The University lowered its energy-related carbon footprint by 18.8 percent in the last two years according to a progress report released by the Office of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Initiatives.
The reduction significantly outpaces benchmarks called for in the Greenhouse Gas Goals announced by President Ruth Simmons in January 2008.
Simmons presented highlights from the report at a monthly faculty meeting Tuesday afternoon, and emphasized the University's goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions to 42 percent below 2007 levels by 2020.
That translates to an annualized four-percent drop each year, meaning the University has already lowered emissions well beyond the eight percent necessary to remain on pace.
To reduce emissions, the University switched to natural gas in its central heating plant and an electricity supplier which is less dependent on carbon.
It also set efficiency standards more demanding than existing codes for newly built and renovated buildings, according to the report.
The University's recycle rate was 38 percent this year, up from 33 percent last year, Simmons told the faculty. Adding that "some of this gets a little dirty," she reported that Brown Dining Services also increased composting and lowered its total food waste in the past year.
The report also highlights other efforts by the University to reduce its environmental footprint.
For example, the Transportation Office runs an online forum for carpooling, and has increased both Zipcar membership and the number of vehicles available to Zipcar members. Graphic Services switched to a new press that generates no hazardous waste and attained certification from the Forest Stewardship Council.
Dining Services, additionally, has diverted around 180,000 pounds of pre-consumer food waste to its composting program in the past year. BDS also gives used fry-oil from the two dining halls — about 100 gallons a week from the Sharpe Refectory and up to 200 gallons a week from the Verney-Woolley Dining Hall — to Newport Biodiesel to be turned into fuel for diesel engines and home heating.
The report is available on the Facilities Management Web site, and the administration will be making presentations to the student body about the University's sustainability efforts, Simmons told the faculty yesterday.
