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‘The turf may be blue, but our campus is green,’ Gardner says
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During his eight years at Boise State University, John Gardner, associate vice president of Energy Research, Policy and Campus Sustainability, has never purchased a parking permit. This has nothing to do with Parking Services.
One way Gardner contributes to making Boise State an environmentally friendly university is commuting three miles to campus on his bicycle. He does this in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that collectively make up Boise State’s carbon footprint.
“Most of the things that emit green house gases are things we pay money for,” Gardner said. “This includes our electricity usage, burning the natural gas that heats our buildings and water, and daily commuting by students, faculty and staff.”
The Office of Energy Research, Policy and Campus Sustainability calculated that Boise State’s carbon footprint is 50,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This averages to about 2.5 MT per person annually.
“If you compare BSU’s footprint to other colleges on a per capita basis, we are about one-tenth of schools like Yale and Princeton,” Gardner added.
Gardner says that no other college campus has a lower per capita carbon footprint, noting that the closest college footprint to Boise State is the University of Idaho with 3.1 MT per capita.
Last summer, President Kustra asked Gardner to help position Boise State as a leader in energy research and sustainable growth and campus operations. This led to the creation of the OERPCS in the fall of 2007.
Their goal is to create a campus with an “environmentally neutral footprint” while accelerating research in sustainability.
The establishment of the OERPCS is also part of Kustra’s dedication to the Presidents’ Climate Commitment that he signed in 2007. In short, the agreement commits Boise State to designing and implementing a plan to become a climate neutral university within three years.
Gardner is not directly involved in campus operations, but he coordinates and sets their priorities.
“It is essential that if we cannot eliminate greenhouse gases, we must at least offset them,” Gardner said.
One of the OERPCS’ primary focuses is on their newly established Campus Building Policy.
The policy requires that all new campus construction be built to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver standard or the equivalent.
“It primarily focuses on high-performance energy efficiency,” Gardner said. “The new Nursing Building behind the Rec Center and the new Geosciences and Civil Engineering Building will both be 30 to 40 percent more efficient than what the code requires.”
Gardner says that Boise State currently spends more on cooling than heating, making summers more problematic than winters.
“All of the buildings on campus constructed in the past five years are designed to accommodate geothermal heating by way of the loop in downtown Boise. In the future, we will be able to plug them right into that without having to make many changes,” Gardner said.
The OERPCS also focuses on transportation.
“We encourage everyone to use the bus, bicycle or walk to campus if possible,” Gardner said. “We realize that where you live matters. We are trying to make sure that all of the dorms and other campus housing facilities are full.”
Programs incorporating waste minimization and recycling are also major components of the plan. Students may even see filtered water dispensers in the future to encourage the use of refillable water bottles.
To see other projects OERPCS may be working on, visit their Website. Gardner plans to update it occasionally and highlight what individuals on campus are doing to make a difference.
“One of the most positive changes has been in operations. Tom Ramler, the manager of custodial services, is really embracing the recycling program,” Gardner said. “He is trying to make it seamless and expand it by bringing it into classrooms. We would like to recognize others like him."
JENNY MCBRIDE
News/BizTech Coordinator
