Climate Action Plan
Richland College
September 15, 2009
We need to be different, to build on the successes of our past
and respond to what the world is calling us to do now.
Stephen K. Mittelstet
Introduction
Richland College’s commitment to sustainability is rooted in the past, even as it grows toward the future. It is a
commitment born of our heritage—after all, Richland and all “colleges of the community” were created to
strengthen the economic and social fabric of the communities they serve—a heritage which is embraced in the
college’s longtime mission of Teaching, Learning, Community Building. Over time, the commitment has grown
to include the natural environment and come to be reflected in its institutional vision statement: Richland
College will be the best place we can be to learn, teach, and build sustainable local and world community.
This vision will soon be physically represented in a central campus space to be called the *GREEEN*Richland*
Commons for Sustainable Community Building, which will invite reflection and conversation on the nature and
future of a sustainable community. With full knowledge that a livable climate is the foundation on which that
future must be built—and the awareness that much learning lies ahead—Richland is beginning its journey to
climate neutrality. This document represents the first formal steps in charting the course of that journey.
Scientific imperative
The evidence of climate crisis is abundant and sobering, according to the definitive voice: the United
Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In its final report in late 2007, 2500
scientists from 130 countries concluded that conditions causing global warming must be stabilized by
2015, reduced soon thereafter, and cut 80% by mid-century. This determined pace is necessary in
order to avoid climate changes that will make seas rise, storms more powerful, droughts and heat
waves longer, and risk plant and animal species extinction. The IPCC’s research further links these
climatic effects to the world’s economic and social viability. A stable climate, the group projects, will
promote peace by preventing shortages of basic resources such as food and water, while a climate
crisis will cause many local and national economies to falter and put the poor, the young, the elderly,
and ultimately everyone at great risk.
The challenge facing the United States, including its higher education community, is particularly
daunting. It involves changing personal and organizational behaviors to slow the growth of
consumption while preserving quality of life. Finding this balance will not be easy. As one example,
while some two billion people worldwide live without electricity today, the U.S. population of 300 million
consumes a quarter of the world’s energy.
In recent years, with grassroots organizations, politicians, business leaders, and high profile
communicators leading the way, climate awareness and commitment have grown exponentially. In the
United States, governors in a growing number of states are fashioning regional agreements to lower
greenhouse gases and 350 mayors are asking their communities to meet or surpass the Kyoto Protocol
standards. Another 650 CEOs in higher education have signed the American College and University
Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).
Crediting growing efforts internationally, many sustainability leaders are cautiously optimistic that
solutions can be found. Whether the United States will join those efforts and work toward solutions to a
degree commensurate with its share of responsibility for the problem is still an open question. Much,
both on a global scale and with respect to what Richland and higher education can do, will depend on
the nature of the bill that emerges from Congress and is signed by President Obama.
* GREEEN* is an acronym for “Greening Richland via the Equity-Economy-Environment Nexus.”
Educational foundation
Through the Sustainability Vision Implementation Project (SVIP), community and technical college
leaders and thinkers from around the country, including representatives from Richland and other Dallas
County Community College District (DCCCD) entities, met to look at the future—more specifically, to
better understand the ways their institutions impact the sustainability revolution and in turn are affected
by it. In the process, a basic truth was rediscovered: sustainability has always been the mission of
community colleges. In fact, the quest to extend social equity and justice as well as economic
sufficiency—two requisite dimensions of building sustainable community—to all was a key factor in the
creation of the community college model.
The third dimension, environmental vitality, has emerged more recently as an institutional priority, but
the movement to include it is growing fast. Well over 100 community, junior, and technical colleges
have signed the Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). At least 180 are members of American
Association of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and a growing number are participating in
local, state, and regional sustainability associations for institutions of higher education. The leaders of
these institutions share an awareness that their students need the essential competencies of
sustainable community building—including managing natural resources, adapting to climate effects,
understanding global systems, collaborating across political and geographic boundaries, redesigning
basic systems, providing skilled workers for a non-exploitative economy, and promoting social justice
and equity—in other words, for making the Triple Bottom Line (3BL) a way of life in their communities,
To represent Richland’s commitment to action around the 3BL, for 2008-2009 the college incorporated
sustainability into its Strategic Plan, in the form of its overall STARS score. STARS, or the
Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System, was developed by AASHE as a means for
reliably measuring the progress of colleges and universities in all three dimensions of sustainability.
