Description/achievement of initiative
The campus has now embarked on developing a Climate Action Plan (CAP) that will provide a specific roadmap to achieve this goal through consideration and recommendation of several options including a cogeneration facility, increase to the size of the solar farm, and aggressive measures to reduce the use of personal vehicles, all with specified time frames and financial measures, specific sustainable procurement policies, and enhanced outreach and education programs to engage the whole community in this effort. Regular progress reports as required by the ACUPCC are available for community and general public review.
Implementation methodologies
CSUMB is committed to sustainable practices and policies. It is one of the few universities to achieve a gold STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System) rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. CSUMB was an early signatory to the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), which commits CSUMB to achieve an aggressive target of greenhouse gas neutrality by 2030. The last two major campus projects resulted in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver ratings, and a planned academic building will be eligible for a LEED gold rating. In addition, the CSUMB Campus Sustainability Committee is charged by the administration to lead the various environmental efforts on the campus and consists of students, faculty, and staff. Robust efforts to reduce vehicle traffic on and around campus, recycling efforts, dining and food efforts, and energy reduction efforts - including the installation of a 1MW solar farm- have achieved significant progress in reducing our carbon footprint. CSUMB also engages local jurisdictions and agencies to combine efforts in the sustainability arena.
Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
Coordination mechanisms/governance structure
Partner(s)
California State University, Monterey Bay