings while increasing occupancy of the buildings. The scheduled rehabilitation started with Tobey and Wilbur, which finished completion in 2009 and 2010 respectively. The renovation of Golding Hall will be complete by 2011. The renovation of Littell Hall will complete construction in July, 2012.

The aim of the residency hall renovations was to earn a silver certification through the LEED program on all the new freshman halls. There were a number of sustainable strategies that were designed to meet this end. These included:
 Building reuse
 Water efficient landscaping
 Water use reduction
 Optimized energy performance
 Refrigerant management
 Recycled content materials
 Low emitting materials
 Construction waste management
 Regional materials
 Rapidly renewable material
 FSC certified wood
 Indoor chemical and pollutant source control
These design strategies increased the sustainability of both the buildings and the construction processes used to build them.
The completed renovations to Tobey and Wilber hall have increased the thermal and electrical efficiency of these buildings. For instance, Tobey Hall reduced energy usage by 41% while increasing occupancy by 20%. Wilber reduced energy and water usage by 40%. In addition 78% of the waste generated during construction was collected and recycled to avoid its unnecessary placement in a landfill.
Improvements are also underway to the central heating facility on campus.
The campus receives all of it heating from this central facility which utilizes five large boilers to produce energy for heating and hot water in all of the residence, academic, and administrative buildings. Currently, the heating facility burns liquid petroleum # 6 which is reducing the efficiency of the plant. The college intends to improve this efficiency by replacing the current oil with natural gas in the summer of 2011. The new lighter oil is more energy efficient and has greatly reduced emissions which make it less harmful to the environment. Important equipment such as boiler tubes and hydraulic pumps are being replaced as well in order to maximize the efficiency of the facility. In addition, traditional boiler cleaning chemicals, which may be corrosive to the boiler, have been replaced with a polymer cleaner. This will increase the life of the boilers as well as reduce maintenance costs.

Each of these facilities improvements is designed to move the college towards a goal of 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
At SUNY-Oneonta, we feel that it is important to integrate sustainability into the curricula of all disciplines. The students at SUNY Oneonta will have the opportunity to practice sustainability during their time here and will leave with the ability to carry this knowledge to future endeavors. For the past several years,
SUNY-Oneonta has been building a team of faculty and staff from various fields who are committed to sustainability. The Sustainability Task Force includes members from the sciences, arts, and humanities who have joined together to write a plan outlining the ways in which SUNY-Oneonta intends to integrate sustainability into education. The educational plan, Greening the Educational Experience – SUNY
College at Oneonta, is in its final stages of development. It starts with general goals it hopes to accomplish through a series of more specific actions.
The general goals established in the educational plan are as follows:

1.
To integrate sustainability at all educational levels of our campus, including into class curriculum and encourage all departments to consider incorporating sustainability concepts into their programs.
2.
To build an interdisciplinary approach to issues and problems in sustainability within courses, and foster innovative sustainability teaching approaches in the classroom and through experiential curricular and co-curricular activities.
3.
To increase support for existing interdisciplinary environmental programs and foster interdisciplinary environmental program development and programs that contribute directly to various levels of sustainability.
4.
To develop place-based attachments among faculty and students and develop awareness of their ecological footprints, living practices, and attitudes in ways that shape their behavior.
5.
To promote cross-disciplinary faculty engagement and interdisciplinary faculty communities in sustainability education endeavors.
6.
To develop an outreach and educational partnerships with the local communities to address sustainability issues and promote sustainable actions, public awareness, and civic engagements.
7.
To encourage and support sustainability research among faculty.
Following these general goals are more specific proposals that could enhance educational efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and to live more sustainably.
 Introduce a new faculty position – Sustainability Coordinator
As of now, SUNY-Oneonta has been allocating sustainability efforts to students, faculty and staff across the campus community. A sustainability coordinator could aid in unifying projects for higher efficiency and would also be able to focus on how the college can reduce carbon emissions and waste.
 Create new environmentally based majors and classes as well as strengthening existing ones.
This proposal introduces the recommendation of a sustainability general education requirement, new courses that would target specific majors, support for future and current environmental majors and implementation of sustainability into orientation and honors programs.
 Promote environmental responsibility in co-curricular activities.
SUNY-Oneonta would like to see students work toward greening their campus outside the classroom. This includes working with the community, starting a sustainability fund, appointing “green floors” in the residence halls, and working with sustainable study abroad organizations.
 Demonstrate ways to lower carbon footprints through daily experiences.
This proposal includes installation of a solar-powered LED sign to display environmental events on campus, a power docking station in the center of campus that receives energy through sustainable sources, and a low

