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Written by: Dan Merica
Published on January 15, 2010, Bentley University: A Plan for Carbon Neutrality sets Bentley on a path towards complete carbon neutrality by 2030. The plan, which solicited contributions from a large cross-section of the Bentley community, is being spearheaded by the Manager of Sustainability Amanda Navarroli and Bentley’s Sustainability Task Force.
The plan takes a three-pronged approach to physically cutting carbon emissions, first with the process known as retro-commissioning. “We have a really aging building population here on campus,” said Navarroli. By retro-commissioning these buildings, Navarroli said that Bentley will go back into the buildings to “make sure they are still behaving the way they have been intended too.”
According to the plan, “Bentley could possibly reduce fossil fuel consumption by 5 percent and use of electricity by 3 percent” by retro-commissioning our on-campus buildings.
Bentley will also continue to participate with heat recovery and ventilation controls through upgrades that are already in progress and will continue. According to Navarroli, the benefits from these upgrades will be seen in 2012 and onwards.
Concerns have been expressed over some of the heating practices used in the past, with students crying foul at the practice of regulating heat and air based on the outside temperature and the time of day.
“I guess it’s an effective way to go green,” said senior Nicole Crupi. “But I still don’t think they should just because I am cold all the time.”
When asked whether there will be any controls of heat and air to on-campus housing under this plan, Navarroli stated, “Absolutely not. The technologies that we are trying to put into our buildings now are supposed to make students more comfortable. That’s the goal.”
“It’s unfortunate that students really feel like this is going to be something that is done at the expense of their comfort…” said Navarroli, stressing the importance for her and her coworkers to remember that “students live here, they don’t just work here.”
In addition, Bentley plans to purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs), investments that allow an entity like Bentley to pay a higher premium per kilowatt of energy, while at the same time investing in the renewable energy market of the United States.
It is assumed that with increased investment, over time the prevalence of renewable energy sources will rise, forcing the price of energy to go down.
While a great deal of effort and attention is being given to making Bentley carbon neutral, when compared to other colleges and universities in the area, Bentley produces lower emissions.
In the 2007-2008 academic year, the total net emissions of green house gases at Bentley were 21,944 metric tons of CO2 equivalent, a number that breaks down to 4.4 metric tons of CO2 equivalent per full-time student. This compares favorably to other schools in the area, with Brandeis University producing 7.6 metric tons of CO2 equivalent, and Babson College producing 5.6 metric tons of CO2 equivalent.
The carbon neutrality plan came after Bentley’s President Gloria Larson signed the President Climate Commitment in 2007, an agreement between 668 signatory colleges and universities that mandates attention to carbon emissions.
The commitment asks college presidents to “initiate the development of a comprehensive plan to achieve climate neutrality as soon as possible,” a task that Bentley completed with the completion of the January 15, 2010 plan.
According t the plan, the mission is “to raise the environmental consciousness of the Bentley University faculty, staff and students by instilling sustainability principles into campus culture through educational activities that take place outside of the formal classroom.”
The goal laden plan provides missions and targets for certain types of programming to create awareness and educate the Bentley population, as well as to stress sustainability in offices from Service Learning to Career Services.
While the plan holds Bentley to a high standard in terms of its plans for future carbon neutrality, Navarroli was clear in stating that this plan is a “living” document with the ability to be changed and updated over time.
“I think it is very important for people to remember that this is just a list of ideas,” said Navarroli. “It’s really important to remember that there are some things that may not be feasible. They are great ideas and we have definitely tried to put stress tests on them to make sure they are reasonable, but we may learn they aren’t feasible and that is why we can change them at any time,” she continued.
This plan makes it clear that Bentley, with the help of Navarroli and the Sustainability Task Force, is serious about carbon neutrality by 2030. In saying that, Navarroli concluded by stressing how important including the entire community was.
“Encouraging Students, Faculty and Staff to become engaged in solving environmental issues on campus is imperative” reads the plan, “…and will ensure that Bentley’s sustainability efforts are not simply the actions of a small group of administrators but the accomplishments of the entire community.”
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