Though only in its pilot phase, Richland leaders saw early on that STARS’ potential went beyond its
utility as an independent measure and quickly adopted it for use in institutional planning. In 2009-2010
sustainability and STARS will be further woven into the college’s strategic plan, as Key Performance
Indicator (KPI) measures under all four Strategic Planning Priorities.
As a clear indication of the importance climate progress has in every facet of its work, progress on
reducing Richland’s carbon footprint will become a KPI of its own—one of sixteen factors that measure
the overall performance of the institution.
Climate action progress to date
Following President Stephen K. Mittelstet’s signature of the American College and University Presidents
Climate Commitment in June, 2007, Richland completed its initial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory.
That inventory covered Academic Year 2005-2006, establishing it as the base year for tracking purposes. The
second report will be for 2008-2009 and, once completed, will provide the first basis for comparing emissions
over time as well as the beginnings of a trajectory. The only measure currently available, energy use per
square foot of floor space, indicates an approximately 1% improvement from 2005-2006 to 2007-2008—
progress which is at least partially attributable to incremental improvements in lighting efficiency, including an
upgrade of fluorescent lamps and replacement of older technology bulbs with CFL and LED models.
Climate Commitment
President Mittelstet was a prime mover in creating the previously mentioned Sustainability Vision
Implementation Project, and Richland’s approach to sustainable community building can perhaps best be
described through the “Road Map” that emerged from the SVIP process. This “Road Map” posits that, in order
to root sustainable community building in the culture of the institution, the community/ technical college needs
to take the following steps:
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1. Set a policy framework for the work – supporting its board in defining the commitment to institutional
change, integrating sustainable community building into its vision, mission, core values, policies,
and planning processes and joining peer institutions to influence decision-makers at state, regional,
and national levels.
2. Weigh every decision against the “triple bottom line” – considering all three core measures of
sustainability, navigating the complex and interdependent relationships among them, and accepting
the challenge of environmental stewardship as it relates to the other two.
3. Build community within the college – building internal relationships on integrity and trust, modeling
community building principles both on campus and online, and using the resulting learning to
champion sustainability in the larger community.
4. Promote learning across the curriculum and co-curriculum – encouraging development of
sustainability-focused courses and programs, modeling sustainable community building through
collaborative, multi-disciplinary learning opportunities, and using sustainability principles, tools, and
direct experiences to engage students in courses and student development programming
throughout the college
5. Make the college a laboratory – inviting departments to work with each other and with students,
encouraging development of campus projects, and devising feedback mechanisms to improve
those projects and their underlying systems.
6. Stress preparation for work – using its inherent workforce expertise in developing and offering
learning opportunities that connect students and communities with emerging sustainable career
possibilities.
7. Listen first – initiating campus and community conversations and creating environments for
dialogue.
8. Explore deeper questions – learning to discern between efficiency and effectiveness, making
thoughtful, innovative adjustments to its programs and services, and keeping in mind that a focus
on sustainability will transform all institutions in some way.
9. Make collaboration a core discipline – valuing others’ expertise, sharing its own resources freely,
and reaching décisions in collaboration with partners.
10. Start immediately, set goals, take action – taking small steps immediately while working to develop
more comprehensive and collaborative plans, projects, and networks.
