Accelerating Campus Climate Initiatives

The document outlines a comprehensive framework for accelerating campus climate initiatives, focusing on five key areas: climate action planning, buildings and utilities, renewable energy, transportation, and carbon offsets. It emphasizes 'whole-system thinking' and 'integrative design' to achieve deep energy savings and carbon reductions more cost-effectively than incremental improvements. The guide addresses common barriers such as insufficient capital, lack of technical expertise, and institutional resistance, offering specific financial tools like Revolving Loan Funds and Energy Performance Contracting. It also provides case studies from various U.S. institutions to illustrate successful implementation of energy-efficient retrofits, renewable energy installations, and sustainable transportation programs.

• Energy-efficiency improvements are generally more cost-effective than renewable energy sources because reducing demand on the energy system is less expensive than adding more supply.
• Whole-system thinking and integrative design can allow institutions to 'tunnel through the cost barrier,' where significant energy savings are achieved at a lower total capital cost by downsizing or eliminating necessary mechanical systems.
• Simple payback calculations are inadequate for long-term climate planning; Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) is recommended as it accounts for net present value, future revenue, and all costs over the project's life.
• Revolving Loan Funds (RLFs) provide a sustainable financing mechanism by capturing energy-efficiency savings and reinvesting them into future projects.
• Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) with Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) allows campuses to implement upgrades where the ESCO assumes the financial and technical risk, with repayment coming from guaranteed utility savings.
• Sub-metering is essential for changing behavior and creating financial accountability, as it allows institutions to bill departments based on actual energy use rather than square footage.
• The 'right steps in the right order' for high-performance building design are: define end-use, reduce loads (passive first), maximize system interactions, design for efficiency, meet reduced loads with efficient equipment, use control strategies, use on-site energy, and finally buy offsets.
• Commuting often represents a larger portion of a campus carbon footprint than building operations, particularly at non-residential community colleges.
• Carbon offsets are most credible when used as a small part of a broader strategy after all feasible on-campus efficiency and renewable measures have been exhausted.
• LEED certification can be used as a design process to foster collaboration and system integration, but it does not guarantee the high levels of carbon reduction necessary for climate neutrality.
• Non-profit status prevents colleges from accessing federal tax credits (like PTC and ITC), requiring innovative models such as third-party ownership or the use of Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs).

APA

Kinsley, M., & DeLeon, S. (2009). Accelerating Campus Climate Initiatives. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI_AcceleratingCampusClimateInitiatives.pdf

Chicago

Kinsley, Michael, and Sally DeLeon. Accelerating Campus Climate Initiatives. RMI, 2009. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI_AcceleratingCampusClimateInitiatives.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kinsley |first1=Michael |last2=DeLeon |first2=Sally |title=Accelerating Campus Climate Initiatives |publisher=RMI |date=November 2009 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI_AcceleratingCampusClimateInitiatives.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kinsley2009accelerating, author = {Kinsley, Michael and DeLeon, Sally}, title = {{Accelerating Campus Climate Initiatives}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2009}, month = nov, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI_AcceleratingCampusClimateInitiatives.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }