The emissions reduction came alongside the addition of 363,630 square feet of building space, including the new Frick Chemistry Laboratory, the new Fields Center, Lewis Library and the new Butler College buildings.
The Sustainability Plan adopted by the University in 2008 aims to restore campus carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The goal is to reduce emissions to 95,000 metric tons per year, a 16 percent decrease from the 113,000 metric tons currently emitted.
Executive Vice President Mark Burstein said the early decrease in carbon dioxide emissions comes as a pleasant surprise. “I didn’t expect to be as far along as we are on decreasing CO2 emissions this early in the plan,” he said. “I’m pleased to see so much progress in that area.”
The University plans to achieve its emissions target through on-campus reductions directly rather than purchasing offsets, an approach Burstein called “extremely ambitious.” The goal would likely require a reduction in utility usage of roughly 25 percent, and the University plans to invest $45 million in energy-saving projects by 2017.
Burstein said that much of the sustainability efforts of the past year were aimed at improving the efficiency of campus heating and cooling systems. The University spent $4.3 million on energy conservation projects in the 2009-10 academic year, including improvements to steam traps in the tunnels that heat and cool the campus, the exhaust system at Princeton’s cogeneration plant, and campus lighting.
Apart from the progress made in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the University has also reduced waste and improved water conservation and transportation efficiency, according to the report.
“I was surprised at how much tray-free dining has reduced food waste and food production in the dining halls,” Burstein said. The tray-free initiative — which may reduce water and energy costs by $4,000 a year — will be expanded next year to include Whitman, the only dining hall that still uses trays.
Princeton’s dining halls currently send all food waste to a local pig farmer. Total food waste in 2009 amounted to 892 tons. Local food purchases — defined as within 250 miles of campus — increased to 52 percent in 2010 from 27 percent in 2007.
In the coming year, the University aims to expand the U-Bikes program and provide a permanent location for the WeCar program, both of which would reduce the need for students to use personal cars. The student-run U-Bikes program has a 350-person waiting list this year, according to the report.
Other goals include installing low-flow toilet fixtures in all buildings and centralizing campus waste collection.
The University is also in the process of obtaining public approval for a system of sidewalks on the east side of campus to encourage graduate students and faculty to walk to campus, Burstein said.
Public energy kiosks will also be installed in Butler College and in the atrium of the new Frick Chemistry Laboratory to raise awareness about the efforts.
Student leadership has been invaluable to the sustainability effort, Burstein noted. “I would argue that students are the leaders in the change in behavior that has to happen on campus to meet our goals,” he said.
Karen Krieb ’12, who leads Eco-Reps, said that it is “very important” for sustainability to be a campus-wide effort. “I think that sustainability is becoming more and more of a community value here,” she said.
Eco-Reps, one of 16 student groups involved in sustainability through the Princeton Environmental Network, has grown to include 25 students from six students in 2008. The bulk of its efforts focus on recycling programs, like cell phone recycling in Frist Campus Center, plastic bag recycling in laundry rooms and the recycling program at Reunions.
On the academic end, the number of students getting an environmental studies certificate has tripled since 2002.
“Overall, we’re on track to meet our stated goals, but there’s a lot of work left to do,” Burstein said.
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