creating a climate for change - environmental sustainability initiatives at nols

8/7/2019 Creating a Climate for Change - Environmental Sustainability Initiatives at NOLS

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2 environmental stewardship and sustainability at nols

The Scope o the report

Table of conTenTS

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In 2006, on the eve o crating the next ve-year

strategic plan or NOLS, we embarked on an ini-

tiative to ormalize the schools commitment to

environmental sustainability. The timing was or-

tuitous. As we entered a phase o simultaneously

looking back on where weve been and drawing

our map or the uture, we had a golden opportu-

nity to assess our strengths and highlight areas o

opportunity to serve our mission.

In the realm o environmental sustainability,

NOLS track record is strong. We pioneered

the practice o minimum-impact wilderness

travel, our curriculum and our operations are

steeped in the Leave No Trace ethic, and our

students graduate with a deepened sense o commitment to wild places. NOLS

is, undamentally, an organization with strong conservation and environmental

values, with an employee base that is overwhelmingly tuned into, i not driven by,

the importance o reducing our impact on the globe. In 2006 we realized that,

while all these things are true, we lacked a comprehensive plan or environmental

sustainability at the school, one that spells out how we will not only continue to

value it, but how we will advance it in a way that ensures that our rontcountry

practices are in line with our backcountry excellence.

This report tells the story o our path to ormalize environmental sustainability

at NOLS in the context o our educational mission. It highlights the dierent

shapes that sustainability takes at unique NOLS locations around the world. It also

explains where were headed in the uture with environmental stewardship as one

o our eleven strategic goals. We have set ambitious but attainable objectiveslike

we do in the backcountrycentered on reducing our global carbon ootprintand our overall impact. Our plan or achieving these objectives is constantly

evolving as we learn and study the world around us. What remains constant is our

commitment to striving or greater environmental sustainability and sharing what

we learn with our students, sta, and communities.

John Gans

NOLS Executive Director

Message from the Director

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The National Outdoor Leadership School284 Lincoln Street Lander, WY 82520www.nols.edu (800) 710-NOLS [email protected]
http://www.nols.edu/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.nols.edu/


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environmental stewardship and sustainability at nols 3

Leave No Trace: Bringing OurBackcountry Ethic to the Forefront

Though we didnt know it at the time, NOLS was dening the concept o minimum-

impact camping and setting the standard or sustainable travel in the backcountry

when we rst started sending students into the Wind River Mountains in 1965. For

45 years we have rened and perfected the concept, learning through experience and

hundreds o thousands o nights slept on the ground around the world in a wide range

of ecosystems. In the early 90s, we worked with federal land management agencies todene and formalize Leave No Trace (LNT), which has become the unparalleled ethic

and practice or minimum-impact travel in wild places.

But what about NOLS in the rontcountry? Just because we are outdoor edu-

cators who teach LNT, doesnt mean that our in-town practices will ollow suit by

deault. How do we operate when were designing programs, eeding students, trav-

eling to meetings, paying bills, convening alumni, writing curriculum, or attending

board meetings? And what are we doing to ensure that we walk our own backcoun-

try talk when were in town: that we take what we teach our students in the wilder-

ness and apply it to all aspects o our work?

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MatthewMcPheeters


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4 environmental stewardship and sustainability at nols

In 2006, we decided that it was no longer enough to practice environmenta

sustainability in an ad-hoc ashion. We knew we were making many good opera

tional decisions: using uel-ecient vehicles or in-town trips, running solar-electric

systems in Mexico, capturing rainwater in the Pacic Northwest, building strawbale

housing in the Southwest, and more. But we lacked a comprehensive, schoolwide

vision or how we intended to reduce our environmental ootprint and track our

progress over time.

The rst critical steps in the NOLS Sustainability Initiative involved establishing

a baseline carbon ootprint or the school and crating a strategic plan. We needed a

snapshot o our operations, giving us a basis or measuring improvement and provid

ing direct eedback, and we needed to set goals toward reducing our impact, thus

creating a road map or sustainability eorts moving orward.

defining ouR fooTpRinT

Right away we realized we needed help in calculating our overall environmenta

impact. In 2007, NOLS contracted with Pure Strategies, an environmental consulting

rm, to complete a sustainability audit or the school. Pure Strategies spent sev-

eral months visiting key operating locations, including NOLS Headquarters, NOLS

Rocky Mountain, NOLS Southwest, and NOLS Pacic Northwest, and interviewing

sta to gather data at our other operating locations worldwide.

