Administrative Decision on the PCC

For anyone who's reading this thing, here is the official reply from President Celeste on our efforts with the PCC, now that he's met and presented our paperwork to the Board of Trustees. Please post your thoughts-- let's figure out what to do with this.

Best,
Katie

____________________________________
Dear Katie, Charlie, Laura, and David,

Thank you for your thoughtful letter to the trustees and me, urging Colorado College to become a signatory to the American College and University Presidential Climate Commitment.

I discussed this matter in some detail with the Board of Trustees during their meeting here last week. Many of the trustees share our interest in achieving carbon neutrality and general sustainable practices at CC. As I told them, however, I am not inclined to sign the ACUPCC until I am assured that we can carry out the commitment it represents.

Thus I am forming an advisory council on sustainability, comprised of alumni, parents, and other experts. Their charge will be as follows:

One of Colorado College's core values is to "nurture a sense of place and an ethic of environmental sustainability." How well do we live up to this important value?

In 2004, President Celeste appointed a Campus Sustainability Council (CSC) to help promote environmental awareness; make recommendations to ensure a safe and healthy environment; promote resource conservation, energy efficiency, waste reduction and recycling, pollution prevention, and use of renewable resources; further long-range environmental planning; conduct regular environmental audits; and encourage incorporation of sustainability and environmental issues into the curriculum, among other activities.

As of 2007, Colorado College has made progress on sustainability, much of it due to the efforts of students and the CSC. We are working on our second LEED-certified building, the Cornerstone Arts Center. (Tutt Science Center is the other.) We pay a premium for wind power, which provides 15 percent of our electricity. We are exploring a move to 100 percent wind power and hope to have a plan before our Board this year. We recycle; we compost; we use only non-potable water on our grounds and are xeriscaping wherever possible. Several of our motor fleet vehicles have been replaced with hybrids.

To fully embody our commitment to sustainability, however, we have far to go.

The Colorado College Sustainability Presidential Advisory Council (Sus-PAC) will advise and assist the President, Dean, and Board of Trustees. The Sus-PAC will:

* Work closely with the Campus Sustainability Council to assess progress on sustainability measures
* Provide counsel on current and future directions in the areas of policy, global warming and energy, green buildings, investments in sustainability sectors, and other sustainability issues
* Provide guidance for formulating and executing an actionable plan for reducing carbon emissions in order to achieve carbon neutrality

The work and advice of this council will help inform a decision about becoming a Regular Signatory of the ACUPCC.

I welcome your continued involvement on this important issue and fully expect you to engage with the advisory council when they come to campus (at a date yet to be determined in the fall or spring).

Thank you for your impressive leadership on sustainability.


Sincerely,

Richard F. Celeste