UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO
UB aims to become ‘climate neutral’
The University at Buffalo has long been a local leader when it comes to environmental issues.
But now UB is embarking on an even more aggressive agenda. It is among the hundreds of colleges and universities — which includes local schools like Alfred University and Fredonia State College — that have set out to become “climate neutral.”
In other words, UB wants to offset all of the greenhouse gas emissions it produces to the point where it has a neutral effect on global warming.
UB already has some success in this area. A few examples:
• In 2003, it opened the Creekside Village housing complex, the first building in Western New York to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, with such conservation features as a heating and air-conditioning system that pumps out more or less air depending on the number of people inside.
• In 2006 UB began using solar panels to generate a portion of the electrical power used for Norton Hall on the North Campus.
• In 2007 the university hit a milestone when an energy conservation project launched in 1997 results in $15 million in savings — more than the project’s original cost.
In fact, UB officials estimate energy conservation efforts have resulted in more than $100 million in savings over the past three decades.
But becoming climate neutral will be a huge task and require UB to be much more aggressive when it comes to conserving energy and purchasing green power, according to UB Green, the environmental stewardship office at the school.
The office completed the first quantitative study last year on how UB impacts on the environment, primarily through use of fossil fuels.
For instance, UB’s annual average greenhouse gas emissions are equal to the amount produced by 25,000 cars, according to the report. Students, staff and faculty drive more than 79 million miles a year, just to get to and from campus, the report showed.
And it doesn’t consider that UB — which has about 28,000 students — wants to grow its three campuses and add 10,000 students and 2,400 staff in the next decade and a half.
“We’ve taken the position that technology alone won’t bring us to carbon neutrality, and we’re going to have to work on the culture of our university,” said Robert G. Shibley, professor of architecture and planning and a senior adviser to President John B. Simpson.
Shibley chairs the Environmental Stewardship Committee, which is carving out a plan for UB to become carbon neutral. Its draft report is due in March.
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