Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 51.18
Liaison Joseph Kahn
Submission Date April 20, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Central Michigan University
OP-2: Outdoor Air Quality

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Mike Walton
Director
Energy & Utilities
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have policies and/or guidelines in place to improve outdoor air quality and minimize air pollutant emissions from mobile sources on campus?:
Yes

A brief description of the policies and/or guidelines to improve outdoor air quality and minimize air pollutant emissions from mobile sources:

Central Michigan University has various guidelines and programs in place that assist in the reduction of air pollutants from mobile sources. Employees from every department are encouraged to walk to meetings on campus. This is made more appealing by the intricate system of thoroughfares that are constantly maintained and well lit. Buildings are also open from all entrances during business hours to allow for foot traffic, thus increasing the variety of paths on which one can traverse campus To further encourage both students and staff to utilize these pathways as an alternative to driving, maintenance to low covering vegetation is applied. In areas that might seem threatening when there is low visibility, tree branches and underbrush are removed to allow for enhanced visibility.

Along with highly visible walkway, students are encouraged to bike to and from campus, as well as commute around campus by bike. There are several bike-parking structures located outside of all entrances at every building on campus. Furthermore, Central Michigan University's Police department has a bike registry program, thus allowing individuals to reclaim their bike in the event that it is lost or stolen. Bikes that remain unclaimed for long periods of time are then recirculated into the community for reuse.

Students and some employees are required to purchase vehicle parking permits, but not bike permits. This effort aims to reduce the total amount of cars that circulate around CMU's campus. This policy incentivizes people to walk, bike or carpool, thus reducing the air pollutants as a result of mobile sources.

Central Michigan University's Police department also utilizes bicycles as a means of patrol vehicle. Police officers on bike patrol the main campus daily. These shifts allow officers to gain a more intimate perspective during regular patrolling and surveillance, whilst reducing the number of vehicles in the departmental fleet.

Additional to reducing the University Fleet, Central Michigan University offers a car share program that allows students and campus users to utilize a high efficiency vehicle, as opposed to buying a vehicle for traveling needs. https://www.enterprisecarshare.com/us/en/programs/university/cmich.html

Central Michigan University has also implemented a strict no-smoking policy on campus to increase the outdoor air quality in proximity to building entrances and user walkways. This policy restricts any person from smoking on campus grounds, in campus parking lots or near campus buildings. Employees, students or guests must retreat to their own vehicles (closed off to outside world), or leave campus completely in order to smoke.


Has the institution completed an inventory of significant air emissions from stationary campus sources or else verified that no such emissions are produced?:
Yes

Weight of the following categories of air emissions from stationary sources::
Weight of Emissions
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) 90.01 Tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) 0.57 Tons
Carbon monoxide (CO) 40.64 Tons
Particulate matter (PM) 3 Tons
Ozone (O3) 0 Tons
Lead (Pb) 0.00 Tons
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) 0.81 Tons
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) 0 Tons
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations 0 Tons

A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:

Central Michigan University compiles data from several sources on campus. The use of calculations based on site-specific data, as well as educated estimations were used in gathering data on emissions generated from stationary sources. Mike Walton, the Director of Energy & Utilities and associated graduate students, have been calculating these numbers since the baseline was established during the 2011-2012 fiscal year.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.