Isramart : NYU aims to reduce its carbon footprint

Isramart news:
New York University (NYU) released its Climate Action Plan (CAP), a comprehensive approach to reducing the university's carbon footprint and enhancing its overall sustainability, on March 12, 2010.

NYU's CAP details the university's current greenhouse gas inventory and lays out projects to mitigate these emissions using current fiscally sound technologies while maintaining NYU's vital teaching, learning and research missions.

The development of the university's CAP was spurred on by the signing of two separate commitments to mitigate climate change: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's PlaNYC Climate Challenge and the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).

As part of the PlaNYC Climate Challenge, NYU will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions per square foot by 30 per cent by 2017, and will commit to a goal of achieving zero emissions by 2040 as part of the ACUPCC.

NYU plans to accomplish these aims by upgrading university buildings to become more efficient and by generating cleaner on-site and renewable energy.

"Across the university- from academics to financial and space planning to sustainability- we are striving to plan for the long-term," says Michael Alfano, NYU's executive vice president. "This Climate Action Plan fits within that template, relying on a rigorous analysis to point the way toward a 30-year goal of attaining carbon neutrality."

"Through energy saving initiatives, NYU has already made significant progress in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, cutting them by 20% in just the past three years", says Cecil Scheib, NYU's director of Energy and Sustainability.

In addition to its efforts to reduce climate change, NYU will foster a campus-wide culture of sustainability through expanded environment-related course work at both NYU and the affiliated Polytechnic Institute of NYU, as well as through deepened engagement efforts that directly involve the university community.

PlaNYC was unveiled by Bloomberg on Earth Day 2007 and calls for New York City to improve environmental sustainability in air, water, land, energy and transportation by 2030. A goal of the project is to lower the city's global warming emissions by 30 per cent.

The ACUPCC Climate Commitment calls for U.S. colleges and universities to take charge in their communities to reduce global warming emissions while also spreading awareness.