CCS to measure sustainability of Vassar buildings

Last spring, the College Committee on Sustainability (CCS) oversaw a greenhouse gas inventory for Vassar College. The study found that the College's carbon footprint in 2008 was 27,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. This is below average compared to colleges of similar size and location, according to Professor of Earth Science and Chair of CCS Jeffrey Walker. Further, the College has "had a 15 percent decrease in carbon emissions over the last four years," said Walker.

Today the Committee, along with certain faculty members, is considering how to involve students in the process of measuring the College's emmissions themselves. The method that was employed to conduct the study is quite straight forward, said Walker. "Basically, we do a carbon footprint by measuring or by calculating it from the utility cost," said Walker, providing the example of "[calculating] how much heat oil or natural gas we burn to heat all the buildings on campus."

Other measures that were used include the fuel used by field work cars, students' travel costs on Study Away programs and faculty members' transportation costs.
The College can calculate its carbon footprint as far back as 1996, said Walker, so emissions reductions goals, which have yet to be set, will be based on that year. Walker speculates that the College will decide on reducing its carbon footprint by 15 or 20 percent of 1996 levels by a to-be determined date, which he calls an "intermediate goal."

Eventually, said Walker, the College will reach zero net carbon dioxide production.
Although the College hired consultant Sightlines to perform the study, in the future Vassar students and faculty members will perform the greenhouse gas inventories. This will save money and provide learning opportunities, said Student Representative to CCS Sarah Gyory '10. For example, wrote Gyory in an e-mailed statement, Professor of Economics Paul Ruud's class Environmental and Natural Resources Economics "will be attempting to model the College's consumption from the same data as Sightlines. They will also be receiving training for the prospective aspect of performing the analyses."

"The CCS has also decided that in order to complete our understanding of the College's emissions, we need to obtain an analysis for 1996 and to be able to perform annual analyses," said Gyory.

The purpose of these analyses is to reduce the total amount of carbon output that Vassar has by identifying those parts which emit the most, and to cut from the areas where it is both most cost-effective and most influential. "We hope to see where energy is most wasted, and to find the best, simplest fixes," said Gyory.

"We've been doing well, so let's keep it up and let's step it up wherever we can," said Walker.