A university-wide brainstorming session regarding climate change held last fall culminated on Tuesday as the Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) unveiled the first draft of the UB Climate Action Plan.
???ESC members revealed the plan's main points, while reminding attendees that it is not yet finalized, encouraging them to submit feedback and evaluate the plan's overall aim.
???"The more specific comments the report can get, the better the document will be," said Ryan McPherson, vice president for External Affairs.
???Robert Shibley, professor of architecture and planning and executive vice president for University Support Services, constantly urged audience members to comment as he unveiled ideas and to use the "clickers" that were handed out to gauge audience opinions.
???"This is a cast of thousands relative to this play," Shibley said.
???The draft focuses the hundreds of comments and suggestions that the ESC received during the Fall Sustainability Forum into a small compilation that the university will attempt to implement before the planned climate neutrality deadline in 2030.
???According to Shibley, the campus has already done much to improve its carbon footprint, but still has a long way to go.
???"Students at UB, especially in collaboration with UB Green, have already taken care of the low hanging fruit, but it's getting tougher," Shibley said.
???The ESC organized all of the ideas into the categories of energy, transportation, materials, information technology and human resources, outreach and communication, and research, teaching, and public service and explained the ways they will address each one to commit to a climate neutral campus.
???In accordance to the UB 2020 master plan, the university's ambitious plan for growth over the next decade, UB will increase from 10 million square feet of facilities to 17 million square feet. Shibley said that this will make a major impact on UB's power consumption,.
???Electricity usage currently accounts for 55 percent of all UB greenhouse gas emissions, according to the ESC.
???One of the ESC's main goals is to curb this electricity usage in campus buildings and mitigate UB's growth by increasing efficiency and finding alternative energy sources to power the buildings.
The university will either produce this alternative energy itself using photovoltaic cells, wind power, and biomass, or purchase it from a local provider.
???The ESC also plans to invest in smart buildings that automatically turn off lights and decrease heating and cooling usage after occupants leave for the day. Given the amount of older buildings on campus, this plan will not be possible everywhere.
???"A key part of the [Climate Action Plan] is to change occupant behavior," Shibley said.
???While transportation contributes a much smaller percentage to UB's overall greenhouse gas emissions than facility energy usage, the ESC still had a myriad of ideas to offset the damage.
???The ESC has plans to encourage a bicycle culture at UB, provide students with a NFTA bus pass, encourage ridesharing programs, and to use zip cars. They also suggested providing premium parking spaces for students and faculty with energy efficient vehicles.
???"UB can't determine what cars people purchase, but we can reward them for sustainable choices," Shibley said.
???Though parking garages do not significantly change UB's greenhouse gas emissions, Shibley did mention that the university had plans to build them.
???"Structured parking is a major part of the [UB 2020] master plan," Shibley said.
???ESC members also advocated for unbundling parking fees from the transportation fee, a mandatory fee that all students pay each semester. Only students who actually park their cars on campus would be required to pay the fee.
???This plan drew large support from the audience, with approximately 60 percent in favor.
???The ESC also addressed the topics of reducing, reusing, and recycling materials on campus. One member of the audience suggested banning the small paper advertisements that can be found all over the campus. A poll of the audience also found that 54 percent of attendees supported banning water bottles on campus.
???According to Judith Miller, assistant vice president of Procurement Services and chair of the ESC's materials sub-committee, UB has recycled 44 tons of materials since 2000 and recycles 100 percent of electronics.
???Shibley suggested that none of the plans would work very well without the support of the UB community at large.
???"We have to find a way to get the culture to advance the agenda," Shibley said. "And you have to align it with the institutional agenda."
???Michael Ryan, co-chair of the ESC's research, teaching, and public service subcommittee, admitted that while some goals will help to decrease UB's carbon footprint, others will serve a completely different purpose.
???"Some will provide an inspirational goal," Ryan said.
???President John B. Simpson formally committed to the creation of a climate neutral campus when he signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in the spring of 2007, leading to the creation of the ESC later that year.
???The ACUPCC requires the ESC to finalize the draft and submit it by Sept. 15.
???Members of the UB community can evaluate the draft until the summer, when the ESC will begin to draw together all of the commentary to finalize the plan.
???"There will be a more than a few weeks for people to send their comments in," said Bradshaw Hovey, associate director of the Urban Design Project.
???Anyone wishing to view and comment on the plan can download it at http://www.buffalo.edu/ub2020/environmentalstewardship/.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
