State University of New York at Fredonia
PAE-5: Climate Plan

• The possibility of incorporating the Architecture 2030 Challenge into the plan, which requires all new buildings to be carbon neutral by 2030.

New York State Executive Order No. 24, dated Aug 6, 2009 requires the state to reduce its energy consumption and improve energy efficiency by 35 percent in its buildings by 2015.

• In the design, construction, operation and maintenance of new buildings the fund and SUNY shall follow guidelines for the construction of “Green Buildings” including guidelines set by the U.S. Green Buildings Council’s LEED™ Rating System.
• Achieve a 20 percent improvement in energy efficiency performance for new buildings and 10 percent improvement for substantial renovations.
• Selection of energy efficient products when acquiring new or replacing energy-using equipment.
• All new buildings affected by the Executive Order must comply with the criteria from the Green Building Tax Credit, Indoor Air Quality Testing, and Indoor Air Quality Management Plan during construction and commissioning.

• Environmental Studies Program – As a complement to our Environmental Sciences program, the Academics Subcommittee has developed an Environmental Studies program. Distinct from the Environmental Sciences program, the Environmental Studies program is intentionally focused upon the social science and humanities aspects of environmental issues and concerns. Drawing from the same core program, the Environmental Studies program (as currently proposed) entails three possible tracks for the degree. One of the tracks is a Social Science-based program, while the second is a Humanities-based program. The third option is a self-design track. This program will be submitted to the University Senate in Fall 2010 for approval with an anticipated starting date of Fall 2011.
• Sustainability Certification Program – Working with the Office of Student Affairs, the Academics Subcommittee plans to develop a Sustainability Certification Program that would be open to all students on the SUNY Fredonia campus. With the certification program, all students, regardless of their major, could earn a Sustainability Certificate to complement their degree by taking a specified number of sustainability (“green”) courses. This program would be modeled after the Leadership Program already in existence. Such programs allow our campus unique (albeit voluntary) graduation requirements without SUNY-wide system modifications.
• Highlighted “Green” Courses within Course Offerings – Working with the Office of the Registrar, the Academics Subcommittee is looking to differentiate sustainability (i.e., “green”) courses within course offerings. All registration and course offerings are now only available through online sources. By assigning courses a sustainability attribute, they could easily be identified within this online system (e.g., they could be listed with a green, rather than black, ink color). This attribute could easily be assigned to our current listing of sustainability courses, but the Academics Subcommittee needs to determine a list of standards for assigning this course distinction. Part of the intent in creating this differentiation is to encourage more professors to integrate sustainability into their curriculum. Instructors would complete a request form (to be reviewed by the Academics Subcommittee) to have their course designated a “green” course. This process would be modeled after the College Core Curriculum course designation program already in existence on our campus.
• Sustainability Resource Center – Over the past few years, largely owing to the Earth Week series of events, SUNY Fredonia has acquired a significant number of resources with a focus upon sustainability, such as environmental films with public/institutional viewing rights. The Academics Subcommittee plans to work with the Director of Library Services to create a separate archive of materials focused on sustainability. This Sustainability Resource Center would highlight the importance of sustainability, as well as the campus’ commitment to it.
• Student/Course Executed Campus Green House Gas (GHG) Inventory – In order to fulfill our Campus Climate Commitment, as well as to monitor our own progress with regard to our sustainability goals, there is a need to continually monitor and track our greenhouse gas emissions. The Academics Subcommittee views this need as possessing huge potential with regard to student learning outcomes. We intend to investigate this idea further, hopefully being able to identify a course within which a yearly greenhouse gas audit would be integrated into the curriculum. Such a merging of monitoring with campus course offerings could prove to be a model for additional associations.
• Student Lifestyle Education – It is the goal of the Student Activities Subcommittee to educate new SUNY Fredonia students on campus sustainability efforts and their involvement. This education may include providing students with information during orientation and incorporating sustainability into Resident Assistant programs in the residence halls.

Using Sustainable Vendors – SUNY Fredonia’s Purchasing Department is committed to educating campus faculty and staff about identifying vendors committed to sustainability. When choosing a vendor, the Purchasing Department looks at how a company is run, the types of products they sell, the location of the company and distance to campus, and even the packaging they use. By educating faculty and staff, the Purchasing Department is not only promoting the use of environmentally responsible products, but also supporting businesses with similar ideals. The Food Subcommittee has begun to look at using vendors committed to sustainability with a goal of increasing money spent by a minimum of 1 percent annually.