The audit covered everything rom our use o oce electronics to carbon emis

sions to outdoor gear purchasing. Pure Strategies evaluated NOLS current practice

and made recommendations or improvements. They also calculated our carbon

footprint for the 2006 scal year (FY06). This measurement is now our baseline

footprint, allowing us to set carbon reduction goals based on our FY06 emissions.

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PascalBeauvais


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6 environmental stewardship and sustainability at nols: conSeRVaTion and ReducTion

Conservation and ReductionMeaSuRing ouR caRbon fooTpRinT

The rst phase o achieving our conservation and reduction goal called or us to

establish systems to measure and track our energy use. Pure Strategies completed a

version o this or our 2006 scal year in their sustainability audit, but the data col-

lection was challenging and, in many cases, impossible to complete. Ater suering

through the process o retroactive energy data collection, NOLS sta were motivated

to develop a process that systematized the ongoing capture o necessary inormation

Ater much research and deliberation, NOLS again approached Pure Strategies

or a solution in the orm o their web-based Carbon Tracker system. At the time

Pure Strategies was in the process o developing the Carbon Tracker and had onlybuilt customized systems or a handul o other organizations. NOLS saw opportu-

nity in becoming part o this nascent phase o automated carbon tracking.

As with any new sotware, there were bugs to work out, as well as dozens o sta

members to train in the use o the sotware. Nevertheless, Carbon Tracker was up

and running for our 2009 scal year, and we completed our second carbon footprin

measurement in August of 2009. While we know our numbers include some mea-

surement error (and expect this to diminish as we continue to learn how to consis -

tently and best use the Carbon Tracker), we feel condent that our FY09 and FY10

measurements are sound refections o our energy use during these periods.

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environmental stewardship and sustainability at nols: conSeRVaTion and ReducTion 7

WhaTS included in ouR fooTpRinT?

In reporting our carbon ootprint, NOLS ollows the Kyoto Protocol and the inter-

nationally accepted greenhouse gas accounting standard developed by the World

Resources Institute and World Business Counsel or Sustainable Development.

These organizations categorize greenhouse gas reporting into three scopes. Scope 1

is dened as directemissions rom sources controlled by the organizationon-site

uel combustion, emissions rom NOLS owned and leased vehicles, etc. Scope 2 is

dened as indirectemissions rom sources controlled by the organizationin our

case, electricity use. Scope 3 is dened as all other sources o emissionsstudent,

instructor and sta travel, as well as any upstream emissions caused by rented

facilities (buildings not owned by NOLS), or by the production and shipment of

any purchased products.

The Kyoto Protocol calls on organizations to report Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Many organizations go beyond this standard and also report Scope 3 emissions, or

some portion o them. The extent to which Scope 3 emissions are measured is highly

variable and dependent on the organization to make the nal decision.

NOLS has drawn a Scope 3 boundary, balancing the need to paint a compre-

hensive picture o the schools environmental impact while keeping the task ocused

on what we can control and what is manageable with the schools existing resources.

Measurability is also a consideration, as we cannot manage what we cannot measure.

Our boundary changes occasionally as we learn more about what we can count,

control, and change.

Calculating our carbon ootprint with these parameters will stretch our resources

without overtaxing them. These areas o Scope 3 emissions will give NOLS a strong

oundation rom which to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the

inormation needed to tackle more challenging measurements and reductions in the

uture.

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CraigMuderlak

ChristinaCuneo

PascalBeauvais

BradChristensen


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8 environmental stewardship and sustainability at nols: conSeRVaTion and ReducTion

Reducing ouR fooTpRinT

We based our carbon reduction goals on a number o recom-

mendations and standards set by other institutions o higher

education. Most o these were based on the internationally rec-

ognized 2% Solution, which recommends reducing absolute

carbon emissions 2 percent annually until the year 2050, for

an overall carbon reduction o greater than 80 percent. This

recommendation came about as a result o general consensus

in the scientic community that this level o reduction will

keep the parts per million (ppm) of atmospheric carbon below

catastrophic levels.

In addition to the 2% Solution, we also decided some

interim goals were in order. Eighty percent by 2050 sounds

great, but also pretty ar o and intangible. Also, reducing our

carbon at more aggressive levels sooner rather than later will pre-

vent more emissions rom ever entering the atmosphere to begin

with. So, in keeping with the spirit of our 2013 strategic plan

goals, we set stretch goals or our interim targetsbig enough

to energize us, but not so high that theyre out o reach.

