Sustainability presentation focuses on emissions

By: Nelly Singh

Posted: 5/30/08

Drexel's Carbon Footprint, the seventh presentation in a series about environmental sustainability focused on what can be done to lessen emissions generated by operations at Drexel University.

Barbara Clarke, project architect and sustainability coordinator for the University's Department of Planning, Design and Construction, along with Robert Francis, vice president of University Facilities, spoke to students about carbon footprints, the University's current status in this initiative and future plans.

The presentation focused on reducing factors that affect the environment negatively, such as scope emissions. According to presentation slides, there are three types of scopes: scope one, which has a direct impact on the environment and consists of thermodynamic combustion; scope two, which has an indirect impact and consists of purchasing electricity for own use; and scope three, which consists of pollution from company owned vehicles, business travel, waste disposal, and product use. Drexel, like all other universities, are considered to be main contributors of scope two emissions, according to the slides.

"Many people are not aware of the numerous sustainable efforts already taking place at Drexel," Clarke wrote in an e-mail.

Right now, the committees are in the fact finding and investigation step, according to speakers and the presentation slides from the event.

"[The committee is] now in the process of collecting ideas from what people have seen, read, and learned. We will then be reviewing those ideas and see if we can come up with some specific plans for Drexel," Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff Tobey Oxholm wrote in an e-mail. Oxholm has been leading the sustainability efforts along with students at Drexel.

The presentation also focused on how individuals can get involved in decreasing their carbon footprint by commuting less, using less energy and using renewable energy, and supporting efforts by those who encourage energy efficiency, renewability and carbon neutrality.

"We tried to get each organization that was presenting to kind of think about more sustainable … actions that they can take. And, I think we've definitely done that because now each of them have implemented a sustainable plan in whatever they're doing," Kristin Cuprzinski, secretary of the communication task force committee and a freshman health sciences major, said.

This green initiative is an ongoing process; the goal is to change the culture and not just the equipment or technology, according to Oxholm.

"Drexel Green is turning out to be a great way for people who care to come together in that effort," Oxholm wrote.

The communication task force committee is trying to get more support since being this is a large-scale global issue, according to Cuprzinski.

"We're going to try to implement everything that we've been talking about and trying to get on everyone who's presented in their respective offices to make a plan," Cuprzinski said.

Nathan Taylor, a third-year mechanical engineering student as well as a member of the operations task force committee and the Sierra Club, said he believes schools can make a big difference. "There's a lot of people here. We use a lot of energy, as far as a school versus a home. … [With] 20,000 people [at Drexel] right there, we can make a difference."

The communications committee plans on involving the student body and increasing awareness by working with the Drexel Copy Center. Students will have the opportunity to show what it means to be sustainable by writing their answers and comments on a leaf and posting it on a big paper tree, according to Cuprzinski.

The committee will be doing "green" presentations again in the upcoming fall term and discussing what has changed, Taylor said.