Lewis and Clark Community College
Climate Action Plan FY 2008 – FY 2058
Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) Renewable Energy Sources Recycling and Reuse Practices Commuting / Campus Fleet Policy / Behavior Change Education/Outreach/Research
Lewis and Clark’s commitment to sustainability has changed the culture on campus and manifests itself in our physical appearance and our organizational structure.
Background In late 2007, Lewis and Clark Community College (L&C) signed the ACUPCC commitment. In January 2009, L&C completed a carbon footprint study using the Clean Air Cool Planet (CACP) carbon calculator and methodology administered by consultants from AAIC, an architectural firm, and Bric Partnership LLC., an engineering and energy consulting firm. A college steering committee was appointed to oversee the study and assist the consultants with data collection and other matters. This committee consisted primarily of members of the Green Oversight Committee (GOC) under the direct leadership of the college president and the director of sustainability. L&C’s independent commitment to sustainability is articulated in the Commitment to Sustainability document (see Appendix B), among GOC members, commonly referred to as the “green manifesto.” A central theme in the manifesto is the emphasis on a combined “top down” and “bottom up” approach to sustainability, where administration leads, guides, facilitates, and champions the grass roots efforts of student and employee green action teams, who in turn work closely with the local community and area schools and governments to share resources, expertise, and new ideas.
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Through education and outreach, Lewis and Clark is sharing its sustainability practices and is training the workforce for the new green energy economy.
Background Contd. Lewis and Clark’s commitment is reinforced through four of the College’s strategic goals: Vehicle converted to all electric.
Goal 7: Become a recognized leader and change agent for environmental sustainability Goal 8: Improve institutional effectiveness and service quality through continuous quality improvement practices Goal 9: Expand community services to improve the health, wellness, and quality of life of our citizens Goal 10: Continue to support and advance the economic and workforce development of the region. The goals, in turn, are supported by a number of strategic projects, including completion of the carbon footprint study and climate action plan, and the formation of the Campus Sustainability Center in partnership with the University of Illinois’ Sustainability Technology Center (ISTC). In 2007 Lewis and Clark was one of four colleges to launch the Illinois Community College Sustainability Network (ICCSN), a consortium that seeks to optimize synergies from sharing experience, expertise, and resources related to the greening of our campuses and the state’s workforce. The ICCSN now consists of over 40 community colleges and has taken a leadership role in promoting sustainable practices in higher
education and in transforming our culture to one that values and embraces sustainability. In 2007 as well, L&C formed the Institute for Environmental Sustainability and named a director responsible to lead and facilitate the achievement of our goals and commitment for sustainability. In 2008, L&C instituted a student green fee that has been used to fund specific projects by employee “green action teams” as well as college projects, such as the installation of LED outside lights on the campus. The future direction is to use a portion of the fees as “set aside” to fund matching grants for projects that include a 100 percent payback. The College is also exploring other green policy options for funded travel, telecommuting, new construction standards, bid specifications, and other aspects of purchasing and procurement. The College Board of Trustees and state elected officials recently modified state law to allow up to $20 million of Life / Safety bond monies to be used for both Life / Safety and energy initiatives. In addition, the Board approved $6million in non-Life/ Safety funding as matching funds for energy reduction strategies. It should be noted that these are all local monies that do not involve any increase in public taxes. 5
Student and employee commuting comprise the second largest portion of CO2 emissions, electric charging stations, carpooling and mass transit are all a part of our plan to reduce total emissions.
The Baseline The carbon footprint report shows (see Exhibit A ) that the largest portion of emissions stem from purchased electricity, a Scope 2 emission, and student and employee commuting, a Scope 3 emission, followed by natural gas consumption, a Scope 1 emission. Not surprisingly, T&D losses associated with the purchase and transport of electricity and natural gas are next in impact.
Total Emissions (MT – Metric Tons) of eCO2
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Our target expection is to purchase 25 percent of our total energy from a basket of green energy alternatives within 24 months and increase to 100 percent within a decade.