In reflection of this “map” and its markers, a constellation of actions informs, reinforces, and motivates
Richland’s dedication to climate action. These actions spring directly from the college’s commitment to
sustainable community building and the spirit of the GREEENRichland Commons, and include:
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Two major LEED-designed construction projects—the Gold-targeted Garland Campus and the Platinumtargeted Sabine (science) Hall—and the near-term addition of a Silver-targeted modular building
Growing emphasis on the 3BL in the college’s Strategic Plan—fueled by the college’s experience as a pilot
institution for the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS), a comprehensive new
sustainability measure for higher education
Founding of *GREEENRichland*, the oversight group for campus sustainability, by the Director of Facilities
Management, the Executive Assistant to the President, and the Coordinator of International/ESL Student
Services (a long-time campus sustainability advocate)—now including approximately 30 faculty, staff,
administrators, and students
Formation of the Energy/Sustainability Team, the advisory group for energy efficiency initiatives/projects,
which includes members from all sectors of the organization
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An in-development initiative, led by the college’s Chief Sustainability Officer and Faculty Association VicePresident, to expand and deepen incorporation of the 3BL throughout the curriculum and student activities
A leadership role, through the Assistant Director of Facilities Services, in the development of an energyfocused performance contracting program for all Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD)
colleges and the selection of a company to carry it out
Participation in the Rocky Mountain Institute’s “Accelerating Campus Climate Change Initiatives” project—
along with Yale, Tufts, the University of Missouri, and eight other colleges/universities—which yielded a
plan and initial funding for a project which will identify and pilot strategies for making Richland students’
commuting less carbon intensive
Continuing growth of the college’s successful recycling program, as exemplified by these first-time
RecycleMania results: seventh-place among all participating Texas colleges/universities in the overall
“Gorilla” competition and fourth place in “Targeted Material – Paper”
Initiation of the DCCCDGreen Team’s participation in selecting the district’s recycling vendors
Creation of a unique on-campus Urban Tree Farm in cooperation with local electrical utility TXU
Education, Public Engagement, and Employee Development
Education
Climate change has made its way into instruction at Richland to a significant degree. Full-time and adjunct
faculty members of many disciplines—including the sciences, English, economics, government, graphic arts,
sociology, philosophy, and journalism—have seen its connections to their courses and students and have
made those connections in ways that enrich the teaching/learning experience. Further, multi-disciplinary
Learning Communities, Associate’s degree Capstone Experience, and Richland Collegiate High School Senior
and Junior Projects (which focus on United Nations Millennial Development goals) have proven to be effective
vehicles for integrating climate and other 3BL issues in creative ways that awaken students to the impact such
issues will have on their lives. The college is also developing programs related to sustainability, including new
credit programs in Environmental Systems Technology and Energy Management as well as continuing
education and workforce training programs for green jobs.
The wider infusion of climate and related topics into curricula remains a challenging element in the evolution of
sustainability at Richland, particularly as it makes contact with other, more established elements such as
academic freedom, discipline boundaries, and textbook selection. Nevertheless, changes in the district core
curriculum incorporate sustainability concepts and courses. The connections are there to be made in
essentially every course and discipline and, although there is not as yet an overarching structure for facilitating
them, important building blocks are in place:
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The college’s vision statement, its commitment to the 3BL, and the GREEENRichland Commons for
Sustainable Community Building, all of which serve to keep the 3BL squarely in view
The new GHG emissions reduction KPI, which will do the same for climate action
A newly proposed initiative for taking the GREEENRichland Commons into the classroom through an
overall focus on local/regional sustainability issues and wider employment of service learning and other
experience-based models
A proposed opportunity for DCCCD faculty leaders from various disciplines to participate in a
“Sustainability Across the Curriculum” workshop in connection with the district’s annual conference day
Student Life programs that include nationally known speakers and participation in major events like “Focus
the Nation”
Community engagement
The proposed initiative for taking the *GREEEN*Richland Commons into the classroom will be designed to
extend into the community as well. In fact, a core purpose for the program is to connect classroom and
community in ways that make sustainability real for students while providing support for community groups and
organizations that represent one or more dimensions of the 3BL—social, economic, and/or environmental.
The number of such organizations in the Dallas area is practically countless—including those representing
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environmental issues, ethnic communities, support for the poor and disenfranchised, the arts and humanities,
and local businesses—and there are Richland programs already in place through which such experiential
learning experiences are facilitated, such as a strong service learning program and a wide range of existing
relationships with commercial, environmental, and social groups/organizations. These programs serve more
than 800 students annually.
Employee development
The near-term emphasis for incorporating sustainability/climate into employee development will be on
communication and consensus building. Efforts will begin early in the Fall 2009 semester, with the following
phases planned:
1. an online survey of employees’ sustainability-related perceptions and priorities;
2. a series of Employee Forums, informed by the survey’s results, which will focus on providing “big picture”
information about the college’s climate/energy plans and emissions reduction strategies, emphasizing the
importance of campus-wide cooperation, acknowledging perceived obstacles to change, addressing
participants’ concerns, and soliciting ideas for additional ways individuals and the institution can save
energy and reduce emissions—thereby generating “grass roots” input for the pending Energy Plan;
3. a group of online sustainability modules, based on what is learned from the survey and forums, which will
be incorporated into the employee orientation experience;
4. continuation of the successful Conversations program, which offers 20-25 staff, faculty, and administrators
a series of study/discussion opportunities focusing on one or more 3BL dimensions; and
5. a Sustainable Building Operations, Maintenance, and Management program, developed for facilities
services employees and soon to be shared among district colleges and community groups.
