MAPPING A PATHWAY TO LOW-CARBON CAMPUSES

The document outlines a framework for universities to transition to low-carbon campuses by focusing on three pillars: people, policy, and plan. It emphasizes assembling multidisciplinary teams, aligning investment policies with life cycle cost analysis, and adopting an iterative planning process. Key strategies include implementing portfolio-wide energy efficiency measures before building-specific deep retrofits, leveraging 'incremental costs' during planned maintenance, and reducing peak loads to downsize central plant equipment. The guide advocates for moving beyond 'business-as-usual' practices to maximize the economic and environmental impact of carbon-reduction initiatives.

• Effective climate action plans require a multidisciplinary team with specific skill sets in building energy analysis, economic evaluation, financing, and knowledge of campus systems. The guide suggests mapping these needs and exploring partnerships with external research, industry, and nonprofit organizations to fill gaps.
• Universities should move away from simple-payback or return-on-investment calculations in favor of life cycle-cost analysis (LCCA). LCCA provides a more comprehensive view by accounting for the time value of money and expenditures over a project's lifetime, which can make projects appear financially viable that would otherwise be rejected.
• Standardizing and strengthening contracts through Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and performance-reward pools can align incentives between owners and contractors. This approach encourages integrated design and holds teams accountable for actual energy performance targets.
• Baselines for carbon reduction must be projected into the future (business-as-usual) rather than just measuring current emissions. This projection must account for planned growth in building area, student population, and changes in carbon emissions from energy sources.
• When selecting renewable energy strategies, campuses should evaluate three primary options: renewable energy credits (RECs), on-site generation (such as rooftop PV), and off-site power purchase agreements (PPAs). These should be weighed against the cost of energy efficiency measures to identify the most cost-effective path to carbon reduction.
• A 'portfolio-wide' approach to energy conservation measures (ECMs) is often more economically advantageous than building-by-building retrofits because it allows for faster deployment and greater accumulated savings. The guide recommends a process of 'kick starting' with low-cost, high-return measures across the campus before moving to deep, building-specific retrofits.
• Climate action plans should be treated as living, iterative documents. Spending less time on the initial plan and establishing feedback loops to refine targets based on actual project results reduces 'data-analysis paralysis' and increases the accuracy of the plan over time.
• Reducing building loads (e.g., through better envelopes or LED lighting) can lead to 'tunneling through the cost barrier' by reducing the peak demand on the central plant. This allows universities to avoid expensive infrastructure expansions or install smaller, cheaper equipment during replacement cycles.
• Universities can significantly improve the ROI of energy upgrades by utilizing 'incremental costs.' By aligning efficiency projects with planned maintenance or equipment failures, the university only pays the additional cost of the high-efficiency upgrade over the cost of a standard replacement.

APA

McClurg, C., Schiller, C., & Keuhn, P. (n.d.). MAPPING A PATHWAY TO LOW-CARBON CAMPUSES. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/03/CampusGuide_Digital-V6.pdf

Chicago

McClurg, Chris, Craig Schiller, and Philip Keuhn. MAPPING A PATHWAY TO LOW-CARBON CAMPUSES. RMI, n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/03/CampusGuide_Digital-V6.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=McClurg |first1=Chris |last2=Schiller |first2=Craig |last3=Keuhn |first3=Philip |title=MAPPING A PATHWAY TO LOW-CARBON CAMPUSES |publisher=RMI |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/03/CampusGuide_Digital-V6.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mcclurgndmapping, author = {McClurg, Chris and Schiller, Craig and Keuhn, Philip}, title = {{MAPPING A PATHWAY TO LOW-CARBON CAMPUSES}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/03/CampusGuide_Digital-V6.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }