Sustainable Columbia Newsletter: Fall 2021

As we near the end of October, Campus Sustainability Month, we'd like to highlight the work being done across the university to contribute to a more sustainable future. Click here to read the full newsletter from October, 2021.

October 20, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

As we near the end of October, Campus Sustainability Month, I’d like to highlight the work being done across the university to contribute to a more sustainable future.

Columbia released a new sustainability plan in April that sets the university on an aggressive trajectory to reach net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. Aligned with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTi), Plan 2030 provides a set of operational strategies and benchmarks – grounded in science – for Columbia to achieve its ambitious sustainability goals.

Shortly after the plan was released on Earth Day, Daniel Zarrilli joined the University as a Special Advisor on climate and sustainability issues. Coming to Columbia from his role as former Chief Climate Policy Advisor to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Dan has hit the ground running, advising on all matters of institutional sustainability and climate action, including Columbia’s new pledge to no longer install new fossil fuel connections in any new construction, refresh, or renovation projects.

This pledge was announced during Climate Week NYC, for which Columbia’s Climate School was named University Partner. Hosted annually by international non-profit the Climate Group in conjunction with the United Nations, Climate Week NYC is a global opportunity to come together to accelerate climate action. As part of a lineup of virtual events, Sustainable Columbia hosted a panel of Columbia faculty, staff, and student representatives who discussed activity around Plan 2030, noting the role that students and faculty play in meeting the University's goals.

Columbia has also joined Race to Zero, a global initiative for a zero carbon world. As heads of state, business leaders, and members of civil society gather next week in Glasgow for the UN’s 26th Climate Change Conference (COP26), Columbia’s decision to join the Race to Zero aligns the university with a global class of organizations committed to combatting climate change.

Please join us in our efforts to ensure a sustainable future here on campus, in New York City, and around the globe.

David M. Greenberg

Executive Vice President for University Facilities and Operations

 

Click here to read the full newsletter from October, 2021.

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