Ohio U Office of Sustainability discusses carbon neutrality, projected goal of 2050
Goetz explained that the university defined sustainability as action that “simultaneously benefits people, the planet and prosperity.”
The Sustainability and Climate Action Plan requires the university to report their greenhouse gas emissions and outlined educational goals like teaching and researching climate change and carbon neutrality. Ohio U’s current goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
“A lot of people say that’s too late,” Goetz commented. “We do have pretty significant steps along the way.”
The “intermediate goals” on the path to carbon neutrality include a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2026, academic ambitions that 7.5% of university courses should have learning outcomes relating to sustainability and that 25% of researchers and 75% of departments will have conducted climate-relevant research.
The current Climate Action Plan consists of 16 themes and 32 goals, including waste reduction, research and investments.
“Pretty much anything you could possibly imagine that happens at the university has a sustainability goal related to it,” Goetz said.
“We’d love to see some renewable energy installations and solar arrays, large scale, as a part of our institutional electricity generation,” Crowl added. He also encouraged listeners to get involved, mentioning that the Office of Sustainability publishes a bi-weekly newsletter and offers numerous work study positions for students.
Other projects the Office of Sustainability will pursue include community outreach events and climate education in the local schools.The Office of Sustainability highly encourages student input and involvement.
“Obviously, sustainability doesn’t just stop at the campus edge,” Crowl emphasized.
In other news, the Engineering Ambassadors, a leadership organization within the Russ College of Engineering, will be holding a fundraiser through the U.S. Postal Service’s “Operation Santa.”
This fundraiser will raise money to provide children and families with financial need with Christmas gifts. The Student Senate approved a motion to match donations up to $1,500 or higher if decided. The fundraiser will occur from Nov. 14-22.
Additionally, Nov. 10 will mark the grand opening of the Veterans’ Student Lounge in Baker Center Room 363. The first Student Senate townhall of the semester is on Nov. 14 in Walter Hall Room 135 at 6 p.m. The townhall provides the chance for students to connect with the Student Senate and ask questions.
“This will be a great opportunity for the senate to hear students’ experiences and concerns,” said Student Senate President Dayna Shoulders.