We settled on two interim goalsa 10 percent reduction

from our 2006 carbon levels by 2010, and a 30 percent reduc-

tion by 2020. These goals are absolute, meaning they refect

the total actual carbon emitted by school operations within

our carbon ootprint boundary. While we opted to set our

carbon reduction goals in absolute terms, we also decided that

reporting them in both absolute and normalized interpreta-

tions was important. Normalized carbon reporting will show

us how much carbon we use per student day. In other words

it will illustrate our carbon eciency. This will be especially

helpul i the school grows in leaps and bounds or a period

making it a challenge to reduce our absolute carbon emissions

during the same period o time. We will be able to look at the

normalized inormation and see not only i we hit our absolute

goal, but also i we reduced the amount o carbon we emit or

each student day we have in the eld.

In 2009, we were happy to note we exceeded our 2010

goal a year early! While we expect numbers to fuctuate some-

what as we grow more consistent in our data collection, we ee

this is an accurate representation o our sustainability eorts

and energy use in scal year 2009.

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environmental stewardship and sustainability at nols: conSeRVaTion and ReducTion pRojecT highlighTS 9

Conservation and Reduction ProjectHighlights

eneRgY

Reducing energy use is central to NOLS carbon reduction goals and to part o

the core vision o our Sustainability Initiativeto reduce consumption. This is no

simple task given the heavy transportation demands o running wilderness courses

in remote locations. Fortunately, wilderness classrooms are about as sustainable asit gets! Were also building on 45 years of a Leave No Trace ethic, giving NOLS a

strong oundation or sustainability success.

Our rst task is to reduce overall energy use. The cleanest burning uel is the

one thats not used. As such, energy eciency is a priority when it comes to NOLS

acilities and NOLS vehicles. We insulate, retrot, rework, build sustainably, and

whenever possible warm ourselves in the sun.

Lighting Ballasts : Rocky Mountain, Noble Hotel, Headquarters

Compact uorescent bulb installation at NOLS Rocky Mountain and the Noble

Hotel is complete. Motion sensors were installed in specic places to reduce unoc-

cupied energy hogging. This reduced our consumption by 15 percent in 2007.

Passive Solar Buildings: Pacifc Northwest

The buildings on site were designed using passive solar principles. The win-

dows are made with low-emission thermo-pane glass, and the buildings are

insulated above commercial requirements to reduce the need or mechanical

heating and cooling.

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BradChristensen

ChristinaCuneo


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10 environmental stewardship and sustainability at nols: conSeRVaTion and ReducTion pRojecT highlighTS

TRanSpoRTaTion

Transportation is a huge piece o running wilderness courses. Students and instruc-

tors must travel to oten ar-fung locations just to begin their adventures. On top o

that, sta commute to and rom work and travel to meetings and conerences. A lot o

that travel is air travel, which is responsible or particularly potent carbon emissions.

So how does NOLS go about reducing something that is so integral to its operations?

Eciency is the watchword or our current transportation carbon management

plan, but it wont get us to our ultimate carbon reduction goal of 80 percent by 2050

We continue to watch or new technologies and uels, and budget or more ecient

vehicles. In the meantime, were always looking or innovative solutions.

Efcient Course Transportation: Yukon, Rocky Mountain

Large diesel buses carry more students, reducing the number of trips made into

the mountains.

Public Transportation: Yukon, India

Instructors are compensated for using public transportation to get to and from

the NOLS Yukon base in Whitehorse.

Students at NOLS India use local buses and trains instead of private vehicles

to get to the base and to roadheads, saving up to 50 percent on fuel costs.

In-town staff in India use a scooter instead of a car to save on fuel.

Courses in India are re-rationed by local residents and their mules.

ReneWable eneRgY

Eciencies are an integral part o reducing our dependence on ossil uels, but they

can only take us so ar. Once the light bulbs are changed and the ecient windows

are installed, whats next? Many NOLS locations are already addressing this ques-

tion by installing alternative and renewable energy systems to power their buildings

The wind and sun are powering more than just our wilderness classrooms.

Geothermal: Patagonia

A geothermal heat exchange pump heats the administrative ofces, reducing

propane consumption by approximately 75 percent.

