Living Net Zero Initiative Launches with Aim at Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Columbia’s office of Sustainability introduced an important new initiative critical to meeting Columbia’s net zero greenhouse gas emissions reduction commitment: Living Net Zero. This work directly targets Scope 3 emissions and will identify actions for Columbia’s schools and departments to reduce environmental impact in key operational areas.  

The initiative brings together members of Columbia’s schools and administrative departments, across all campuses. Jessica Prata (AVP, Sustainability) began the session by orienting participants to the University’s sustainability goals. Implementation of Plan 2030 takes two pathways: Building Net Zero (built environment) and Living Net Zero (individual impact).  

This individual impact comes in the form of reducing Scope 3 emissions, which Prata defined for the group. After an analysis conducted, three key reduction areas were identified: purchasing, waste, and business travel.  

Daniel Allalemdjian (Director, Sustainability and Transportation) introduced the model for how the group will work together and the importance of it being a collaborative and creative approach. Through a series of three “Think Tank” sessions, the cross-functional groups will dive into data, look for opportunities, and brainstorm tactics.  

The output will be a drafted Sustainability Action Plan for each participating school and department, that include their individual strategies, and implementation steps, paired with metrics to measure success. While plans for each school and department may vary depending on the organization, the goal is to road test what works and what doesn’t in order to share best practices across the University. Ultimately these plans will be presented to University leadership in the fall. The close of the meeting was a call to action for the group:

The Think Tanks will work over a series of meetings in March and April of the Spring 2024. Learn more about Living Net Zero.