Carbon Footprint
2005-2006 Greenhouse Gas Inventory results
Scopes 1 & 2
Scope 3
Total
8,206 metric tons CO2e
15,767
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23,973
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2008-2009 Greenhouse Gas Inventory results
(calculation in progress)
Emissions projections
2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
2011-2015
2015-2050
Emissions increase (TBA)% over 2005-2006, due to addition of students and modular buildings
Scopes 1 and 2 energy/emissions increase by 10-20%, due to addition of new science hall
Energy/emissions decrease to approximately 2008-2009 levels, as performance contracting
projects are implemented
Total emissions decrease by 2% per year, as effects of measures described below are felt
Long-term goal is 80% reduction in total emissions by 2050
GHG Emissions Mitigation
Richland’s strategies for GHG emissions reduction, along with related projects and timetables, include:
Energy Plan By the end of 2009, an institutional Energy Plan will be completed by Facilities Services, and its
results will be used to revise and strengthen this Climate Action Plan (CAP) during Spring 2010.
Performance Contracting Through a process that is only just beginning, Richland facilities, business/finance,
and sustainability leaders will work with an energy service company, or ESCO, to identify and implement
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physical plant upgrades to aggressively but affordably reduce levels of energy use, cost, and emissions—
upgrades that will be paid for over time through the savings they produce. Once energy savings projections
are calculated, they will be used to revise and strengthen this CAP during Spring 2010.
Distance Learning Since 2005-2006, student contact hour totals for Richland’s distance learning classes have
grown by 140%. Additionally, those contact hours are up 103% as a percentage of total enrollment—in fact,
during that time DL has represented almost 85% of the college’s contact hour growth. Along with quality of
instruction, student engagement, and student success/retention, commuting-related GHG emissions reduction
targets will help guide the expansion of this program.
Room Use College administration realized more than a year ago that room scheduling and use were not
happening in a way that supported efficiency in energy use—and that efficient use of rooms could increase
building security while reducing energy consumption. Since then, in cooperation with the Energy/Sustainability
Team, progress has been continual. As a result, Facilities Services is able to shut down HVAC systems earlier
on some weekdays and all day on some weekends.
Rideshare Service A web-based rideshare service for DCCCD students and employees, provided by
AlterNetRides, will go live during the Fall 2009 semester.
Student Transportation The Student Transportation Initiative, created through the Rocky Mountain Institute
collaboration, has led to a $42,000 “seed funding” grant from the Kohlberg Foundation. These resources will
be used to carry out a social marketing study and campaign, with the goal of shifting students’ commuting
habits from driving alone to ridesharing and use of public transit. Goals for the initiative include:
1. Reduction of student commuting-related GHG emissions, which accounted for almost 2/3 of Richland’s
24,000 metric tons of GHG emissions in 2005-2006 and which represent the largest and most challenging
dimension of the college’s carbon footprint.
2. Development of a vehicle for generating awareness and action in a student population whose members—
commuters and distance learners all—tend to make teaching/learning connections with professors and
peers but much less frequently with the larger work of their colleges.
3. Reinforcement of the interconnection of the 3BL’s dimensions in ways that make those relationships real
for students to a degree beyond what is typically possible in the classroom.
The entire process will be carried out in cooperation with student leaders from Richland and its sister colleges
and highlighted by a Spring 2010 district-wide Sustainable Student Transportation Summit. At the summit,
which will be the first such gathering in DCCCD history, those leaders will use results from the fall social
marketing research to reach decisions that will guide the forthcoming marketing campaign.
Employee Transportation This is an area to which institutional thought is just beginning to be devoted.
Promising developments include: 1) the online rideshare service; 2) recently expanded opportunities for
telecommuting and work schedule adjustment; and 3) the newly discovered potential for creating
“transportation spending accounts” through a Federal program which allows transit riders to set aside pre-tax
dollars from their paychecks to pay for transportation expenses—thereby reducing those expenses by 20-30%.
As DCCCD employees already make use of spending accounts for health care and child care expenses, an
inquiry into the feasibility of this option will be made during 2009-2010.