The Baseline, Continued. Because the College lacks a decentralized metering system for its buildings, we had to depend on a “Trace Model” (a computer model) to estimate energy used building by building. The model was calibrated with a closer analysis of two buildings and found to be very accurate. As resources permit, we will consider installing separate meters in each of the buildings (at a total estimated cost of $600,000, not an unsubstantial amount). It should be noted that, since submitting our original carbon footprint study to the ACUPCC, some corrections have been made to the data so that, for example, the total eCO2 emissions in 2008 (the baseline year) are recorded as 28.3 KMT vs 26.5 KMT as was previously reported. The corrected baseline study will be uploaded to the ACUPCC within thirty days of submission of this report.
Exhibit D: Total Emissions by Emission Source (KMT – Thousands Metric Tons) of eCO2
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Mitigation strategies to achieve carbon neutrality include energy conservation measures such as purchasing electricity from a variety of green sources, reducing campus commuting, recycling and reducing waste. Our goal is to be climate neutral by 2058.
Mitigation Strategies Given the economic uncertainty of these times, L&C is taking a cautious and conservative approach to its estimates for achieving climate neutrality. Thus, we project achieving carbon neutrality in 50 years, or FY 2058. We have, in fact, already made significant financial and human investments to reduce our emissions through a wide array of strategies, and our analysis suggests that we may reach carbon neutrality much earlier than the 50-year mark we have committed to. As a practical matter, we have to acknowledge that attempts to predict and project further out than 20 years is “unscientific” at best. The analysis does suggest that we will achieve significant reductions at the front end of the 50 years and may reduce emissions by 50 percent by year 15 (FY 2023).
L&C’s mitigation plan centers around five areas of focus:
Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) Renewable Energy Sources Recycling and Reuse Practices Commuting / Campus Fleet Policy / Behavior Change Education/Outreach/Research
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For several years, L&C has been promoting and rewarding conservation, recycling and reuse among employees and students. The goal is to reduce solid waste and instill a culture of sustainability everywhere on the campus. This initiative includes reduction in the use of paper, recycling of plastics and other materials, elimination of styrofoam use, installation of commercial composter among many other things.
Mitigation Strategies Contd. ECM’s include weatherization, lighting systems, variable frequency drives, ventilation controls, and similar devices for improving the thermal envelope and conserving energy. In FY 2009, the College initiated the automatic shut down of computer labs, and over the next ten years will completely replace the more than 3,000 computers on campus to low wattage types using LCD displays. As mandated by the state of Illinois, the College in May 2010 began to purchase 5 percent of its electricity from renewable sources and expand this to 15 percent in FY 2020. The mitigation strategy includes the purchase and installation of PV solar in three stages, and a combination of Wind Turbine and Geothermal systems in years 19 and 20 (FY27 and FY28). Commuting looms very large as a source of emissions and is especially difficult to tackle. L&C has in the past and will continue to promote
car pooling, the use of public transportation, and walking / bicycling as healthy alternatives where that is feasible. Our analysis also assumes that, as the years proceed, MPG efficiencies will improve and at some point (near year 30 perhaps), virtually all vehicles will be powered by non-fossil fuel based systems (electric, hydrogen, fuel cell) that have zero CO2 emissions. As our model indicates, there will probably be some form of residual emissions stemming from greater use of electricity or some other byproduct of these systems. The mitigation plan also assumes that all campus fleet vehicles (roughly 32 standard size and four heavy duty) will be converted to hybrids, electrics, or some other form of low emissions over the next ten years. Finally, the mitigation plan includes policy and other initiatives to mandate or promote behavior change that conserves energy, reduces solid waste, and generally serves to reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions.
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Lewis and Clark’s Institute for Environmental Sustainability works with local, state and federal agencies, as well as the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center to provide education and outreach on sustainability-related topics to the communities we serve.
