Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.59
Liaison Chris Bond
Submission Date Oct. 30, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Unity Environmental University
IN-2: Innovation 2

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Steve Kahl
Director of Sustainability
Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Title or keywords related to the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Strategic Plan goal: achieve net zero carbon emissions on campus by 2020.

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:

The Unity College administration and Trustees committed in February 2014 to the campus infrastructure being carbon-neutral by 2020 through on-campus changes in energy sources and use. Early implementation of this plan includes two new net zero carbon residence halls with a third under construction in the fall of 2014 in addition to Unity House which is the only LEED platinum President's home in the US. The full plan has been developed, including modeling carbon emissions, energy reductions, and costs savings to pay for the plan.


A brief description of any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation (if not reported above):

Becoming carbon neutral is readily quantifiable and will be the measurable outcome for this innovation.


A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise:
Which of the following STARS subcategories does the innovation most closely relate to? (Select all that apply up to a maximum of five):
Yes or No
Curriculum No
Research No
Campus Engagement Yes
Public Engagement No
Air & Climate Yes
Buildings Yes
Dining Services No
Energy Yes
Grounds No
Purchasing No
Transportation No
Waste No
Water No
Coordination, Planning & Governance Yes
Diversity & Affordability No
Health, Wellbeing & Work No
Investment No

Other topic(s) that the innovation relates to that are not listed above:
---

The website URL where information about the innovation is available:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/47094730/Appendix%20B.2.%20DRAFT%20Strategic%20Plan%20copy.pdf
+ Date Revised: Dec. 18, 2014

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Unity College was the first college in the US to divest its endowment from fossil fuels. Our focus now is on divesting our campus infrastructure from fossil fuels. We have a net-zero energy President’s home, a certified passively heated 10 student residence hall that costs $200 to heat and will be net-zero energy by the fall of 2014, a new net-zero carbon 70 student residence hall, a solar photo-voltaic power purchase agreement on our library that supplies 80% of its electricity, and five biomass boilers that eliminate reliance on fossil fuels in three buildings. These initiatives are part of a strategic plan approved by the trustees to become carbon neutral by 2020.


Unity College was the first college in the US to divest its endowment from fossil fuels. Our focus now is on divesting our campus infrastructure from fossil fuels. We have a net-zero energy President’s home, a certified passively heated 10 student residence hall that costs $200 to heat and will be net-zero energy by the fall of 2014, a new net-zero carbon 70 student residence hall, a solar photo-voltaic power purchase agreement on our library that supplies 80% of its electricity, and five biomass boilers that eliminate reliance on fossil fuels in three buildings. These initiatives are part of a strategic plan approved by the trustees to become carbon neutral by 2020.

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.