Campuses worldwide are reducing their energy consumption, obtaining electricity from renewable sources, meeting heating and cooling needs with renewable energy and transitioning vehicle fleets to electric. Which colleges stand out as leaders in their sustainability effort? Are North Carolina’s colleges part of this trend?
There are many different sustainability rankings of colleges. Each ranking has a different focus and it makes comparing one to another difficult. But the biggest single barometer of a campus’s commitment is whether they have signed onto the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). This signifies that the university or college president has pledged that the campus will eliminate all of its greenhouse gas emissions, and will model behavior for other institutions and their students. It is a highly visible effort that also accelerates the research and education necessary to combat climate change.
Twelve college and university presidents launched ACUPCC in early 2007 to address global climate change through actions to reduce and then neutralize greenhouse gas emissions on their campuses. The participating schools have since committed to create comprehensive institutional action plans to move towards climate neutrality by:
- conducting an institutional greenhouse gas inventory;
- developing an action plan to reach climate neutrality;
- taking immediate steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
- making sustainability an integral part of the curriculum and educational experience of all students; and
- making the action plan, inventory, and progress reports publicly available.
In North Carolina, the following campuses have carbon neutrality commitments with completion goal dates ranging from 2024 to 2050. These include:
- Duke University (2024)
- Appalachian State University (2025)
- Warren Wilson College (2025)
- Catawba College (2030)
- Guilford College (2030)
- UNC Charlotte (2030)
- Davidson College (2050)
- Fayetteville State University (2050)
- NC State University (2050)
- UNC Chapel Hill (2050)
- UNC Greensboro (2050)
- Wake Tech Community College (2050)
- UNC Asheville (2050)
- Brevard College (2050)
Several have developed unique strategies to reduce their carbon footprint:
Catawba College has five residence halls that are LEED certified. The college also installed solar energy systems in eight buildings, including a parking lot canopy. Catawba has a Green Revolving Loan Fund for clean energy investments made on campus.
Davidson College has achieved LEED certification in all of its several campus renovations. In addition, Davidson Dining Services has a scratch kitchen called “The Commons,” and both the Commons and the Davis Cafe on campus compost all of their food waste during preparation and after consumption.
Duke University recently signed a 101 megawatt solar deal with Pinegate Renewables through Duke Energy’s Green Source Advantage program, expanding its renewable energy usage.
Guilford College has the lowest energy costs per gross square foot of any higher education institution in the region. In addition, the campus has 200 solar panels on nine buildings as well as extensive composting that diverts an average of 800 to 1,200 pounds of waste from landfills every week.
NC State University has 19 buildings on campus that are LEED certified and three Energy Star certified residence halls. Students can rent Lime electric scooters or use the free Wolfline bus system to get around.
UNC Charlotte is one of the leaders in the use of electric vehicles. The campus has purchased dozens of EV charging systems and, at the end of 2019, had 115 electric vehicles on its campus, with a goal of having electric vehicles make up 25% of its fleet by the end of 2021.
UNC Greensboro was the first UNC system campus to enter into a long-term energy efficiency performance contract, utilizing 2003 legislation that allowed universities to privately contract with companies to upgrade HVAC systems and building solutions on campus.
UNC Chapel Hill has developed a program called the Three Zeros Environmental Initiative, based on zero water usage, zero waste to landfills, and zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Still, the university's on-campus coal plant is a significant contributor to GHG emissions.
UNC Asheville is the newest campus in the UNC system to commit to carbon neutrality, UCA has a LEED Gold certification of its newest dorm, The Woods.
Brevard College completely divested from fossil fuels as of 2018, the first Southeast higher educational institution to do so.
Appalachian State University developed its third carbon neutrality plan at the end of January 2021, with a more flexible target date. There are three main categories of strategies: electricity, transportation, and natural gas, the latter of which is the university’s main source of GHG emissions.
In nationwide rankings, North Carolina schools sometimes fared well. Takeaways from reviewing these ratings indicate that, to make a meaningful impact on climate change, universities should pledge carbon neutrality by no later than 2050 and have a clear sustainability plan with accountability measures. They should offer sustainability degrees to students who want to seek careers in which they can help make meaningful changes to address climate change.
Princeton Review 2021 Edition: The Princeton Review each year develops a list of the top 50 green colleges in the United States, based on surveys of school administrators and students that ask about schools’ sustainability policies, practices, and programs. This year, NC State University was the highest North Carolina school on the list at number 30.
25 Best Green Colleges as of September 2020: To compile this ranking, Best College Reviews editors consider three main factors: Princeton Review's evaluation of green schools, US News and World Report's overall rating of each school, and each school's tuition. UNC Chapel Hill came in first in 2020, with Warren Wilson College ranking ninth.
EPA Green Power Partnership Top 30 College & University as of January 2021: This ranking features the largest clean energy users among higher education institutions. No higher education institution in North Carolina school is included in this year's top 30 list.
The 2020 Times Higher Education Impact Ranking: This ranking assesses universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals using indicators in research, outreach, and stewardship. The list includes 376 universities from 70 countries. No North Carolina college or university is currently listed in this international ranking.
Second Nature Carbon Neutral Colleges & Universities: This list includes schools that have already achieved their carbon neutrality goals; no North Carolina school has yet done that.
Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS): This is a self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure sustainability performance. Participation involves collecting information about sustainability initiatives and performance, documenting that information in the online reporting tool, and submitting a report to earn recognition. No North Carolina institution is yet in the top tier.
North Carolina’s colleges and universities are making progress in setting climate goals, but could go much further on clean energy and sustainability. Several of the top-ranked green colleges enact stricter measures such as purchasing carbon offsets for employee travel (Colgate University), developing a robust composting system (Colby College), pushing a bike culture (Bowdoin College), or using only electric campus vehicles (University of San Francisco). Other strategies include strict building codes or LEED certification on all campus buildings, as well as divestment of fossil fuels.
Within North Carolina, the utility regulatory environment makes purchasing renewable energy much more difficult than campuses in states without a regulated monopoly. But our colleges and universities are wise to continue efforts on climate reduction, and signing the ACUPCC - for those that haven't yet - would show students, faculty and the public that these efforts are sincere and attainable.