(Credit: Dickinson College)Pennsylvania-based Dickinson College announced it has achieved what fewer than 10 colleges and universities in the nation have accomplished—it is carbon neutral—a goal established in 2007, when the college became an early signatory of the Presidents Climate Leadership Commitments and shortly after resolved to reduce its net carbon emissions to zero by the year 2020. It is the first college in Pennsylvania to achieve carbon neutrality and has led sustainability rankings in higher education throughout the pursuit of neutrality.
Dickinson achieved its carbon neutrality goal by cutting its own greenhouse gas emissions 25% from its 2008 levels and financing emission reductions by others through the purchase of carbon offsets. From this year forward, all the activities included in the college's carbon footprint—like heating and cooling the campus, use of vehicles and air travel—will result in zero net emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
"The single biggest project we've done to reduce our carbon emissions is our 3-megawatt solar field, which has reduced 10% of our total carbon emissions," said Ken Shultes, associate vice president for sustainability and facilities planning. "Dickinson is also part of the largest solar power purchasing agreement among independent colleges in the nation. In total, Dickinson's solar projects account for more than 65% of the college's electricity consumption."
The college concentrated on efficiency improvements to heating, cooling and electrical systems across campus, reducing its energy use per square foot of building space by more than 10%, even as the campus grew by about 15% over the decade. This achievement was assisted by designing new buildings to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold or Platinum standards. Dickinson also focused on encouraging sustainable behaviors among students, faculty and staff through education and outreach programs. On the sustainable transportation front, Dickinson added three dual-port electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on campus in 2020 to support the purchase and use of these low-emission vehicles by the extended college community.
Dickinson is an award-winning national leader in sustainability education and best practices. In addition to receiving accolades from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), The Princeton Review, Sierra Magazine and others, the college has trained faculty from partner institutions on teaching about climate change and received a major grant from NASA for this work. Dozens of projects and initiatives on and off campus connect sustainability projects to the classroom and community.
In January, Colorado College announced it had achieved carbon neutrality, becoming the first in the Rocky Mountain region to do so.
