Cornell Sustainability Planning

Reflections on

Community Input,

Decision Tools, and

Tracking Progress

Milestones

• Commitment on the Environment 1997

• KyotoNow pledge 2001

• First Cornell Green Report 2006

• Signed ACUPCC June 2007

• Center for a Sustainable Future June 2007

• Advancing Sustainability Action Plan Aug 2008

• Greenhouse Gas Inventory Sep 2008

• Climate Action Planning Process begins Sep 2008

• Climate Action Plan Implementation Sep 2009

Cornell Sustainability Elements from 2006

Endowment Investments

Food and

Water

Waste

and

Pollution

Transportation

Built

Environment

Materials

Climate

Commitment

and Energy

Land Use

Operations

Actions will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and:

• Improve Finances

• Support Research

• Broaden Education

• Enhance Outreach

Maintain a dynamic plan that will respond to changes in science, technology and society:

• measure our progress against our targets

• update the plan to reflect best use of human and fiscal resources

Climate Action Plan Principles

Goal: Climate Neutrality by 2050

To see the entire Climate Action Plan visit:

www.sustainablecampus.cornell.edu/climate

Profile the Situation-Carbon Inventory

-Calculate Risk Exposure-Forecast Model

Profile the Situation-Carbon Inventory

-Calculate Risk Exposure-Forecast Model

Profile the Situation-Carbon Inventory

-Calculate Risk Exposure-Forecast Model

Solicit Ideas-Qualitative Screening- “Wedge Groups”

- Idea Generation

Screen Ideas-Tech Brief Development

- Metric Brief Development

-Quantitative Screening

-Viability Considerations

Endorse Actions-Portfolio Analysis

-Draft Plan-Decision Support

Implement Actions-Feasibility Studies

-Grant Proposals

- Project Development

The Process

Emission Inventory

Source: “The Greenhouse Gas Protocol – A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard”, Revised Edition, 2004.

World Resource Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Climate Action Plan Working Groups

Green Development

•Building Energy

•Smart GrowthFaculty Ad hoc

Group

Sustainable Decisions &

Portfolio

Transportation

Energy Conservation

Fuel Mix & Renewables

Offsets

Student Climate Action Plan

Cornell Center for Sustainable

Future

Deliverables•Web

•Report

Communications and Events

“Wedges” of Carbon Reduction

Business As Usual

(Base Case)

Teaching and Research Living Laboratory

Processes

Trustees

Consultant Management

Web Tool: Collected 700+ Ideas

Sustainable Decision Analysis

Quantitative• Life-Cycle $ Cost• Includes Value

of CO2-e

Feasibility• Availability• Acceptability

Triple Bottom Line +• Environment• Social• Economic+ Institutional Mission

– teaching– research– outreach

Endorsed Alternatives

Portfolio of CAP projects

Triple Bottom Line + CriteriaInstitutional Economic Social Environmental

Furthers Cornell

Mission:

Teaching

Research

Outreach

Public service

Student access to

higher education

Establish Cornell as a

thought leader and

early adopter

Recognized

environmental

leadership (Top 5?)

Economic Stewardship

Regional economic

development

Investing in sustainable

value

Resource Stewardship

Employee, student

well being

Quality of life in home

communities

Business ethics

Impact on campus/

community aesthetics/

appeal/functions

Impact on faculty/

staff/ students

Will this still seem like

a good idea in 20 years

?

Broadly applicable,

replicable, transferrable

GHG management hierarchy

& net GHG impact

Extent to which existing or

potential environmental

services of land and natural

resources are conserved,

enhanced

Sustainable land use, smart

growth, minimize

development footprint

Enhance air quality, exceed

standards

Sustainable use of water,

other natural resources

Minimize hazardous waste

and handle safely

Municipal waste – recycle/

reuse

Universal waste – recycle/

reuse

Biodiversity

-5-4-3-2-1012345

Institutional

Environmental

Social

Economic

11,000

459,280

-2

-1

0

1

2

Environmental

Social

Economic

Institutional

Value in Tons of CO2e

avg

annual

Total

Space Planning and Management $473

metric ton

TBL Notes

PWG Recommendations:(add text here)

DescriptionMore effective use of existing space holds the potential to reduce the material, energy and land resources consumed by new buildings and slow overall campus growth in building square foot terms. The intent here is to increase building space density (ie assignable square feet per acre / people per gross square foot), build/renovate to consistent standards, and build/renovate to evaluated needs.

