As we start the summer, I’m encouraged by our accomplishments of the past academic year and even more excited about what’s to come.
Over the past few months we’ve completed UW’s first comprehensive Greenhouse Gas Inventory, introduced a proposal to reduce the University’s emissions from air travel, started the process of creating the next Sustainability Action Plan and much more.
Our team has also grown over the past few months. I’m pleased to introduce three new UW Sustainability staff members: Campus Sustainability Fund Program Director Danny Arguetty; Planning and Policy Specialist Lauren Schultz; and Sustainability and Project Engagement Specialist Emily Adams. The energy and expertise they bring will allow us to expand our efforts and build stronger connections across all our campuses.
This Spring we released UW’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory. This report was the first time the UW has quantified the emissions connected to our purchased goods and services. It gave us a new understanding of the full picture of our University’s emissions, allowing us to identify opportunities to work toward a zero-carbon future. Work is underway on decarbonizing our largest source of direct emissions through the Energy Transformation Strategy which will transition the Seattle campus heating system from natural gas to electricity.
I’m proud to report that as of July 1, UW has a new Green Building Standard, expanding the sustainability requirements for new construction and renovation projects. The Standard establishes specific targets relating to energy and water conservation, embodied carbon in building materials, health & wellness, ecological protection and equity. It also prohibits new fossil fuel use as a primary energy source, and lays out a required Life Cycle Cost Analysis for capital projects and HVAC equipment. It reinforces alignment of the UW's capital projects with state and local requirements as well as our sustainability goals.
This fall, our sustainability team will kick-off an 18 month strategic planning process to develop UW’s new Sustainability Action Plan for the tri-campus. The new Sustainability Action Plan establishes the 2050 goals the UW will work toward across all aspects of sustainability, and will include key strategies and actions to implement the Plan. We’ll be reaching out to our UW community of staff, faculty, students and partners throughout the upcoming year to listen to your ideas as we determine the priorities and actions for the next five years and beyond.
Engagement for UW’s new Action Plan will be complimented by a new UW Sustainability initiative to better connect with students across our tri-campus on campus sustainability initiatives. This brand new student group called HuES, or Huskies for Equitable Sustainability, will kick off this fall and is open to ALL students across the three UW campuses.
For everyone interested in staying informed and engaged in the development of UW’s new Sustainability Action Plan, there will be many ways to connect with the planning process throughout the upcoming year. such as focus groups, working committees, surveys and input sessions. We’ll have information on our website and blog, and you can sign up for our newsletter to make sure you hear about the different opportunities.
A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you across our tri-campus and beyond for your partnership in the efforts outlined above, and for everything you do to address sustainability at UW. We have accomplished a lot over the past year together, and there’s much more to come!
Lisa Dulude
UW Sustainability Director