University of Colorado Boulder
PA-2: Commitments and Planning

In 2024, an updated Climate Action Plan (CAP) was issued for the campus. The CAP, overseen by a consulting team and a steering committee comprised of students, faculty and staff, built on a number of master plans that preceded it including the Campus Master Plan, the Transportation Master Plan, the Energy Master Plan and the Housng Master Plan. The CAP Goals are in line with the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi). The campus goals are: 1) a 50% reduction (from 2019 baseline) in Scopes 1 and 2 emissions by 2030; 2) a similar 50% reduction in feasible Scope 3 emissions by 2030; 3) a clear path to a zero emissions target for all categories by no later than 2050. Additional information about the goals can be found at the following website, https://www.colorado.edu/sustainability/climate-action-plan Sustainability goals at the institution level are also reinforced by the CU system strategic plan. One of the pillars in the system plan focuses on sustainability. The Boulder campus regularly reports information to the system, reinforcing the need to make progress and achieve our goals. The CU system plan can be found here, https://www.cu.edu/doc/202203custrat-plan50pdf. This plan requires all campuses to reduce their energy use intensity and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to the goals, the plan also outlines a set of actions steps that can be implemented at each campus, including the Boulder campus.

CU Boulder is externally committed to climate action through their membership in UC3, an organization connecting universities working on climate action. https://secondnature.org/climate-leadership-network/uc3/#commit These universities are work towards goals outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement and "have the opportunity to accelerate climate action efforts on campus, in their communities, and as a global coalition by connecting with counterparts from peer institutions, sharing knowledge and best practices, and collaborating on the development of new resources that help scale action beyond what individual universities can achieve on their own."

CU Boulder is contiuing to develop and advance our sustainability education that addresses teaching, learning, and research. A new core curriculum has been approved that focuses on Sustainable Futures: Self, Society, World. These goals will equip CU Boulder graduates a variety of skills and abilitites to 1) discern their role for a sustainable future, 2) explain the different discipline-specific definitions of and approaches to sustainability and achieving sustainable solutions in collaboration among different disciplines, and 3) articulate how specific actions foster individual well-being, social equity, long-term vitality, and the health of the natural environment. While these overarching goals will be more specific in the future, we are also currently providing a variety of opportunities for students to explore and learn about sustainability. Specifically, students can participate in the Environmental Engineering Program with outcomes such as the following: an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors; an others. Undergraduate and graduate programs are available. More information is available here, (colorado.edu/even/). CU Boulder has a variety of other out of the classroom opportuntiies to engage and learn about sustainability. These include a variety of research opportunities for students specifically investigating climate, energy, and sustainability. As well as micro-credentials focused on climate justice leadership alliance, sustainability innovation, and foundations in sustainable leadership. The foundational course has the following learning objectives: defining sustainability and frameworks; CU's commitment to sustainability; milestones and successes of sustainability initiatives; and making sustainable decisions. 

Yes, the institution has adopted measurable sustainability objectives that address stakeholder engagement. The 2024 Climate Action Plan (CAP) includes a core goal to build a Community Engagement Strategy. This strategy aims to integrate communication, feedback, and reporting and increase transparency with the campus and the broader Boulder community. The plan includes communication, engagement, and reporting mechanisms to support campus operations and emission reduction strategies. As part of this process, campus leadership provided an overview of the CAP to Boulder City Council. This information was also shared with a community audience through the City of Boulder’s “Climate Conversations” program, and was attended by more than 50 community members. It was also presented at Frasier Meadows, a Boulder retirement community. In addition, the plan was shared with community members via email, with a prompt for feedback.

Additionally, the University invested in the Buy Local program supports sustainability goals by reducing transportation emissions, as goods are sourced closer to the point of sale, thereby decreasing the carbon footprint associated with long-distance shipping. Buy Local programs strengthen the local economy by supporting regional businesses and often leads to more sustainable and environmentally friendly production practices due to shorter supply chains and more localized regulatory oversight.

Lastly, the University is investing in sites in South Boulder and nearby Louisville to address in-commuting challenges. The Louisville site includes an RTD stop, a 14-minute bus ride from main campus. This will help create transit orientated housing for faculty and staff to reduce carbon footprint, create community and for better utilization of public transportation.

