ACUPCC Reporting System

Climate Action Plan for Goddard College

Submitted on December 8, 2009; last updated on November 15, 2010

Climate Action Plan Details

Climate Action Plan Goddard College Climate Action Plan
December 8, 2009
No information provided.
No information provided

Emissions Targets

Climate Neutrality Target
2020
If you have any qualifying statements with regard to the climate neutrality target date, please include them here, and/or if you have chosen "TBD" and not specified a neutrality date, please enter the reason and explain the process for establishing a target date in the future.

Our goal is to be carbon neutral in scope I and II by 2020, with additional reductions in scope III.

Interim Milestone Emission-Reduction Target Target Date Baseline
60% reduction in Total Scopes 1, 2, 3 Emissions by 2015 relative to baseline emissions in 2006
40% reduction in Total Scopes 1, 2, 3 Emissions by 2020 relative to baseline emissions in 2006
Nonstandard Emissions Targets
Please enter below any targets that do not fit into the above format.

No information provided

Narratives

Please describe your institution's greenhouse gas mitigation strategies.

We have been working towards our goal through increasing energy efficiency and reducing consumption and waste with a focus on reducing the use of heating oil through superinsulating buildings and upgrading windows.

At the same time, we are consulting with engineers about alternative heating options such as wood chips, pellets, solar thermal, and heat/electricity co-generation, pricing installations, and seeking funding. By first retrofitting building envelopes, we will reduce the amount of whatever fuel we use. We are also investigating the use of photovoltaic panels to reduce our purchase of electricity and offset any remaining emissions after all buildings are retrofitted and we have switched to renewable fuels.

We do not plan to purchase carbon offsets. We believe that it is more effective for us to put all our resources into eliminating our emissions from fossil fuels.

Please describe your institution's plans to make sustainability a part of the curriculum for all students.

Goddard’s mission statement says, "Goddard encourages students to become creative, passionate, lifelong learners, working and living with an earnest concern for others and the welfare of the Earth.” Consistent with our student-centered approach to education, students study sustainability as part of an individualized plan that is guided by the mission and degree criteria of each program. Overall, program directors report that a growing number of students in both graduate and undergraduate programs are pursuing studies that include issues relating to sustainability in areas such as climate change, permaculture, ecological economics, environmental policies, and ecovillage design. Several programs are pursuing new initiatives to support student work in these areas, for example a proposed BA Program in Sustainable Living, hosting invited speakers, and a sustainability list serve to share local and global news and resources. We also send biannual sustainability reports to the Goddard community.

Please describe your institution's plans to expand research efforts toward the achievement of climate neutrality.

Goddard is not a research institution.

Please describe your institution's plans to expand community outreach efforts toward the achievement of climate neutrality.

We are conducting and expanding outreach in the following ways:

• A sustainability list serve that includes news and resources on sustainability and climate change
• A proposal for a BA in Sustainable Living
• Invited speakers at residencies
• Partnerships in sustainability studies with other colleges
• Field trips for students to visit local farms and sustainability initiatives
• Goddard’s radio station WGDR hosts weekly programs on sustainability and relocalization