JMU CLIMATE ACTION REPORT UPDATE 1, DECEMBER 2012

JMU CLIMATE ACTION REPORT UPDATE 1, DECEMBER 2012
I. Background
James Madison University (JMU) is a public, master’s level university located in
Harrisonburg, Virginia. The campus community consists of over 19,000 students and
about 2,700 faculty and staff members. We educate students, conduct research and
scholarship, and serve our community. Our mission statement reads, “We are a
community committed to preparing students to be educated and enlightened citizens
who lead productive and meaningful lives.” All divisions of the university are charged
with a responsibility for environmental stewardship via JMU’s 18th defining
characteristic (adopted in 2009): “The university will be an environmentally literate
community whose members think critically and act, individually and collectively, as
model stewards of the natural world.” This formal commitment grew out of strong
faculty and student interest that was recognized by senior leadership and empowered
first as a committee, then as a President’s Commission, and finally as a Presidential
priority.
A campus administrative office for environmental stewardship, the Office of
Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability (OESS), was created in 2008 to
coordinate environmental stewardship efforts across campus and advocate for
priorities. Over eighty faculty, staff, student, and local government staff representatives
serve on environmental stewardship committees that inform and support the OESS. The
committees are led by an Executive Council of senior administrators, and the OESS
executive director reports to the council. The committees and council are collectively
referred to as the Institute for Stewardship of the Natural World.
JMU’s 2010 Climate Action Report includes many more details on the background and
structure of the campus environmental stewardship initiative. The report also highlights
accomplishments. At the time of that report, JMU had trayless dining, efficient washing
machines in the residence halls, 19% renewable energy from waste-to-energy and
biodiesel use, and free on-campus and local transit for students and employees. A
transportation demand manager position was added and an engineering major with
a focus on sustainability was launched.
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II. Progress Summary For 2010-2012
This document discusses progress and revisions since the 2010 report. Noteworthy JMU
environmental achievements include diverting more waste to a composting program,
transforming campus transportation, implementing environmental policies, adopting
student environmental literacy learning outcomes and an assessment, fostering
student-led environment programs, integrating environmental stewardship across the
curriculum, creating an employee conservation program, and greening operations.
Integration into the planning process, cross-divisional collaboration, and stakeholder
support at all levels are keys to success. JMU was named to the Princeton Review's
Guides to Green Colleges and has received two Governor’s Awards for Environmental
Excellence. In campus-wide surveys, 77% of JMU students perceive JMU as either a
“leader” or “improved in its commitment” to environmental issues. 76% of the students
report that thoughts on environmental issues have led them to make at least some
change in lifestyle.
III. Detailed Progress Report For 2010-2012
The JMU Environmental Stewardship Action Plan (ESAP) was adopted to guide JMU’s
environmental stewardship progress from 2011-2015. The ESAP is organized into nine
categories: energy, commuting, water, food, materials, land use, education &
scholarship, citizenship, and administration. Under each category are objectives,
which collectively engage every area and individual of the university. Many objectives
require the university to create specific sub-plans, such as, “Develop a plan for
sustainable grounds, where sustainable may be native, naturalized, reforested, or ultra
low maintenance.” The ESAP is intended to be updated and amended as needed in
response to opportunities, including technological innovations, funding, partnerships,
assessment results, and emerging best practices.
Highlights of JMU’s environmental progress as of December 2012 are summarized
below in each of the ESAP categories:
• Energy: The Wayland Hall renovation project was LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design)- Platinum certified and received a 2012 Green Innovation
Award (Best Green Institutional Project -Adaptive Re-use Category) from the Virginia
Sustainable Business Network. The East Campus Dining Hall was certified at the LEED
gold level. Combined heat and power is being added to the recently renovated
campus steam plant.
• Commuting: JMU converted its core campus to pedestrian/bicycle/transit-only
access, made changes in traffic patterns, and improved transit service. Specifically,
gates were added to restrict private vehicles traveling through campus, a multi-modal
transportation center was built, and bicycling was supported with covered racks and
bike lanes replacing some on-street parking. Bicycle tire air stations and electric
bicycle charging were just added. Improved signage, lighting, crosswalks and lane
markings enhance safety. Game day shuttles, car sharing, regional transportation,
and a student bicycle library offer alternatives to private vehicles. A social network for
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ride sharing (Zimride), an interactive web-based bus schedule, and a real-time bus
arrival tracking system were added. A web hub for transportation information,
NavigateJMU, “Ride the Bus Day,” and informational programs raised awareness.
There has been a greater than 22% increase in transit ridership due in large part to
these changes. Zimride, JMU’s online ride share matching program, has over 7,000
users enrolled. Out of 105 Zimride clients, whom are mostly universities, JMU is ranked
#1 in one-time trips and number of users. Since the program started in 2010, it is
conservatively estimated that 43,863 gallons of fuel were saved.
• Water: JMU replaced many annual planting beds with lower-maintenance, droughtresistant, perennial plantings. Drip line irrigation was installed in over 15 beds on
campus to decrease hand watering and water consumption. The new athletics field
complex has an advanced underground water management system.
