President’s Blog
SOU Goes Green
May 14, 2007
As we worked on our budget issues this past winter, several students came to see me. Their goal was to have SOU known as a campus that stresses sustainability, a campus dedicated to building a sustainable future through education and example.
Delighted with their focus and enthusiasm, I created a Sustainability Council (see membership below), a university-wide group that advises me and the Executive Council in matters relating to sustainability and environmental impact; promotes environmental stewardship; coordinates efforts of individuals and groups on campus; and educates the campus community about sustainable practices.
The Council immediately got into action, collaborating with Students for a Sustainable Future (SSF), a student coalition dedicated to encouraging green energy use on campus. The Green Energy Fee referendum is the result of months of research and work.
Working with SOU Facilities Management, the students determined the amount of energy used at SOU in 2006. Jared Fuhriman, Utility Plant Supervisor, acquired electricity and natural gas data for the entire campus over the past year: 13,764,855 kilowatt-hours of electricity and 969,464 therms of natural gas.
Next, they worked with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to calculate that 21,872 Green Tags, or renewable energy certificates (RECs), would be needed to offset SOU’s kilowatt-hour usage, plus the carbon dioxide emitted by natural gas consumption. One Green Tag represents 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity produced by a renewable energy facility like a wind farm or solar project.
Once the energy data and offsets were calculated, SSF created a petition statement and a formal proposal in order to have the Green Energy Fee referendum added to the ballot during annual spring elections for student government.
Over the course of four weeks, SSF acquired over 650 signatures, far exceeding the minimum number of 500 signatures needed create a campuswide Green Energy Fee vote. The signatures were certified by the University, and the Green Energy Fee Referendum was added to the ballot.
The vote was 85 percent in favor of the Green Energy Fee. The fee will offset 100 percent of SOU's energy consumption, including electricity and natural gas used to power all University facilities.
With this vote, SOU becomes the first Oregon campus to offset all of its electricity and natural gas with renewable energy added to the grid. We immediately received positive publicity, with articles in USA Today and other publications.
By passing the Green Energy Fee with a majority of the voting student body, SOU demonstrates its commitment to curb the advance of climate change, build a clean energy infrastructure, and encourage regional economic development. It also establishes SOU as a leader in sustainability for our community and for other universities.
I am so delighted with the student leadership for this initiative. One student leader of this effort was Laura Rost, who has won the Oregon Campus Compact Faith Gabelnick statewide Student Leadership Award and was honored at a luncheon in Portland last month.
We have a student body that is committed to civic engagement. Civic engagement is one of SOU’s distinctive characteristics—and one reason SOU has joined the Talloires Network, a group of more than 200 institutions worldwide that demonstrate their collective commitment to civic education.
The Sustainability Council will continue to work with students, faculty, staff, and community groups to promote conservation of natural resources and the creation of sustainable practices and programs on campus. With their help, we can do our part as a campus to create a sustainable future for us all.
Thanks to everyone for their hard work and support of this effort.
Mary Cullinan
Sustainability Council
Eric Dittmer, Director of Environmental Studies/Associate Professor of Geology (Council Chair)
Jonathan Eldridge, Vice President for Student Affairs
Larry Blake, Associate Vice President for Facilities Management and Planning
Jared Fuhriman, Utility Plant Supervisor
Dee Perez, Director of Community-Based Learning
Steve Schein, Assistant Professor, School of Business
William Smith, Associate Vice President for Residential Education and Services
Tom Marvin, retired Physics faculty
Alex Golden, Student
Laura Rost, Student
