C2E2 Tools to Assess Campus
Environmental Performance in the U.S.
Thomas Balf & Peter Schneider
C2E2
EAUC Conference 4/11/06
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Higher Education in the U.S.
•4,100 colleges and universities
•$300 billion in revenues
•Employs more than 3 million
•Enrolls 15 million students
•Spends $20 billion annually on
operations
•Spends $14 billion annually in
construction
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Mission
To
support the continued improvement
performance in higher education through:
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environmental
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environmental professional networking,
information exchange,
the development of professional resources and tools, and
the advancement of innovative regulatory models.
Environmental performance includes campus regulatory compliance,
environmental management and sustainability initiatives.
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Who Are We?
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C2E2
Boston College
Boston
Brown
Columbia
Cornell
Duke
Georgetown
Harvard
Howard
Michigan State
MIT
Northeastern
Olin College
Princeton
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Rhode Island School of Design
Trinity College
Tufts
University of Alaska
University of Connecticut
University of Massachusetts
University of North Carolina
University of Pennsylvania
University of Vermont
Vanderbilt
Wellesley
Williams
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Yale
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Our Organization
• Not-for-profit association
• National Organization/New England Based
• Member Driven Priorities
• Governance and Dues Structure
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Profile of C2E2 Member
Boston University
• 29,000 students on urban campuses
• 350 buildings ,14 colleges and 11,000
students in dorms
• Environmental health and safety (EHS)
staff of 35 professionals
• Compliance orientation
• Task Force on Campus Environment
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What Do Our EH&S Directors Do?
Hazardous
Waste
Environmental
Health
Waste Water
General
Safety
Air Quality
Controlled
Substances
Radiation
Emergency
Response
Fire
Protection
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Workplace
Safety
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Laboratory
Safety
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Risk Management on a U.S Campus
• Health risks
• Enforcement actions
• Pollution impacts
• Property loss
• Public perception
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What tools have we
developed or host?
How are tools being used?
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C2E2 Tools
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EMS Self-Assessment Checklist (2000)
EPA Best Practices Catalog (2001)
Environmental Virtual Campus (2002)
Series of Posters (2003 and 2005)
White Papers (2004)
EPA Sector – Performance Measurement Workgroup (2004)
“An Introduction to Campus Environmental Sustainability
Indicators” (2005)
Hiring a Sustainability Professional (2005)
EMS Benchmark Survey (2006)
Web-Based Training Database (2006)
Networking, Sharing, Networking – meetings, workshops,
web
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Environmental Virtual Campus
Almost 10,000 visitors last month
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Best Practice Guide
Example – Performance Reporting
• University of Vermont
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Data
Trends
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Projects
Narrative
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Impacts
Internal
• University of North Carolina
• Yale University
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First Poster – Dialogue
• 7 Indicators
• Identifies resources
• Connect management
with indicators
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Second Poster – Develop a Plan
• Develop a PLAN
• If you don’t know
where you are going,
any road will get you
there.
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White Papers
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Sustainability and
Environmental Tracking
The next wave???
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Source: New Yorker
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An Introduction to Campus
Environmental Sustainability Indicators
• New strategy for C2E2 – fund and build
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C2E2
bridges with sustainability colleagues
Start at the beginning
Tools and guidance for the journey ahead
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National Self-Tracking Tool
• Track, analyze, and
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benchmark environmental
performance
120 schools registered
Types of data
• Energy use
• Hazardous waste
• Solid waste/recycling
• Water consumption
Institutional interest
EPA Interest?
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Hazardous Waste
Aspiration
Challenges Persist
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What’s Next For C2E2?
• EMS Benchmark Survey
• Web-Based Training Database
• Laboratory Reporting Initiative
• Support our “sustainability” colleagues
• Compliance Assistance Center
• EcoCampus
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Looking for opportunities to
partner with our colleagues from
around the world.
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