Sustainability Metrics
Key metrics are tracked to measure sustainability progress across campus.
Milestones
国产小呦女has a long history of sustainability accomplishments.听
Greenhouse gas emissions reductions are only part of AU's sustainability efforts. To measure progress in the environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability, 国产小呦女uses the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Reporting System听().
STARS was created by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education听()听to help colleges and universities track progress and set goals.
国产小呦女was听a听听in STARS and has completed six听since 2010.听国产小呦女completed its sixth STARS submission in the spring of 2021, earning听a听.听AU's seventh STARS report was completed over the summer of 2024 and is in review now. The finalized report will be shared here soon.
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国产小呦女 achieved the important milestone of carbon neutrality with a three step approach:
Details about the approach by each scope are shared below.
国产小呦女uses a number of energy saving technologies and water saving features to decrease the amount of natural gas used for heating and hot water. Solar thermal panels also allow us to use energy from the sun to create hot water and further decrease reliance on fossil fuels. AU鈥檚 campus also recently transitioned from a centralized steam plant to a decentralized low temperature hot water system which will decrease natural gas and electricity use substantially.
For natural gas that 国产小呦女still uses, offsets are purchased.
国产小呦女decreased electricity use per square foot by more than 20% from 2005 to 2017. This reduction was achieved through individual actions, like turning off lights and unplugging chargers, efficiency upgrades like using LED bulbs on campus, and by using a building automation system that allows Facilities management to monitor buildings for unusual activity. Scope 2 emissions are further decreased with on-campus solar and electricity from our solar farms in North Carolina. 国产小呦女also purchases Green-e certified renewable energy credits to match the remaining electricity used on campus.
Reduction is the first priority for all emissions. Decreasing waste and offering alternative transportation options have helped reduce emissions in scope 3. For the remaining emissions 国产小呦女purchases offsets.