Assumptions

• In New Construction Projects: 10 – 15% increase in space efficiency• In Renovation Projects: 5 – 10% increase in space efficiency• Requires creation and implementation of space standards and to empanel a space advisory council (or similar oversight body)• Focuses on “defrag” of existing space and use of standards / control process for development of new buildings/renovations

Time Frame1-5 years for primary effort; 6-10 years for consideration of space charge system

CostsCapital Cost: $2 Million (50/50 split between Facility Inventory Management System (software/Hardware) and an initial space utilization inventory project

Annual Incremental Operating Cost: $200,000 (New; software/hardware/IT Support) Savings: $300,000 (Avoided; reduction of required staff time)

Sustainable Decision Quality

•a commitment to well-defined action

•consideration of a full range of creative and doable options

•reliable and meaningful information

•consistent w/ values, core principles, and established criteria

•logical reasoning

•a process that is transparent to stakeholders

•provision for learning and improvement through look-back and ongoing adjustment

Actions that are not endorsed

•Compost (discarded) for actions that:

– Negatively impact the mission

– Are not locally acceptable and approvable

– Increase GHG emissions

•Bike Rack for actions that:

– Are interesting but not economically or technically feasible, or have insufficient information

•Test Tube Rack (now on website):

– Bike Rack ideas that academia could pursue

Value of Consultants

Third Party Facilitation

Specific Technical Expertise

Speeding up the process

Engaging Community

Managing Teams

Making Executive Decisions

Our Future: Track, Promote, and Party

(and occasionally plan and reflect)

•Develop comprehensive database

•Engage users and administrators

•Host bi-annual focus group sessions

•Host annual celebration/awards

•Outputs:

Green Report

Campus Sustainability Website

STARS and Surveys

Visit us online at

www.cornell.edu/sustainability

Email me at

dnr6@cornell.edu

Thanks for your attention!

What forces and trends will we have to live with, which ones can

we influence?

Where do we want to take our sustainability efforts into the future

and how do we want to do it?

What factors did you look at to arrive at a decision?

What were the greatest risks you had to address?

What lessons have been learned thus far? If you starting to do this over

how would you do it differently?

What factors will affect how you adapt your efforts to keep it relevant and

what factors are beyond your control but which you have to pay attention

to in order to be successful?

Christina Copeland, undergraduate student and president of the Student Sustainability Hub

“…The Climate Action Plan presents a great opportunity for student involvement in sustainability issues in everyday campus life. In the years to come, student leadership will be a driving force in achieving climate neutrality at Cornell.”

Student Leadership for Climate Action

Attitudes, Perceptions, and Climate Action

“Through my course, Planning the Carbon Neutrality Campaign...I have been able to expose students to real-world communications challenges and advance our theoretical understanding of climate and energy-related perceptions...”

Katherine A. McComas, Associate Professor, Communications

Ying Hua, Assistant Professor, Design and

Environmental Analysis, teaches an award-winning

course on collaborative sustainable building

practice.

“... teams of faculty are now collaborating on smart-grid technology, energy generation and distribution in the built environment, and behavior change. The Climate Action Plan ensures Cornell remains at the cutting-edge of applied research, enhances our land-grant mission to educate the public, and dramatically reduces our carbon footprint.”

“The Climate Action Plan is a guiding framework for Cornell to help America enter a new era of innovation and sustainable economic development. I envision EGS as just one element of a diverse campus demonstration of renewable energy providing research and educational benefits for dozens of programs.”

Jefferson Tester, the Croll Professor for Sustainable Energy

Systems, heads up the Engineered Geothermal Systems

(EGS) research and demonstration effort.

Local, Renewable Bioenergy

“The Cornell University Renewable Bioenergy Initiative (CURBI) is powerful by itself. The potential for research, education, outreach, and job creation are immense, generating broad interest among our funding partners and communities across New York State. The CAP not only supports this effort, it also shows its value within a broader context...

Mike Hoffmann, Director, Cornell's Agricultural Experiment Station