Solar Arrays: Rocky Mountain, Mexico, Teton Valley, Australia

NOLS Teton Valley produces approximately 30 percent of the locations

required energy with its solar array installed in 2010.

Solar panels produce 40 percent of NOLS Rocky Mountains energy needs,

and any unused energy goes back into the grid and into neighbors homes.

NOLS Mexico is off the grid and its electrical needs are met primarily by solar

panels. Any energy collected during the day is stored in batteries that powerthe base at night.

NOLS Australia installed a 5 kilowatt solar array in 2010.

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RichBrame

NachoGrez

DanVerbete

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JaretSlipp


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environmental stewardship and sustainability at nols: conSeRVaTion and ReducTion pRojecT highlighTS 11

WaTeR conSeRVaTion

Water conservation is a matter o perspective at NOLS. Extraordinary measures in

the Southwest have obvious merit, but extreme eorts in Alaska dont make as much

sense. Below are examples o how dierent bases manage this precious resource.

Showerhouse: Southwest

New shower facility saves 3,000 gallons of water annually via low-ow shower-

heads, waterless urinals, and high-eciency clothes washers.

Dual Flush Toilets: Headquarters

Specially designed toilets with two choices of ush (liquid waste or solid waste) save

more than 2,000 gallons o water annually.

Grey Water System: Mexico

After being used in NOLS Mexicos outdoor showers, water is transferred to a

holding tank and eventually used to water the plants around the grounds.

WaSTe

NOLS courses create very little trash when theyre in the eld. The in-town support

or those courses, however, can create quite a lot o waste. Rations bags, paper towels,

oce trash, and discarded long underwear are just some o the common waste prod-

ucts o a NOLS course. Minimizing our waste is an important part o the NOLS

experience. Whether were on a mountaintop or at a NOLS base, resources are limited

and reducing, reusing, and recycling are practices vital to the success o any expedition.

Recycling: Pacifc Northwest

Plastic bags from courses, glass, tin, aluminum, steel, mixed paper, cardboard,

number 1 & 2 plastics, motor oil, antifreeze, and automotive batteries get recycled.

Batteries, tires, refrigerators, and computers are properly disposed of.

Used ofce paper is turned into note tablets.

Composting: Headquarters, Rocky Mountain, Mexico

NOLS Headquarters has an industrial composter that turns kitchen and yard

waste into rich soil. It has reduced our contribution to landll waste by 66 per-

cent and saved us an estimated $2,500 annually in garbage collection.

NOLS Mexicos composting toilets collect human waste into composting bins that

are then periodically raked to create optimum oxygenation. Once broken down, the

harmless and odorless material is used as ertilizer around the grounds.

puRchaSing

NOLS prioritizes purchasing environmentally preerable products wherever possible.The school also supports companies with strong environmental practices when pur-

chasing our outdoor gear.

Protocols: Schoolwide

Paper: Wherever possible NOLS purchases paper with a post consumer recycled

ber content of 50 percent or greater.

Food: NOLS prioritizes local and organic foods in order to reduce the environ-

mental impact o producing and transporting our course rations.

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FredrikNorrsell

FredrikNorrsell


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12 environmental stewardship and sustainability at nols: educaTion

Education

SuSTainabiliTY and The STudenT expeRience

When all is said and done, our students and graduates are NOLS greatest contribu-

tion to the environment. They experience our planets power and beauty, and they

understand its ragility. NOLS grads are skilled, positive leaders with an environ-mental awareness and a strong ethical oundation. Providing them with a solid base

o inormation, experience, and service to share with their community is our priority

Field and Branch Curriculum: Schoolwide

In addition to living comfortably with fewer resources, NOLS students learn

about environmental science in the eld and at our bases. We emphasize trans-

erring minimum impact skills learned in the backcountry to the rontcountry

environment.

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WhatsYourImpact?