Barriers and Strategies
Richland’s move toward carbon neutrality has many strengths: active support from college leadership; creation
of the Office of Sustainable Community Building and the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) role—the first in the
DCCCD; institutional commitment to infusing sustainability throughout the curriculum; willing participation by
more than 40 faculty, staff, and administrators in GREEENRichland and the Energy/Sustainability Team; and
adoption of AASHE’s STARS as the organizing structure for the work of these groups.
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Among the challenges the college faces, along with key strategies for addressing them, are:
1. Strong but diffuse support Richland’s leaders are committed to progress in reducing Richland’s GHG
emissions and are encouraged by the work that has been done in the classroom, employee development,
and facilities management to build sustainable community around the issue of climate action. Their focus,
however, is understandably on all three dimensions of sustainability as reflected in initiatives such as:
“Closing the Gaps” in the enrollment and success of students from underserved populations; building
intercultural competence among all employees; continual updating of decades-old infrastructure to
preserve quality and competitiveness; and developing global studies, peace studies, and ethnic studies
curricula that reflect and inform contemporary life.
Establishment of greenhouse gas reduction as an organizational Key Performance Indicator (KPI)—along
with targets toward which progress will be tracked by Richland’s leadership team and Office of Planning
and Research for Institutional Effectiveness (OPRIE)—signifies a commitment to this sustainability
dimension that is unique in its formality and visibility.
2. Funding The college’s Vice President for Financial Services is a member of *GREEEN*Richland and
supports college funding for energy efficiency projects when financial flows allow, but those funds are
limited and must compete with other sustainable community building priorities (see 1).
Thanks in part to the work of this VP and Richland’s Assistant Director of Facilities Services, the new
district-wide performance contracting initiative will be able to provide funding for energy/emissions
reduction projects. Further, though DCCCD policy does not permit the levying of student fees, a proposal
for creating a student-managed sustainability fund will be advanced in cooperation with Student Life this
year. Finally, the college’s resource development office is actively seeking external funding.
3. Multi-level administration Richland is one of seven separately-accredited colleges in the DCCCD, so is
independent for some purposes and part of the larger organization for others. Such a complex structure
can add to the challenge of effectively sharing information, reviewing processes, reaching consensus, and
ultimately taking action.
Through district leadership councils, the DCCCDGreen Team, and support for good ideas from all quarters,
Richland has been instrumental in nurturing awareness of and action on climate issues. As examples: 1)
the district Director of Finance and the councils of business vice-presidents and facilities directors were
instrumental in moving performance contracting from good idea to active program; and 2) the
DCCCDGreen Team is playing a significant role in developing more sustainable student and employee
commuting options and the proposed “Sustainability Across the Curriculum” faculty workshop.
4. Data management Essential data on energy use and recycling has long been collected by Richland’s
Facilities Services, and figures on campus fleet fuel use and college-sponsored air travel are now being
reported. There is a need for data collection/reporting to become more reliable, however, so that existing
data is more accessible and additions may happen in a timely manner. Generation of commuting-related
data relating to student and employee commuting is fairly rudimentary and in need of refinement.
The college’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Assistant Director of Facilities Services, and Director of
Institutional Research are developing a plan for consolidating and streamlining sustainability-related data
management. Also, the intent is to locate resources that will enable commuting-related data to be
generated through use of satellite-based technologies.
5. Learning curve At times there has been considerable uncertainty as to what strategies would be effective
in leading to the adoption of climate-sensitive thinking and action by the lion’s share of the college’s
students, faculty, and staff. Much of the emphasis thus far has been on network building: Richland’s
Facilities Services and Office of Sustainable Community Building have formed partnerships with student
government, employee associations, OPRIE, Student Life, Continuing Education, and other key groups.
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The April, 2009 sustainable community building survey yielded positive results with respect to student
support for college sustainability priorities and openness to more climate-sensitive commuting choices—
results which will be built on through this year’s Student Transportation Initiative. Similarly, an employee
survey is being administered this September, and results from it will be used to create more effective
communication strategies and identify steps leading to more climate-sensitive workplace choices.
Costs and Financing
Financing options for climate action, as previously indicated, are limited but improving. Internally, they include:
dedicated funding as it becomes available and anticipated savings from energy efficiencies. Externally,
performance contracting constitutes the major funding source at this point. Priorities and costs for projects to
be funded through this program are currently being determined by Richland and the ESCO vendor and, once
established, will facilitate identification of opportunities for which other funding will need to be found.
