Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 60.66
Liaison Enid Cardinal
Submission Date March 30, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Rochester Institute of Technology
IN-27: Innovation D

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Enid Cardinal
Senior Sustainability Advisor to the President
Office of the President
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Campus Carbon Sequestration Inventory

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:

Through capstone projects and soils classes, RIT has been analyzing the carbon sequestration of the various soil types on campus. The goal of this effort is to establish a baseline for current carbon sequestration on campus and identify opportunities to increase sequestration to help the university meet is climate commitment goals. Through this project, RIT students used techniques and skills from various classes and projects such as GIS, remote sensing, mathematical modeling, and field ecology, to develop a regression equation that allows our team to determine the amount of carbon stored at any location on campus based on soil type and land cover. This will also help the institute with land-use decision making, as it can estimate how much carbon will be lost when new buildings are built in various areas on campus. This group also laid the ground work for future capstone projects – long-term study plots were established to study carbon storage patterns over many years. Students also conducted outreach events, and adapted their methods to make them suitable for young scientists and teachers who may not have the same access to technology and equipment. For more information, please find attached the students’ final project report.


Which of the following impact areas does the innovation most closely relate to? (select up to three):
Research
Air & Climate
Grounds

A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise or a press release or publication featuring the innovation :
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The attached file is the most recent capstone report, which was completed in December 2017.


The attached file is the most recent capstone report, which was completed in December 2017.

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.