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vii www.nl.d/ing__li_f_ng.sources:AmericanWaterWorks Association: www.drinktap.org/consumerdnn/Default.aspx?tabid=85U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_home.html and http://www.epa.gov/OMS/climate/420f05004.htm

U.S. EnergyInformation Administration: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=biomass_waste_to_energy

World Resources Institute: www.wri.orgWorld Business Council for Sustainable Development: www.wbcsd.orgPure Strategies NOLSSustainabilityAudit, power outputcalculations: www.nols.edu/environmental_stewardship_and_sustainability/resources.shtmlTh e L ea d er I n WI L d er n es s ed u c a TI o n

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WATER

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Backcountry=5Ldyinstructor estimatebasedon cooking, cleaning, and drinking

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CO2EmissiOns

Frontcountry=52.66lbCO2dyfrom household heating and electrical use and automotive/gasoline emissionsBackcountry=0.63lbCO2dyfrom headlamp, camera, GPS, and white gasuse

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Frontcountry=4.5 lbdyresidentialuse only

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100%

Cert no. SW-COC-001784

Dave

Anderson
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environmental stewardship and sustainability at nols: educaTion 13

STudenT SeRVice pRojecTS

A big part o learning environmental ethics at NOLS is practicing what we preach.

Students and instructors routinely pick up backcountry trash and carry it with

them or weeks in order to pack it out, or reclaim re rings making an impact on the

wilderness environment. In addition to these parts o the NOLS experience, many

bases oer additional expanded opportunities to give back to the land.

Gardening and Farming: Alaska, Pacifc Northwest, Patagonia

NOLS Alaskas organic garden produces 1,000 pounds of produce per year to

eed students.

Pigs at NOLS Alaska are fed on kitchen waste and are raised for pork and used

to help prepare the ground or the garden. Chickens at NOLS Alaska are raised for meat and, prior to that, used in a

chicken tractor that helps to naturally ertilize the elds.

Greenhouses at NOLS Patagonia provide students and staff with organic

garden goods, and their orchard provides apples, cherries, plums, pears,

and gooseberries.

NOLS Patagonia raises cage-free chickens as well as beef and lamb.

Land Stewardship: Southwest, Rocky Mountain, Teton Valley

NOLS Southwest courses contribute to several service projects, including one

ongoing project in the Rob Roy Mine on the Koa National Wildlie Reuge

helping the Fish and Wildlife Service clean out debris. They also work withthe Carlsbad Bureau o Land Management on cave restoration projects.

NOLS Rocky Mountain Outdoor Educator students team up with the Bureau

of Land Management, working with the Lander Field Ofce to monitor

Wilderness Study Areas in the Granite Mountains, helping to ensure the area

is not being degraded.

Adventure students at NOLS Teton Valley participate in a trail maintenance

project, partnering with the U.S. Forest Service and Teton Valley Trails and

Pathways in the Palisades Mountain Range in Idaho.

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Dan Verbeten, NOLS Teton ValleyOperations Manager

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DaveAnderson


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14 environmental stewardship and sustainability at nols: ouTReach

Outreach

coMMuniTY ouTReach and paRTneRShipS

NOLS is lucky to be part o more than a dozen communities across the globe. We

partner with extraordinary organizations and involve our riends in campaigns and

projects. Sharing our sustainability successes and challenges and harnessing the power

o the outdoor community is all part o our sustainability outreach plan at NOLS.

NOLS Headquarters co-sponsored the nations largest homegrown listening

orums or the Americas Great Outdoors Initiative. NOLS Alaska provides produce for a Community Supported Agriculture

(CSA) group in Palmer.

NOLS Headquarters and NOLS Rocky Mountain coordinated a community

event to clean up the banks o the Popo Agie River at several local parks in

Lander, Wyoming.

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FredrikNorrsell

DavidWeinstein/OutdoorIndustryAssociation


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Looking to the Future

Our next climate protection goal is a 30 percent reduction o carbon emissions

below our 2006 levels by 2020. We believe that while we were able to meet our 2010

goal by tackling opportunities in eciencies and alternative energies as they came

our way, our 2020 goal, as well as our 2050 goal of 80 percent reduction, is signi -

cant enough that it will require specic strategy. In 2011 a committee composed

o school directors and sustainability champions will convene to begin mapping out

this strategy. We expect acility energy use and transportation to be primary areas o

ocus as they comprise the bulk o our carbon ootprint.An environmentally sustainable NOLS, however, goes ar beyond carbon reduc-

tion goals and lists o exciting projects. Success in sustainability will mean a cultural

shit to a place where reducing, reusing, conserving, and restoring are the norm in

the backcountry and rontcountry. Environmental ethics are a part o the mission

and values at NOLS. As we move orward with our environmental sustainability

initiative, we aim to oster and expand this ethic beyond our organization to our

students, partners, and communities.

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RainbowWeinstock

creating a climate for change - environmental sustainability initiatives at nols

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