Lansing Community College (LCC) has joined the ranks of more than 500 other colleges and universities committed to reducing carbon emissions through the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).
All ACUPCC participants agree to set up committees within the college or university that will help reduce the university’s carbon footprint. They have to complete an inventory of all greenhouse gas emissions and develop a plan to pursue climate neutrality.
They also have to agree to implement two tangible actions from a set of options that include things like requiring that all new buildings meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, agreeing to purchase least 15 percent of the institution’s electricity consumption from renewable sources and agreeing to provide public transportation for all faculty, staff students and visitors.
“We have done our due diligence and, yes, it’s our belief that LCC could meet those requirements,” says Beckie Beard, chairwoman of the Sustainability Advisory Committee about the college’s ability to devise an emissions reduction plan. “There are just so many people in the area who have embraced sustainability. The more we talk about it, the more we learn about what everyone is doing.”
The college kicked off its first sustainable activities in October. The committee is still outlining future sustainable efforts and is creating an emissions inventory to determine how and where it can reduce its emissions.
Source: Nick Wasmiller, Seyferth & Associates Inc.
Ivy Hughes, development news editor, can be reached here.
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