ATLANTA — Agnes Scott College has submitted a comprehensive, long-term Climate Action Plan (CAP) as part of a commitment made with about 650 other colleges and universities all over the country to reduce their impact on the environment. Agnes Scott’s CAP outlines strategies and 5-year targets designed to achieve “climate neutrality” by around 2037, in time for the 150th anniversary of its founding in 1889.
All colleges and universities that signed as charter signatories of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) are required to complete and submit their first CAP by Sept. 15. Agnes Scott College was a charter signatory of the ACUPCC in 2007.
“We now have a clear, ambitious goal and timeline for climate neutrality,” said Elizabeth Kiss, president of Agnes Scott. “This is a big step in what we know will be a long learning process involving our students, faculty and staff in sustainability research and action. The progress we’ve made in reducing our carbon footprint in our first year is very encouraging. It shows that, if we work together, we can build a more sustainable future.”
As part of its commitment to climate change, Agnes Scott also has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by about 6 percent since the college documented its baseline greenhouse gas inventory in 2008. The college achieved energy savings through setting standard building temperatures during operating hours, minimizing building operating schedules and encouraging behavioral changes such as switching off lights, computers and printers.
Since submitting its baseline in 2008, Agnes Scott’s other sustainability achievements include a 20 percent reduction in landfill waste (26 tons), a reduction in water usage and a policy that all renovation and new construction will be designed for LEED Silver or higher. Agnes Scott dedicated its first building designed for LEED certification, a renovation of its historic Alumnae House in April 2009.
In the past year, Agnes Scott has introduced a single-stream recycling program that eliminates the need to separate recyclable items, begun composting food waste and installed motion-detecting light sensors throughout campus. The college also placed 39th in last year’s Recyclemania, a national college and university recycling competition.
After a successful first year of reducing Agnes Scott’s environmental impact, the college’s CAP outlines several core short-term strategies for further reduction, including energy conservation education and incentives to inspire behavioral change; mechanical retrofitting and deferred maintenance to improve energy efficiency; design, renovation and construction of energy efficient buildings; alternative transportation programs for commuters; and reducing landfill waste with additional green purchasing, recycling and composting.
The plan breaks the college’s sustainability goals into five-year blocks through 2037. The current block provides detailed plans on how to meet specific sustainability goals, with later blocks providing more general strategies that will be crafted into definite strategies as time and technology progress.
Longer-term strategies to dramatically reduce the college’s impact include incorporating renewable energy technologies (with initial planning already underway), purchasing green power and renewable energy credits and carbon offsets.
The CAP will be submitted to Agnes Scott’s board of trustees for official approval this fall.
# # #
Agnes Scott College educates women to think deeply, live honorably and engage the intellectual and social challenges of their times. Students are drawn to Agnes Scott by its excellent academic reputation, exceptional faculty, and metropolitan Atlanta location – offering myriad cultural and experiential learning opportunities. A diverse and growing residential community of scholars, this highly selective liberal arts and sciences college is known for its dynamic and challenging intellectual community. Encouraging students to engage the wider world through study abroad and presenting its curriculum with international context, Agnes Scott College delivers on its promise: The World for Women.