Implementation Structure
Management
The implementation of Richland’s Climate Action Plan will be managed in four dimensions: 1) ThunderTeam,
the senior leadership group, will provide oversight and track overall progress through the college’s strategic
planning process; 2) the Office of Sustainable Community Building (OSCB) and GREEENRichland will be
responsible for developing strategies that share information, build consensus, and foster adoption of climate
action goals—and for overseeing and guiding projects related to curriculum and student activities; 3) Facilities
Services and the Energy/Sustainability Team will implement and track energy-related projects; and 4) OSCB,
OPRIE, and Facilities Services will share data collection and management responsibilities.
Mechanisms
Thunder Team monitors progress on its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) monthly, several of which are
directly connected to at least one aspect of the 3BL. One KPI is dedicated exclusively to reducing GHG
emissions and includes measures for energy usage, waste minimization and diversion, water consumption,
and reducing commute trips to campus. While these represent what Richland tracks at the institutional level,
other emissions reduction efforts are tracked and documented at the department level, such as those related to
cleaning services, fleet, and groundskeeping.
Updates
KPIs for each of Richland's strategic planning priorities along with the targets and measures which indicate
attainment of them are evaluated and revised each year at the leadership strategic planning retreat. Targets
are set to pursue improvements in performance over the next three years.
Communication Strategy
Behavior change plan
Behavior changes in Richland students and employees are expected to be facilitated by the following:
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the social marketing study and campaign that are the core of the Sustainable Student Transportation
Initiative;
the employee survey and forums that will be linked to development of the college’s Energy Plan;
the employee orientation modules that will focus on sustainable community building;
incorporation of sustainability into student orientation programming;
the Conversations series;
an awards program to be designed to acknowledge ideas and initiatives generated by employees and
students.
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Media
An over-arching theme and related in-house media campaign are currently in development. One possibility is
“*GREEEN* in Common,” which springs from and connects with the *GREEEN*Richland Commons for
Sustainable Community Building.
Progress Tracking
Mechanisms
Internally, processes have been established, and are being refined, for gathering and sharing data relating to
GHG emissions from all Scope 1 and 2 sources, as well as college-sponsored air travel. Processes for
generating commuting-related data exist but are rudimentary and need to be improved in order to yield more
accurate results.
Frequency
Internal data will be gathered on a monthly or quarterly basis and aggregated for reporting to Thunder Team.
Complete GHG emissions data will be aggregated for construction of an institutional emissions report, as well
as its submission to ACUPCC, on an annual basis.
Conclusion
In summary, Richland College is in many respects well-equipped for the journey to climate neutrality. Its
community college heritage, commitment to building sustainable community, and embrace of the “Triple
Bottom Line” have embedded sustainability in the life and work of the college. Its leadership in the
Sustainability Vision Implementation Project, participation in ACUPCC, and adoption of STARS as both a
measure and a guide have given direction to those fundamental commitments. Its incorporation of climate
progress into strategic planning, creation of the Chief Sustainability Officer role, and sponsorship of
*GREEEN*Richland and the Energy/Sustainability Team foster action on sustainability in general and carbon
footprint reduction in particular. Finally, its enaction of energy performance contracting, launch of student
transportation and employee communication initiatives, and ongoing introduction of the 3BL throughout the
curriculum constitute major first steps toward the kinds of functional and behavioral changes that make
sustainability both possible and practical in every corner of the institution.
Though it is difficult at this point to see very far down the road to climate neutrality, Richland will continue
taking the “next steps” in the journey as they appear—with awareness that every step will offer new challenges
and opportunities for teaching, learning, and building sustainable local and world community. Fittingly, it is
journey that the college shares with all its communities—and one that it begins with confidence that, working in
collaboration with those communities, reaching the goal is not only possible but likely.
(Note: Production of this report will be a developmental process. The initial version is submitted with the
awareness that Richland is in early stage development of some essential processes and data. Revisions will
follow during 2009-2010 as more information becomes available, including completion of: 1) the 2008-2009
Greenhouse Gas Inventory, which will begin to provide a trajectory of emissions levels; 2) the performance
contracting plan, which will contribute reliable energy/emissions reduction projections for the chosen projects;
and 3) the institutional Energy Plan, which will incorporate infrastructural and behavioral targets for emissions
reduction.)
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