The campus has a number of objectives that address campus operations. These can be found in a variety of plans, including the Campus Master Plan, the Energy Master Plan, and the Climate Action Plan. The Campus Master Plan outlines the sustainability framework which has a number of objectives, including the following energy specific objectives: 1) De-carbonize campus facility-tied energy use by 2050 through transition to clean thermal energy and implementation of a financially viable mix of on-site and regional clean electricity; 2) Increase campus energy efficiency: reduce energy use intensity by an average of 2% per year; 3) Reduce facility energy emissions: target zero energy emissions by 2050; 4) Enhance critical mission resilience. The Campus Master Plan also addresses objectives related to mobility, ecosystems, resiliency, health and wellness, materials and supply chain, equitable impacts, and water systems. The objectives in these areas include the following: 1) Ecosystems [Promoting biohabitat diversity, native plant species, and pollinators; increase size of tree canopy on our campuses by early
implementation of a tree planting plan, coordinated with future development plans]; 2) Resiliency [Design of landscapes for flooding, particularly along seasonally-active creeks]; 3) Health and Wellness [Design of landscape for outdoor thermal comfort, designation of outdoor spaces to support health and wellness, encouraging movement by promoting walking and cycling/micro-mobility, designing buildings to allow natural light and connection with outdoor spaces]; 4) Materials/Supply Chain [Consideration of embodied carbon and health impacts in the use of building and landscape materials]; 5) Equitable Impacts [Design of public spaces for gathering and collaborating, promoting universal design and enhanced accessibility throughout all campuses]. The Campus Master Plan was most recently published in 2021 and is the responsibility of the Infrastructure and Resilience Division. However, there are many collaborative partners that support the campus operations, including the Division of Student Affairs, the Finance and Business Strategy Division, Public Safety, and Health and Wellness Services. The full plan can be found here, https://www.colorado.edu/masterplan/media/66. The Campus Master Plan also integrates several other plans including the Strategic Facilities Visioning, the Transportation Master Plan, the Housing Master Plan, the Energy Master Plan, and the Specialized Laboratory Instructure - Supplemental Study. 
The campus Energy Master Plan also has clear objectives to reduce GHG emissions by 2050 but the specific metrics that will be calculated and measured include 1) percent of electricity generated by on-site clean energy sources, 2) percent of total energy generated by on-site clean energy sources, and 3) total percent of energy demand met by clean sources. The Energy Master Plan can be found here: https://www.colorado.edu/masterplan/sites/default/files/attached-files/cub-empappendices_2022-0214.pdf.

CU Boulder adheres to the CU System 2021-2026 Strategic Plan. Listed in there are 4 action steps towards Boulder New Student Diversity. 1) Increase outreach (in person, digital, publications, CRM) to underrepresented stuents and veterans through enhanced campus partnerships. 2) Use of College Board's Segment Analysis Service (Landscape) and predicitve analytics in ODA to continuously build the top of the recruitment funnel. 3) Enhance recruitment partnerships academic programs. 4) Continue to enhance the recruitment Veteran and Military Affairs and programs external to CU Boulder that serve veteran students and further develop recruitment strategies to increase the number of veteran affairs. Additionally, CU Boulder's action planning as part of the shared equity leadership model include goals to work towards greater equity and inclusion. The interactive dashboard where progress can be tracked across campus is found at https://www.colorado.edu/leadershipsupport/action-plan/action-planning-status and includes 5 goals: 1) Employee Skills & Development 2) Student Achievement Outcomes 3) Community Building 4) Employee Recruitment Outcomes 5) Preparing Students for Participating in a Diverse Democracy https://www.colorado.edu/leadershipsupport/five-goals

The 2024 CU Boulder Climate Action Plan includes funding suggestions for the strategies listed throughout including General Strategy, Renewable Energy, Vehicle Fleet and Infrastructure, Energy Efficiency, and Central Utility Plant. Found on page 112 of the Climate Action Plan. Additionally, in the Fiscal Strength section of the CU System Strategic Plan, CU Boulder has 2026 commitments to converting 17% of its bus fleet to battery electric buses and to increase renewable energy mix within campus energy portfolio by 2%.

Brian Lindoerfer, Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Management Infrastructure & Resilience participates on the City of Boulder and Xcel Energy - Energy Partnership Community Advisory Panel. The panel's role is to ensure that the activities being undertaken as part of the Partnership Agreement support the vision, guiding princip.es and goals of the Partnership agreement and result in the use of energy resources to bridge the gap between Xcel Energy's Colorado's 2030 goal of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions for 2005 levels, and Boulder 2030 goal of 100% renewable electricity within the city. The Advisory Panel reviews and discusses energy-related issues of shared importance to Xcel Energy-Colorado and the City of Boulder, including but not limited to decarbonization of Boulder's electricity supply, energy efficiency and demand-side management programs, resiliency and distributed energy resources for Boulder customers and other local and state-wide initiatives that are related to the goals set forth within the Partnership Agreement to advise Project Oversight Team.

The Energy Master Plan, published in February 2022, established a goal to enhance energy resilience for mission critical facilities, research and operations. Three focus areas were identified that the campus is striving to achieve: including energy resilience into campus design standards, increasing on-site energy generation and storage, improving and advancing the campus microgrid.