Education, Outreach, And Research Under the leadership of the Director for Environmental Sustainability, members of the green action teams (Exhibit B) and other employees and students have been actively engaged in education and outreach. The action teams consist primarily of faculty and staff who work with campus officials, student organizations, and others to develop and implement projects to meet their particular goals. The Environmental Literacy and Awareness action team works closely with Academic Affairs, Student Government, and the Institute for Sustainability to help educate the campus and extended community on effective practices, available resources, and the importance of sustainability overall. Academic Affairs has developed a number of green occupation programs, including PV Solar Design and Installation and Waste Water Treatment, and faculty have been asked to incorporate “green themes” in class outlines and syllabi whenever possible. The College has established very active partnerships with other organizations, such as Madison County, where we’ve collaborated on green projects and / or participated in conferences in Illinois and Missouri.
From a research perspective, Lewis and Clark is very unique for a community college. The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) is a partnership of Lewis and Clark and the University of Illinois, and as such serves as a research division of the College. NGRREC conducts research on river systems and watersheds to better inform science for the management and sustainability of our river systems. L&C is located at the unique confluence of three great rivers, the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois. Under the auspices of NGRREC, L&C is nearing completion of a soon-to-be LEED certified Confluence Field Station, adjacent to the Melvin Price Locks and Dam in Alton, Illinois. Commonly called the “Confluence Campus,” this structure incorporates a wide array of green technologies and systems, including internal recycling, PV solar, a grass roof, and landscaping designed to minimize run-off and erosion. The site will eventually include a wind turbine and an experimental hydrokinetic turbine system to test this renewable energy system in the nearby Mississippi. NGRREC will be conducting environmental impact studies as a part of this experiment.
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The use of natural lighting (illustrated above by one of the 61 solatubes utilized at the Confluence Field Station) is one way to reduce the cost of energy. The solatubes bring in natural lighting from the outside and require no electricity. 速
Financing Strategy L&C’s plan to fund the mitigation effort involves a number of strategies, including use of state funded capital and life / safety project funds, paybacks (e.g., reduced energy use / consumption) from mitigation effects, grants (federal, state, and private), shared and in-kind resources from partnerships and collaboration, student green fees, and operational funds in some cases. We hope in the future to build competencies to conduct energy and sustainability audits and to perform weatherization and other work that may bring in some revenues that could fund green projects. It should be noted that the L&C financial plan does not include the purchase of carbon offsets or REC credits. As the plan indicates, significant investments have already been made and significant monies earmarked for future initiatives, particularly the installation of ECM’s and the purchase of electric charging stations at 17 locations. As stated above, significant monies from Life / Safety and designated matching funds will be assigned to fund mitigation strategies.
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Employees on all campuses and at all locations are rolling up their sleeves and digging in to advance the college’s sustainability efforts.
Tracking Progress Lewis and Clark will track progress annually and prepare an updated GHG inventory report on May 15, 2011 and every other year thereafter. Our experience preparing this report has shown the need for us to build internal competencies to better understand and more efficiently track the tremendous amount of data needed to make truly informed decisions and long term projections. We are pending an MOU (memo of understanding) with the ISTC (Illinois Sustainable Technology Center) and will soon house one of their experienced technicians at our own Sustainability Center. This will provide some of the expertise needed to effectively track and benchmark progress. We will continue to depend on consultant experts where that is needed and will use a combination of the CACP methods / calculator and our own “home grown” spreadsheets to perform analysis and make projections.
Next Step In summary, we remain entirely committed to achieving carbon neutrality by the target date, and if resources and other factors permit, we will adjust that target sooner as time goes on. Currently, our organizational scope is limited to the main campus, but over the next few years we plan to fold in our N.O. Nelson campus, the Confluence Field Station, and community education centers. Our priorities over the next year will be to 1) reexamine the analysis in this report to strengthen and educate others on the assumptions / methods used, 2) to build a framework and assign ownership for tracking and reporting of focus areas, 3) implement a format and schedule for internal progress reporting, and 4) continue to lead, facilitate, and “champion” sustainability initiatives that can have a direct or indirect impact on GHG emissions and help us achieve our goals.
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To learn more about Lewis and Clark’s Sustainability efforts visit www.lc.edu/green.