Campus commuters to lower carbon emissions

Shovel Ready: RMI's Sally DeLeon and
Elaine Adams visit green science buidling
at Richland College. (Photo: RMI
campus climate project 2008-2009)

Robert Morris, student body president of Richland College, is facing a challenge at his school.  A commuter school in Dallas Texas, with 24,500 students, Richland College has nobly committed to achieve carbon neutrality under the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.  

The problem? Students have no access to public transportation. Morris himself commutes from Garland, 30 minutes away, and there is no bus route.

Richland does have energy efficient buildings on campus, but the transport contributes the most to the school's carbon footprint, making up 66 % of campus greenhouse gas emissions.

Richland students face the same issue many commuters find. When there is limited access to public transport and when it may not be practical to ride a bike 20 miles each way to school or work, how can individuals reduce their carbon footprint?

Morris, one of 36 participants in Rocky Mountain Institute's recent Accelerating Campus Climate Initiatives Workshop, now has a few ideas about how to tackle the transport issue. The workshop, which convened in Denver from June 2-4, brought together representatives from 12 campuses to share information and war stories and inspiration to help create effective programs and projects that will reduce carbon emissions.

Morris discussed his school's climate initiative challenges with sustainability experts at RMI, who put on the workshop in collaboration with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). As a result, Morris goes back to Texas with some possible solutions, such as arranging carpooling and making it web-based so people can find rides easily and instituting web-based learning, telecommuting, and videotaping of classes. These telecommuting and carpooling options, of course, could work for business as well as schools that want to reduce carbon emissions.

RMI, through an anonymous donor, is offering the grants ($35,000-$50,000 per institution) to provide each participating campus with an opportunity to implement a high priority project that advances its climate program. Each school will use this funding to launch an important greenhouse gas reduction project or contribute to solving a thorny or significant barrier to climate neutrality.

For more information on the Accelerating Campus Climate Initiatives project, visit RMI's Built Environment Team website.