THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CLIMATE COMMITMENT Carbon Inventory, Lessons Learned, & Next Steps Ramy Serour Ph.D. Candidate Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Sciences and Center for Integrative Environmental Research University of Maryland Matthias Ruth Roy F. Weston Chair in Natural Economics Director, Center for Integrative Environmental Research Co-Director, Engineering and Public Policy University of Maryland Towson University, March 4, 2009

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CLIMATE COMMITMENT UMD College Park 1.Climate Commitment 2.Carbon Inventory 3.Climate Action Plan

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CLIMATE COMMITMENT ACUPCC Spring 2007: Signature of Commitment By November 15, 2007: Create Institutional Structure to Guide Plan Development and Implementation By September 15, 2008: Complete GHG Inventory Update Biennially By September 15, 2009: Plan for Carbon Neutrality

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CLIMATE COMMITMENT ACUPCC Early Action Make climate and sustainability part of curriculum and student experience Expand research on Carbon neutrality Develop mechanisms to track progress Start 2 or more of :  LEED Silver for new buildings  Energy Star appliances  Carbon Credits for Air Travel  Encourage Public Transportation  15% of Electricity Renewable Sources  Sustainable & Climate-friendly Investing by UM-Foundation  Waste minimization measures

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CLIMATE COMMITMENT ACUPCC Early Action Reporting Year 1: GHG Inventory Year 2: Climate Action Plan Year 3 and Alternating Years: GHG Inventory and Climate Action Plan Progress Report

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Approach  Establish GHG Inventory Taskforce  Define Scope (operational) and Physical Boundary (organizational)  Use Clean Air Cool Planet Carbon Calculator (standardized, comparison)  Learn from Other Universities  Gather and Enter Data  Analysis, development of recommendations and report  Report posted online  Briefings to key leaders and stakeholders

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Scope

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Physical Boundary  Definition I: Exclude Space Not in Maryland  Definition II: Exclude Space that we neither own nor pay for electricity  Buildings/operations where UMD is tenant  Graduate Hills & Gardens  Graham Cracker Sorority houses  South Commons  Ground leases  UMUC  USM Shady Grove 275 buildings representing 13.2 million square feet of building space: College Park buildings, Maryland Fire & Rescue Institute facilities, Maryland Agriculture Experiment Station state-wide

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Lessons Learned Consistently stick to scope definition throughout data gathering process. Reconcile data figures from multiple sources (e.g., student size at UMD). Avoid double counting. Make the inventory as comprehensive as possible (e.g., commuter related emissions). Standardize updates and improve future inventory process

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Findings

FY 2007

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Findings Reason #1: Investment in Co-generation

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Findings Reason #2: More student housing (+2873 beds) Less student commuting (-1269 permits) (# rides/year;duplicated)

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Emissions Reduction Strategies Emissions Reduction Strategies 1990 present 20xx Emissions Matthias Ruth. Center for Integrative Environmental Research

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Emissions Reduction Strategies Emissions Reduction Strategies Conservation Green Construction Power Plant and Distribution Efficiency Renewable Energy Carbon Offsets 1990 present 20xx Matthias Ruth. Center for Integrative Environmental Research Emissions

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Emissions Reduction Strategies Emissions Reduction Strategies Emissions Conservation Green Construction Power Plant and Distribution Efficiency Renewable Energy Carbon Offsets 1990 present 20xx 20yy Matthias Ruth. Center for Integrative Environmental Research

Climate Action Plan Power and Operations Transportation Campus Services and Activities Administrative Policies Education and Research Outreach and In-reach Financial Strategies

Climate Action Plan Compilation of action plan items Dialog with the campus community Quantification of emissions reduction potentials and cost Identification of co-benefits Identification of implementation mechanisms Prioritization of actions Implementation Periodic updating

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