• Food: As part of JMU’s waste reduction program, about 8% of JMU’s waste is
composted. A food donation program has been developed with the Salvation Army.
A student organic garden is currently being built as a test case for sustainable selfproduction of herbs.
• Materials: A campus-wide waste reduction training program was launched. JMU
expanded plastics recycling to include #3-#7 plastics. The secure, industrial-scale
shredding program was expanded. Nearly all on-campus food packaging was
replaced with compostable packaging. A system was implemented to incentivize
purchasing recycled paper.
• Land Use: Grant funding was obtained to perform two stream restoration projects
and address significant erosion problems along 2900 linear feet of stream channel. A
two acre area of East Campus was naturalized based on the collaborative design of
students, faculty members, and a visiting scholar. A campus landscape tracking and
management tool, a Nutrient Management Plan, and an Integrated Pest
Management Plan for sustainable grounds are being finalized.
• Education: Three annual JMU Challenges, competitions for entrepreneurial
environmental stewardship ideas, have taken place. Three cohorts of faculty have
completed professional development in sustainability and increased opportunities for
environmental stewardship education throughout the curriculum. An analysis of the
JMU undergraduate interdisciplinary environmental academic programs was
completed, and a faculty group is creating recommendations. An environmental
stewardship lecture series has begun primarily to provide additional environmental
content for general education health and wellness courses. The School of Engineering,
which has a sustainability focus, graduated its first class.
• Scholarship: From January 2010 to early 2012, JMU researchers and staff conducted
work on over $11 million in environment and sustainability-related sponsored programs.
In an internal 2009 JMU survey regarding environmental activities, faculty members
reported 32 were engaged in environmentally-focused community service learning, 54
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actively participated in a professional environmental organization, and there were 268
recent environmental stewardship scholarly projects. The assessment tool for student
learning outcomes for environmental literacy was completed and launched in August
2012. The Office of Research and Public Service facilitated strategic alliances with
external partners to advance the university's research and service projects. Multiple
externally funded initiatives, such as Valley 25x'25, the Virginia Wind Energy
Collaborative, and the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium, primarily address
community engagement and research.
Citizenship: The campus sustainability office contributes to the greater community by
facilitating internships, organizing service projects (such as K-12 tours and lectures),
and opening much of our programming to the community. Students organized the
second annual “Food Week” as part of the national Food Day effort with over 1,000
people attending one or more activities. Other university-wide student environmental
stewardship activities included the growth of the bicycle library, Cycle Share, and Reel
Change sustainability film festival. Food Week and Reel Change engage the greater
community with JMU. A large-scale employee waste reduction program was
launched which includes representatives from every division of the university.
Administration: The campus added a sustainability coordinator position in facilities
management, and a certified energy manager position will begin in January 2013.
Most of the facilities-based programs adopted, such as water conservation, are highly
transferable to other universities and municipalities and are potentially applicable to K12 schools and some non-profit organizations. Via state energy and environment
conferences, JMU routinely shares our program accomplishments and lessons learned.
IV. Discussion of Climate Impact
While JMU has clearly made progress in environmental stewardship practices,
education, research, service, and culture, JMU’s climate impact is growing. Based on
the 2005-2010 emissions inventories (created using the ACUPCC required reporting in
version 6.8 of the Clean Air-Cool Planet Campus Carbon Calculator), JMU's emissions
inventory modeling indicates carbon dioxide equivalent emissions have increased by
~10% between the 2005 baseline year and 2010. JMU's large growth in gross square
footage (GSF) and significant growth in number of full-time equivalent students (FTE)
have contributed to this increase. From 2005 to 2010, as GSF increased, the emissions
intensity has remained nearly flat going from 18.0 MTCO2e/1000 GSF in 2005 to 18.1
MTCO2e/1000 GSF in 2010. By comparison, normalized standard MTCO2e /FTE dropped
from 4.47 MTCO2e/FTE to 4.36 MTCO2e/FTE over the same time period. Revised
emissions reductions forecasts were developed (see Figure 1), and targets set at a 10%
reduction from baseline FY2005 emissions by 2041, 50% reduction from baseline by
2056, and carbon neutrality by 2071.
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Figure 1: Climate Impact Reduction Forecast, Update 1, December 2012
The largest factor in JMU's ability to reduce emissions is the funding. The 2010 JMU
Climate Action Report anticipated carbon dioxide equivalent emissions reductions by
~2% annually provided the funding of ~$3-4 million annually could be located for the
projects outlined. Funding possibilities continue to be examined. Some funding
methods used by other institutions, such as loans from endowments, have not been
deemed feasible for JMU. JMU has successfully secured stormwater management
grants; however, internal grant writers and external consultants have not been able to
identify grant opportunities for the priority energy projects. Accordingly, JMU will reexamine some mechanisms previously rejected including power purchase
agreements, revolving loan funds, and student green fees. JMU will also consider if
energy projects can be included in the 2014 capital campaign. In the meantime, JMU
will continue to strive for environmental leadership in operations areas that are fiscally
feasible and responsible, such as education.
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