Nova Scotia Community College
OP-2: Outdoor Air Quality

Cycling Staff and students are encouraged to use alternative means of transportation, including bicycling to the campus. All NSCC campuses have designated areas for staff and students to lock their bicycles. The metro campuses, as well as many of the rural campuses, provide shower facilities. Carpooling Carpooling is offered at various campuses across the province. Carpool passes are available at a discounted rate. Three students/employees are required in order to qualify for a carpool pass. At every campus, there is a carpool bulletin board outside of the Student Association office. The board has signup sheets where students can match up with people travelling from their area. All students can also sign up for NSCC social networking. Through this social network site, they can connect with other students looking to carpool. http://www.nsccstudentassociation.ca/. Idle Free NSCC has been an active participant in the Idle Free Campaign since 2009. Idle free signage provided by DriveWiser is posted in the Shipping & Receiving areas as well as drop off points on the campus. U-Pass Student Bus Pass Universal bus passes (U-Pass) from Halifax Transit are provided to all full-time students at our Akerley, Aviation, IT and Waterfront campuses. This system encourages students to take public transportation. The U-Pass lets students ride Halifax Transit buses, ferries, and Community Transit buses from September to May. In addition to regular ferry and bus routes, U-Pass holders are also permitted to use Halifax Transit's "Park & Ride" lots (with the exception of the Woodside Ferry lot) to park for free, and catch the bus from there. Find out more about the U-Pass at NSCC. Car Share Halifax Our NSCC IT Campus in Halifax has a CarShareHFX fleet vehicle on campus. It is available for any member of CarShare to use. It can be used by students or staff members of the CarShare program as well as CarShare members in the community. Visit Carshare Halifax for more information. Telecommuting College employees are encouraged to use video conference, conference calling or other communication tools in lieu of travelling when reasonable and feasible to do so. The following is taken from the NSCC Travel and Reimbursement Policy, August 31, 2011: “College employees are encouraged to use the most economical form of travel when reasonable and feasible, and when the use of video conference, conference calling or other communication tools is not an option.”

After investigating equipment with significant air emissions for stationary campus sources such as boilers, and generators, an analysis was completed using fuel records for all in-use equipment. Emission calculations were based on AP-42 conversion factors for relevant pollutants. Metric tons of fuel oil, natural gas, and propane used were used to calculate corresponding air emissions.

In the last three years, aging oil-fired boilers at NSCC's Akerley, IT, and Pictou Campuses have been replaced with modern, highly efficient, natural gas boilers, which greatly reduce the amount of GHG emissions at these sites. NSCC will continue to replacing aging boiler systems with higher efficiency models as funding permits. Additionally, NSCC has recently begun building envelope upgrades at campuses in order to improve efficiency and reduce heat loss. Akerley Campus has undergone a full curtain wall upgrade over the last 3 years, and most recently Lunenburg Campus has received SIF funding to renovate its exterior walls. In January, 2016 NSCC joined the University and College Presidents Climate Change Statement of Action for Canada, which focuses on the responsibility of of universities and colleges to reduce emissions as well as opportunities to accelerate larger solutions beyond our campuses.