Newswise — In an effort to outline a long-range, comprehensive approach to infuse more sustainable practices, policies and pedagogy into all aspects of university life, Furman University has adopted a comprehensive sustainability master plan for the school. A significant part of the “Sustainable Furman” plan includes a pledge to make the campus “carbon neutral” by 2026, the year of the school’s bicentennial celebration.
The master plan was approved by the university’s Board of Trustees this fall.
As one of the more than 650 colleges and universities that have signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), Furman had agreed to develop a CAP that would outline the university’s goals for achieving climate neutrality by a specific date in the future.
“From the outset, we determined that any effort in this area ought to be much more comprehensive than simply planning to reduce carbon emissions,” said Furman president David Shi. “Instead, it needed to encompass a long-range sustainability master plan for the university, which would include not only those activities relevant to its carbon and ecological footprints but also the much broader scope of the university’s mission and function, including the curriculum, co-curriculum, and projects and partnerships in the greater Greenville community.”
Shi said the creation of the sustainability master plan took eighteen months and was a university-wide effort, involving over a hundred students, professors, staff members, trustees, alumni, and community leaders. He added that it was both important and gratifying that it receive the approval of the Board of Trustees. “It will take nothing less than a full commitment from the entire university if we are to achieve the challenging initiatives laid out in this plan,” he said.
“Sustainable Furman” is organized around eight broad goals, each of which addresses key aspects of the university’s mission and operations. Those include expanding and enhancing curricular and co-curricular opportunities related to sustainability, encouraging campus and community participation in energy conservation and energy efficiency efforts, and broadening Furman’s national leadership role in the promotion of sustainability.
The climate action plan, which outlines specific steps the university can take over the next 17 years to achieve a zero carbon footprint, focuses on five specific strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: (1) increasing energy efficiency in all campus operations, (2) creating a campus-wide culture of conservation to decrease energy use, (3) creating a more sustainable campus transportation system, (4) investing in renewable energy projects, and (5) creating local carbon offset projects and energy-conservation service projects in the community.
“Overall, the plan better enables Furman to educate its students for a challenging future, operate in a more efficient and responsible manner, generate substantial financial savings, and serve the broader community across the region, state and nation,” Shi said. “It provides the university with a dynamic sustainability blueprint for Furman’s future.”
Dr. Anthony Cortese, president of Second Nature and a co-organizer of the ACUPCC, praised the university’s efforts in creating and adopting a sustainability master plan.
“Furman’s action is yet another example of its outstanding leadership in producing the knowledge and educated graduates to help society deal with the greatest challenge in human history — how to create a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable world for all current and future generations,” he said. “Furman is a model for all of higher education and, through the work of David Shi as a leader of the ACUPCC, has been instrumental in engaging colleges and universities regionally and nationally to work in synergy toward this goal.”
The colleges and universities that have signed the ACUPCC represent all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The institutions have committed to neutralizing greenhouse gas emissions and accelerating the research and educational efforts of higher education in the area of sustainability. Furman is a charter signatory of the ACUPCC, and president Shi serves as a co-chair of the organization’s steering committee.
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