Sustainable Clark publishes ‘Climate Action Plan Update: 2016’

Clark University has tracked Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions since 2008. In 2015, we met and passed the goals of our Climate Action Plan — it was a landmark year in the Plan, the year of our interim goal to reduce emissions by 20 percent below baseline. This interim goal was actually achieved in 2010 and has not been exceeded since. The University has no other interim goals between now and our commitment to net zero emissions by 2030.

Total 2016 emissions were up 2 percent from total 2015 emissions that cannot be directly attributed to a articular causal factor. Total GHG emissions in 2016 were 13,368.1 MTCO2e, and total 2015 GHG emissions were 13,123.2 MTCO2e.

Clark’s largest GHG emission source is fuel used to produce heat and electricity, followed by fuel use from faculty and staff commuting and air travel.

Clark has reduced total emissions more than 35 percent since the 2005 base year. However, on our current path, we are not on target to meet our ultimate Climate Action Plan goal of carbon neutrality (zero emissions) by 2030.

From the Climate Action Plan Update: 2016, just published by Sustainable Clark: “Although we have reached and to date retained our interim goal, it is clear that business as usual for the next 14 years will not achieve the end goal of the Climate Action Plan. Continued expansion of the University, combined with continuing unstable weather patterns, make achieving our 2030 goal of carbon neutrality extremely challenging without addressing significant behavioral, habitual and technological inputs as a community, and without investing in them financially, operationally and personally.”

To learn more about what Clark’s sustainability initiatives are, visit Sustainable Clark.

Jenny Isler, MBA
Director of Sustainability

Elizabeth Kubacki
, MBA/M.S. (Environmental Science and Policy) ’18
Graduate Assistant, Sustainable Clark