The University of Pittsburgh has released the Pitt Climate Action Plan, detailing how the University will achieve its goal to go carbon neutral by 2037 through investments in clean energy, transportation, efficiency and other areas. By 2037, efforts detailed in the plan will result in a net reduction in annual emissions equivalent to taking more than 45,000 cars off the road.
AMBITIOUS GOAL RESTS ON 3 PILLARS
The report details three pillars for achieving 2037 goals: energy demand reduction; clean supply via renewable and clean energy investment; and low carbon connections via active, shared and low carbon mobility.
Planned investments in energy efficiency will decrease the use of utilities on campus, while investments in electricity generation, including agreements for local hydroelectric and solar power that are already underway, will help ensure that the energy the University does consume is clean.
Energy demand reductions from space use optimization, existing building efficiency, and new building performance will enable the university to avoid 27,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MT CO2e). Carbon emissions will be reduced by establishing and supporting low carbon connections for commuting and air travel through strategies such as shifting commuting modes to more active, shared, and low carbon choices; an increase in flex work arrangements, air travel reductions, and air travel offsets.
'NEED FOR URGENCY' IN 2037 GOAL
“The Pitt Climate Action Plan lays out our institutional climate action strategy for the University community and details how they can get involved,” said Pitt Director of Sustainability Aurora Sharrard, who also chairs the Carbon Commitment Committee of the Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Sustainability responsible for compiling the plan. “Many higher education institutions have set a 2050 goal. The 2037 goal recognizes the need for urgency in addressing the climate emergency, while also allowing for the longer-term planning necessary to pursue sustainable solutions”
Pitt has already made substantial progress in reducing its carbon footprint: The school’s most recent greenhouse gas inventory showed a 32% decrease in emissions between 2008 and 2020, thanks in part to a shift to cleaner steam plants and ongoing energy efficiency projects in campus buildings.
The committee will update the Pitt Climate Action Plan every five years, detailing and making public the ongoing work toward carbon neutrality at Pitt.
“We have a responsibility to our larger communities, both in Pittsburgh and our regional campuses, to ensure that we’re communicating what we’re doing as a thought and practice leader to help other institutions find their own way,” she said. “The global call is for carbon neutrality by 2050. It’s going to take a lot more than just us to get there.”
Related Stories
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Sep 15, 2014
Sustainability rating systems: Are they doomed?
None of the hundreds of existing green building rating systems is perfect. Some of them are too documentation-heavy. Some increase short-term project cost. Some aren’t rigorous enough or include contentious issues, writes HDR's Michaella Wittmann.
| Sep 7, 2014
Building the cladding palette: panels, rainscreens, and veneers [AIA course]
When it comes to cost, performance, and aesthetics—not to mention maintenance and long-term resilience—the evaluation of cladding materials and façade systems is more complex than ever. This course is worth 1.0 AIA CES HSW learning units.
| Aug 11, 2014
New guide for prevention of thermal bridging in commercial buildings
The guide aims to overcome obstacles with respect to mitigating thermal bridging to reduce energy consumption in buildings.
| Aug 4, 2014
Facebook’s prefab data center concept aims to slash construction time in half
Less than a year after opening its ultra-green, hydropowered data center facility in Luleå, Sweden, Facebook is back at it in Mother Svea with yet another novel approach to data center design.
| Jul 30, 2014
German students design rooftop solar panels that double as housing
Students at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences designed a solar panel that can double as living space for the Solar Decathlon Europe.
| Jul 25, 2014
Grocery stores choosing Green Globes for building sustainability certification
The Green Building Initiative (GBI) has announced a wave of Green Globes certifications for new grocery stores, including New Seasons Markets, Whole Foods, Price Chopper, Aldi’s, Harris Teeter, Wegmans, and Publix.
| Jul 17, 2014
A harmful trade-off many U.S. green buildings make
The Urban Green Council addresses a concern that many "green" buildings in the U.S. have: poor insulation.
| Jul 11, 2014
Are these LEGO-like blocks the future of construction?
Kite Bricks proposes a more efficient way of building with its newly developed Smart Bricks system.
| May 22, 2014
Facebook, Telus push the limits of energy efficiency with new data centers
Building Teams are employing a range of creative solutions—from evaporative cooling to novel hot/cold-aisle configurations to heat recovery schemes—in an effort to slash energy and water demand.
