Duke Signs Climate Commitment

As part of Duke's continued leadership in environmental stewardship and sustainability, the university has signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, President Richard H. Brodhead announced Friday.

"Duke was built on a culture of public engagement and the belief that we have the duty to share the knowledge of our faculty and students to address pressing global issues," Brodhead said. "Tackling the complex problem of climate change here on our campus not only benefits this institution but society as a whole."

By signing the commitment, Duke is pledging to eliminate the campus's greenhouse gas emissions over time. This involves:

• Completing an emissions inventory.
• Within two years, setting a target date and interim milestones for becoming climate neutral
• Taking immediate steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by choosing from a list of short-term actions.
• Integrating sustainability into the curriculum and the overall educational experience for undergraduate and graduate and professional students.
• Making the action plan, inventory and progress reports publicly available.

"Duke has already completed many of the objectives that are part of the commitment," says Tavey McDaniel Capps, Duke's environmental sustainability coordinator, "We have conducted a greenhouse gas inventory, and adopted a LEED building policy and an Energy Star policy. There are many departments and individuals across campus working on this issue. It just makes sense to sign on to this national effort and bring these pieces together into a cohesive plan to reduce Duke's overall footprint."

To this end, over the next two years, campus stakeholders will work together to set targets, strategies and time tables to achieve this initiative. This project will touch many elements of the campus that significantly affect Duke's ecological footprint, including transportation, energy use and campus fuels, waste reduction and individual behavior.

"This is a significant commitment, and it will take the efforts of the entire campus community to make it a reality," Capps said.

In signing the commitment, Duke joins more than 300 other colleges and universities across the U.S. to focus the research and leadership of higher education on the pressing issue of global climate change.