Making the Grade Taking a Holistic Perspective to Environmental Stewardship and

Sustainability on College Campuses

Chuck KentDirector, Office of Business & Community InnovationNational Center for Environmental Innovation, EPA

EPA Sectors Program

• An EPA program to work collaboratively with Colleges and Universities (C&U) to

– Reduce regulatory burdens– Improve environmental

performance of the sector as a whole

– Encourage Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and environmental stewardship initiatives

Regulatory Innovation

Proposed Laboratory Rule

• Proposed Rule cleared by OMB

• Published in Federal Register May/June 2006

• 90 day public comment period

Definition of Facility

• Focus on Definition of “Facility” as it pertains to each statute– Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA)– Clean Air Act (CAA)– Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures

(SPCC)

• Finalizing consultation summary – interviewed 9 different types of facilities

• Coordinating with EPA Program Offices to better standardize definition of facility

Performance Measurement

• Track, analyze, and benchmark environmental performance

• http://www.c2e2.org/cgi-admin/navigate.cgi

• Four years of data– Energy use– Hazardous waste– Solid waste/recycling– Water consumption.

• Schools can use the tool to identify and analyze trends in their data in an easy-to-use format

College & University Self-Tracking Tool

Current Activities

• Over 130 schools registered

• Working with stakeholders to update tool to reflect comments received from schools who have entered data.

• Hope this tool becomes centralized tool for recording environmental impacts for colleges and universities.

Participation in EPA Partnership Programs• Partnership Programs

enable flexible, collaborative, market-driven solutions that can deliver measurable environmental results.

• Several Partnership Programs (Energy Star, Waste Wise and BWC) have focused specifically on higher ed to provide better services and recognition.

• Chart provides snap shot of current participation

EPA Partnership Programs

No. of Schools Participating

Energy Star 142

Waste Wise – RecycleMania

93

Best Work Places for Commuters

65

Hospitals for a Healthy Environment

45

Green Power Partnership

43

Combined Heat and Power

22

Labs 21 17

Others 17

Performance Track

Performance Track: Key Facts• Facility based, for private & public sectors• Launched in June 2000 • Involves benefits & obligations for members Work in

close collaboration with States• Application & reporting systems are online• Site visits with a sample of members each year• Currently more than 400 members (2 Universities)

– University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center– Washington State University

• Two application periods annually (Apr 1-May 31, Sep 1-Oct 31)

                                                                                          

• Working environmental management system (EMS)

• Commitment to continuous improvement– set four goals for the three-year period– report annually on results

• Record of sustained compliance• Commitment to public outreach

Criteria for PT Membership

PT Member Achievements• University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

– Created a database of over 3,300 known environmental health and safety impacts

– Launched an integrated energy management plan resulting in efficiency savings of 3% for FY03

– Eliminated $1.6MM in potential penalties by implementing a refrigerant management program

– Increased product recall responses to over 98% in FY03 – Continued to reduce waste footprint by expanding the general

recycling program throughout the main campus – Implemented a proactive risk assessment discovery process that

identified known hazards and liabilities – Realized a 35% reduction in accidents over three years while

seeing a 30% increase in workforce during that same period

• Washington State University (Washington)– Reduced NOx emissions by 69%– Reduced SOx emissions by 82%– Restored 4.25 acres of wetlands

High Performance Campuses

High Performance Campuses• Challenge and recognize institutions to achieve

better environmental results. • Focuses on a new approach that integrates

sustainability into every aspect of campus life: – creating enduring, vibrant places,

– contributing to a healthy and sustainable environment, and

– realizing fiscal benefits

• Take a more holistic view of their campus and work together to grow in a more sustainable manner and improve their overall environmental performance.

Purpose of HPC Guide• Offers suggestions in taking steps toward continuous

improvement and sustainability.

• It offers a comprehensive look at all the elements needed to fully attain a sustainable campus.

• Walk individuals through the process of institutionalizing individual projects or activities and then using lessons learned from those projects for future projects and activities and as learning lab for sustainability awareness for the students.

• Help individuals look at all the other potential activities that can be implemented on campus.

• Individuals may see the potential collaboration between departments in order to complete projects more efficiently, grow in a more sustainable manner and improve their overall environmental performance.

Proposed Timeline

• Short Term– Identify key stakeholders and gain commitment to

measure and improve their environmental performance (Trade Associations get certain percentage of their members to input data in the College and University Self-Tracking Tool and identify opportunities for improvement.)

– Develop a model guide for test marketing.• Long Term

– Encourage stakeholders to develop a recognition/certification program that ties to the guide (similar to LEED)

– Recognize institutions as “High Performance Campuses.”

Organizations Stepping Up to the Challenge• Association of University Architects

– Looking for a sustainability guide for their members– Want to review the model guide at their upcoming

Annual Conference in June and provide comments shortly thereafter.

• The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education – Hosting their first conference in October 2006– Want to use the model guide as the foundation to

create a comprehensive guide and incorporate the “social” and “economic” concerns of sustainability

Sector Partnerships to Achieve Better Environmental Performance • Session scheduled tomorrow at 10:30 am• Discuss a unique approach that promotes better

environmental performance with less administrative burden through collaborative problem solving.

• Provide a forum for interested stakeholders to discuss some of the biggest challenges faced by certain sectors

• Share work they are involved with that may influence the sector's behavior

• Share innovative solutions implemented to meet the sector's goals to improve their overall environmental footprint.

Questions