impact trail in place of paved surfaces that passes through a “learning garden”.
 Break financial and institutional barriers.
Innovations in learning can be enhanced with adequate funding and instruction. This proposal includes funding dedicated to sustainability research and scholarships for students focused on sustainability-related studies. We would also like to enhance our instructors’ knowledge by creating workshops geared toward lowering environmental impacts.
Currently, the Geography Department, chaired by Dr. Tracy Allen, is in the process of updating the courses and majors that are offered. To comply with the values stated by Dr. Kleniewski and the mission of the college, the Geography
Department proposes to change its title to the Department of Geography,
Sustainability, and Environmental Studies. In terms of changing the curricula, the department is interested in offering a new major called Sustainability and
Environmental Studies, as well as specifically addressing sustainability in every class offered. One if the steps already taken by the department was to actively seek and hire a professor who focuses specifically on applying environmental issues to
Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Recognizing the growing demand for careers relating to the environment and sustainability, the Geography Department intends to work alongside the Environmental Sciences by developing a multidisciplinary approach to the issues focused around human activity and the environment. The Department has received support from both students and faculty regarding these changes.
An important part of reducing emissions is making students aware of how their individual actions influence greenhouse gas emissions. There are several students on campus that would like to see changes in the way SUNY-Oneonta functions. One of the big issues among students on campus is changing the printing default to double sided instead of single sided as it is now. Throughout the semester, students have the option of checking their resource consumption when printing through a program called Papercut. We encourage conservation by charging students money for each paper printed.
Another issue among students has been the availability of recycling receptacles around campus. For the past several years, we have been responding to these demands by adding recycling bins to every building with openings that only fit appropriate items. We have just received several paper recycling bins and are in the process of acquiring more bins for individual rooms across campus. However, having recycling bins does not mean everyone is using them properly. Several campus organizations encourage recycling and other environmental issues through

various events. The Protect Your Environment Club hosts movies, clean-ups and participates in other sustainable actions taken on campus. Oneonta Auxiliary
Service celebrates Earth Week through Green Dragon Week. Throughout the week, the college will have lecturers, movies, and activities relating to sustainability. The
Earth Day Expo is set up in the middle of campus and consists of local companies and campus organizations working to lower their environmental impacts. Part of
Earth Week also involves a contest called “Do it in the Dark” where each residence hall is encouraged to reduce energy consumption in exchange for a prize.
Also the Environmental Sciences club offers resources, encouragement and support for students interested in the Environmental Sciences. As well as promotes and organizes intellectual and social exchanges amongst students interested in the
Environmental Sciences. The club has performed clean up events on campus and in the city of Oneonta as well as special events to raise awareness for particular local and global environmental issues such as natural gas drilling and the environmental impacts of food production and consumption. The club has been actively involved in events like Earth Day and Green Dragon Week (SUNY Oneonta).
Although the college has recently purchased hybrid vehicles, they are small, five passenger vehicles. Many classes on campus take field trips and need to use large vans to accommodate the class size. We are interested in looking for ways to make these vans more sustainable through different fuel options or different vehicles entirely. As part of emission reduction through transportation methods, we plan to designate parking spots to carpooling vehicles only, as well as eliminating the number of parking passes available for vehicles that park on campus. Public transportation is readily available to students and can be made more efficient through installation of a GIS application for smartphones that shows real-time location of the buses. Reduction through other means of transportation include air mileage, which can be achieved by encouraging teleconferencing or attending more local conferences.
In addition a number of students have expressed interest in composting the food waste produced at the three dining halls on campus. This interest is relatively new however, a number of meetings have taken place to coordinate the removal of post-consumer food waste to a designated composting site on campus. Plans are currently being developed for the construction of this site, which should provide enough compost to fertilize a garden plot located at college camp. This garden produces vegetables during summer for consumption at the dining halls.