As global leaders meet in Madrid this week to discuss how to avert climate catastrophe, two Virginia universities have forged a joint venture to pursue environmental solutions on campus.
On Monday, the College of William & Mary and the University of Virginia committed to make their campuses carbon-neutral by 2030.
William & Mary also announced it’s creating an Institute for Integrative Conservation, funded by nearly $20 million from a donor who chooses to remain anonymous, to address climate-related environmental threats to people and ecosystems.
“Safeguarding the health of our environment, society and economy is one of the most complex challenges of our time,” W&M President Katherine A. Rowe said in a statement announcing the venture.
As part of the partnership, the college will explore a power purchase agreement that could source up to 60% of the electricity used on campus from solar farms and hire a consultant next semester for guidance on finding alternative green sources to replace natural gas, which makes up about 25% of W&M’s carbon emissions.
While emissions can’t be zeroed out entirely, officials say the college ultimately could reach net carbon neutrality by adopting carbon offsets — encouraging groups to buy carbon credits and using that money to support projects that reduce greenhouse gases.
The college is also enlisting the larger campus community to participate through “behavioral choices around things like transportation, recycling and energy usage,” said Calandra Waters Lake, director of sustainability at the college.
William & Mary and U.Va. expect to begin work in the spring. They have committed to share resources and information on climate actions, collaborate with each other and with surrounding communities and support other colleges and communities in climate action planning.
“There is increasing evidence that we have a shrinking timeline in order to take action,” Waters Lake said. “And, although 2030 is ambitious, it is achievable.”
The Institute for Integrative Conservation is expected to become operational in about a year, building teams of faculty, staff and students drawn from the college’s five schools — arts and sciences, law, business, education and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. These interdisciplinary teams will work with experts in academia, federal agencies, nonprofits and private industry to address challenges such as sea level rise, biodiversity threats and human-wildlife conflict. The institute will put special focus on indigenous people that are being affected by climate change.
Robert Rose, director of the college’s Center for Geospatial Analysis, called the institute a “game-changer for William & Mary and for our global conservation and sustainability efforts.”
“This groundbreaking institute has the potential to revolutionize the way we address some of the gravest threats facing nature and humankind,” said Michael Ulica, president and COO of National Geographic, which is partnering on the effort.
Tamara Dietrich, 757-247-7892, tdietrich@dailypress.com
