College Officials Face Tough Choices in Achieving Carbon Neutrality

By SCOTT CARLSON

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College Park, Md.

At the Smart and Sustainable Campus conference, which drew sustainability directors, business officers, and architects to the University of Maryland here, Wendell C. Brase took on one of the Big Questions: What will it take for colleges to become "climate neutral"?

The question wasn't just academic. The University of California at Irvine, where Mr. Brase is vice chancellor of administrative and business services, has signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, which says that colleges should achieve that state at some reasonable point in the future. To do so means eliminating the effects of greenhouse gases—like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—which have been tied to climate change. That task is far more difficult than many of the signatories might have thought it would be.

Mr. Brase's talk at the conference, which is sponsored by the National Association of College and University Business Officers, opened with a frank disclosure: "I wasn't sure that we should sign up," he said. "I wanted to make sure that we could actually deliver."

Mr. Brase detailed the many ways that Irvine is trying to reduce the greenhouse-gas emissions it is held responsible for, but he focused on two principal efforts: building more student housing and improving the energy efficiency of laboratories.

Many institutions that signed up for the climate commitment might not have realized that the carbon emissions of commuters can count toward an institution's total emissions. And emissions from commuting compose a large chunk of an institution's total greenhouse-gas emissions.

At Irvine, students commute an average of one hour each way on packed, slow-moving California highways, Mr. Brase said.

"The greenest thing that any campus can do is increase on-campus housing," he said. Irvine is working with private developers to provide thousands more beds around the campus. The newest residential project under way will be gold-certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, and will feature photovoltaic solar panels. Even though the new housing was not advertised, students formed long lines to get spaces in the residences. Some camped out in pup tents, Mr. Brase said.

Air-Flow Issue

Laboratory buildings are notorious campus energy hogs. At Irvine, Mr. Brase said, eight buildings consume 60 percent of the campus's energy, while about 150 buildings consume the other 40 percent.

Lab buildings are energy intensive in part because massive volumes of air are moved through them to prevent fumes from building up. Mr. Brase said Irvine is looking for ways to reduce that energy use, in part by moving less air. He pointed to studies that show that one can safely slow down the air speed in fume hoods. Sensors that test the air for toxins, then turn up the air flow if toxins are detected, can also save energy.

So can changing researchers' habits. Student activists went to graduate and postdoctoral students in the labs and persuaded them to close the fume hoods when not in use. That effort saved about $500,000 one year, Mr. Brase said.

All of those changes are not enough though. Mr. Brase estimated that Irvine would cut its greenhouse-gas emissions by less than 50 percent even after fixing labs, building student residences, changing behaviors, hooking up solar panels, and setting up more efficient appliances and facilities. Irvine might have to fall back on renewable-energy credits, in which institutions pay extra for power that supposedly comes from green sources, an option that Mr. Brase is not crazy about.

That prospect left Mr. Brase to wonder: Should Americans consider nuclear power as a carbon-neutral option? Should universities create policies requiring people to utilize their buildings more of the time? Should universities charge a special tax in the cafeteria for beef, because raising cattle is a massive producer of methane, which is believed to contribute to global warming? Should there be a carbon tax for stadiums—even supposedly "green" stadiums—for the carbon emissions they produce through big athletics games?

The audience members came to consider a difficult question. They left only with more.

For more coverage of the conference, see the Chronicle blog Buildings & Grounds.