This article is part three of a four-part series detailing DU’s efforts to achieve a sustainable campus, considering past and present accomplishments. Now is the critical time to address global warming and the environmental issues that threaten to spiral into worse disasters like the COVID-19 pandemic. The university is held accountable by informed, engaged and passionate students.
The Dimond Family Residential Village, the Burwell Career Achievement Center and the anticipated Community Commons building are only the most recent manifestations of DU’s long-term vision of a sustainable campus.
Chad King, the executive director for sustainability at DU, was involved in discussions for the new buildings early on. Sustainability requires conscientious planning and cannot be an afterthought.
“Making sure that sustainability is a part of the discussion early and often in our design of buildings and streets is a credit to the collaborative approach that facilities, business and [DU’s] finance [team] have taken,” said King.
One of the sustainable features integrated into campus decades ago is the use of copper for rooftops and new buildings’ exteriors. Mark Rodgers, DU’s campus architect, uses the material in his designs because of its long-term durability.
In the past, the university opted for cheaper rooftop materials, but its short-term functionality and expensive maintenance did not measure up to DU’s long-term standards. As the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region, DU understands the importance of making its buildings last.
“We bought the copper because the university wants the buildings to last for hundreds of years,” said Rodgers. “It doesn’t rust, it resists hail, it doesn’t need paint to protect it from weather and it is recyclable. It is cost-effective in the long-term.”
The copper is a more expensive material, but like many sustainable designs, the upfront costs are worth it in the long run. DU will ultimately save money by avoiding maintenance and replacement fees while investing in a material that can be recycled to earn money back.
DU’s awareness and investments in sustainability decades ago have been integral to the advanced progress the university boasts about today.
Previous DU Chancellor Coombe signed a carbon neutrality commitment in 2008. In 2009, the first sustainability plan was formed by a sustainability council. The first full-time staff was hired in 2012, and the Center for Sustainability launched in the same year.
DU’s goals for 2025 target climate, campus grounds, transportation services, energy, water, food, conscientious purchasing, waste, engagement, curriculum and research and ratings. Some goals are more aggressive than others and will likely not be met, but DU has already accomplished a good number or is on track for them by 2025.
The 2019-2020 sustainability highlight report states that the 2006 goal to cut carbon emissions by 24% was met with a successful 26% reduction. By 2025, DU hopes to achieve a 45% reduction from the 2006 baseline and carbon neutrality by 2050.
The campus’ gross carbon emissions are calculated by analyzing a multitude of contributors. Emissions associated with natural gas use, building heating systems and university transportation vehicle fueling account for 21% of the university’s footprint. The university’s energy purchases make up 36%, and the last 43% is generated by commuting, travel, wastewater treatment and other operations.
Just like DU, the campus’ energy provider, Excel, has committed to being carbon neutral by 2050. The combined efforts of Excel and DU continue to increase the percentage of renewable energy used on campus.
Reducing energy consumption helps to achieve sustainability and carbon neutrality. DU installed LED lights in the Ritchie Center, which is expensive upfront, but the project is expected to make up its cost in a little over two years through energy savings.
The 2016 solar energy project has fulfilled the goal to generate at least 5% of DU’s energy on campus by 2025 four years early. The campus features a solar tree by the engineering building and 7,000 plus solar panels on 18 rooftops.
In 2014, DU also signed the Real Food Challenge, committing to source 20% of dining hall food from sustainably-certified or local sources by 2020. The 2015 baseline only managed to locally source 3% of dining hall food, but Sodexo eventually achieved 20.2% in 2019.
Aquifer depletion and global warming make water efficiency an increasingly critical resource to conserve. Domestic water use on campus has been declining in the last five years, but this last year achieved a 7.2 million gallon decrease. In the last year, DU reduced total campus waste by 213 tons, or 12%, due to a 20.4% diversion to recycling and compost.
The reward of investing in sustainability is multifaceted. It is environmentally responsible, financially appealing in the long-term and socially inspiring to the community.
The university demonstrates a responsible commitment to sustainability by working to address long-term environmental disasters in the critical present. DU must continue to use its prestige, resources and interdisciplinary research to actively shape a healthy world for the generations to come.
