New council aims to help univ. reach green goals

In the wake of the University Senate’s decision to endorse the climate action plan, the administration unveiled the university sustainability council last week to oversee efforts to reduce the university’s carbon footprint.

The new council, chaired by Vice President for Administrative Affairs Ann Wylie, is composed of students, faculty and staff. The council will help advise members of the university community, including university President Dan Mote and the Office of Sustainability, on integrating greener practices into everyday campus life, furthering their goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

“I hope the campus will bring projects that have an energy conservation component to the council for their information and input as appropriate,” Wylie said in an e-mail. “This year, it is most important for the council to become familiar with all of the work currently underway ... to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Scott Lupin, the associate director of the Office of Sustainability and a council member, explained the committee would serve in conjunction with university departments to evaluate the effectiveness of their green programs and provide them with suggestions on how to better execute their goals.

“The Office of Sustainability is the staff to the council, and the council will provide some direction to the office,” Lupin said. “It’s mutual.”

Once members are all up-to-date and priorities are set, the council is going to get a head start on implementing the university’s plan for carbon neutralization, Lupin added.

Council members said they will also be looking at all the small things — temperature control in buildings, window replacements and lighting efforts. They will also look into the campus-wide restrictions on the purchase of non-hybrid cars and possibly upgrading older structures to demonstrate the impact greener renovations.

One pilot project that the Office of Sustainability is working on, Energywi$e UM —  in which buildings like Chesapeake, Van Munching and Martin Hall get an energy “report card” to evaluate how they use energy and how much they use — would hopefully get support from the council if it is successful, Lupin said.

“We will also make recommendations to the president on the uses of the undergraduate student fee designated to reduce energy and carbon,” she added.

Two student representatives serve on the 16-member council: Student Government Association Director of Environmental Affairs Joanna Calabrese and graduate student Ramy Serour.

Serour said student involvement is the key to success.

“I believe student involvement is instrumental and a major driving force in helping the [council] make informed decisions,” Serour said. “After all, the student body's endorsement and continuous support of these decisions will ensure the success of UM's efforts to become a model for a green university.”

In addition to her role as council member, Calabrese will also chair a student subcommittee with three undergraduate students and two non-student members of the council nominated by Wylie, Vice President for Student Affairs Linda Clement, the senate and the SGA. The subcommittee will meet regularly to review proposals for funding because a primary source of funding for the council comes from undergraduate fees.

Though there is no official timeline set to implement the council’s actions and recommendations, Wylie said they will likely meet two or three times each semester to check in on the university’s progress.

Serour said his role will be to help develop cost-effective practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to evaluate mitigation strategies proposed by the council and make recommendations accordingly.

cetrone@umdbk.com