Colgate University
PAE-4: Sustainability Plan

The preparation of Colgate's Sustainability and Climate Action Plan was lead by Colgate's Sustainability Council and Office of Sustainability. The Council was informed by the work of seven subcommittees representing over 35 faculty and staff. Students contributed throughout the data collection process through research in our formal curriculum. Additionally, Council members presented to the President's Staff on three separate occasions. Altogether, the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan took over 18 months to complete and involved feedback and participation from hundreds of Colgate community members.

Projects range from low-cost, high-impact behavior-change strategies such as the Green Office and Green Living Programs, to capital-intensive and technologically complex engineering projects such as the heating plant upgrade (fuel switching from #6 oil to natural gas). By 2015, our goal will be to implement these projects and in the process: eliminate fuel oil #6 consumption on campus by replacing it with natural gas (depending on its future availability in Hamilton, N.Y.). reduce electricity consumption by nearly 5,000,000 kWh reduce fuel oil #2 consumption by over 10,000 gallons reduce gasoline consumption by over 3,000 gallons reduce diesel consumption by 800 gallons reduce water consumption by nearly 6,000,000 gallons reduce landfill waste by over 300 tons reduce paper consumption by over 10,000 pounds reduce food purchasing expenditures by over $100,000 reduce air travel expenditures by nearly $20,000

Continuous monitoring and tracking of our progress is an essential component of Colgate's sustainability program and climate action planning effort. For each sustainability initiative and mitigation strategy identified in this report we have highlighted our milestones, metrics and timelines, and those who will take the lead responsibility in pursuit of those targets. As a result, monitoring and evaluating our progress was not an afterthought but built directly into each strategy. In addition, Colgate will continuously track our progress through: The publication of our annual Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Publication of the Sustainability Office's Annual Sustainability Review. Updating our Sustainability and Climate Action Plan on a routine basis in compliance with the ACUPCC reporting guidelines. Tracking our sustainability "Dashboard Indicators" that offer a snapshot of our progress overtime. Colgate's Dashboard Indicators include: Colgate's annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory in MTeCO2 Total electricity consumption in kWh Fuel oil #6 consumption in gallons Fuel oil #2 consumption in gallons Wood chips consumed in tons Landfill waste generated in short tons Colgate's annual recycling rate Paper consumption in pounds of paper purchased for each type of paper stock (e.g. 30% recycled, 50% recycled, 100% recycled, etc.) Local food purchased measured as a percentage of money spent on food produced within a 250 mile radius.