Sustainability at CMU: a Path Forward
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*** REVIEW PANEL DRAFT – NOT FOR CITATION OR DISTRIBUTION *** Disclaimer and Explanatory Note This report is the product of a Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) undergraduate research project, in which students from several academic disciplines combine their talents to explore a policy issue involving technology. For one semester, these students conduct research, and then present their results under the direction of CMU faculty and graduate students. This report has not been critically reviewed by experts in the field. Please do not cite or quote this report, or any portion thereof, as an official Carnegie Mellon University report or document. As a student project, it has not been subjected to the required level of critical review. 1 Project Participants This is a joint study conducted by students of the Department of Engineering and Public Policy (EPP) and the Department of Social and Decision Sciences (SDS) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) for the Fall semester of 2018 under the classes 19-452: EPP Projects and 88-452: Policy Analysis Senior Projects. STUDENTS Benjamin Almack MechE/EPP Adwoa Bonsu ChemE/EPP Shuchen Cong MSE/EPP Elizabeth Elrod MechE/EPP Nathaniel Fleming CEE/EPP Nicole Ho MechE/EPP Julie Kim SDS Cathy Li ChemE/EPP Jasmine Lim MechE/EPP Brenda Mokua ChemE/EPP Lauren Mueller CEE/EPP Jack Ronayne ChemE/EPP Richard Ruales ChemE/EPP Ariana Sabbat CEE/EPP Clement Wong MechE/EPP Elizabeth Young CEE/EPP James Zhang MechE/EPP PROJECT MANAGER Aviva Loew (EPP) FACULTY ADVISORS John H. Miller (SDS) Edward S. Rubin (MechE/EPP) 2 Review Panel Martin Altschul University Engineer, Carnegie Mellon University Karen Clay Professor of Economics and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University Donald Coffelt Director of FMS, Carnegie Mellon University Stephen R. Lee Department Head and Professor, School of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University Jarrod McAdoo Director, University Procurement, Carnegie Mellon University Nick Muller Professor of Economics, Engineering, and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University Robert Reppe Senior Director, Campus Design and Facility Development, Carnegie Mellon University Anna Siefken Executive Director of Scott Institute, Carnegie Mellon University Aurora Sharrard Director of Sustainability, University of Pittsburgh The faculty, project manager, and students would like to thank the members of the Review Panel for their time, effort, and feedback on this report. 3 Table of Contents Executive Summary 9 Chapter 1: Introduction 11 1.1 Definitions of Sustainability 11 1.2 Study Objectives 15 1.3 Metrics and Evaluation Framework 16 1.4 Organization of Report 16 1.5 Chapter 1 References 17 Chapter 2 Sustainability in Campus Buildings 19 2.1 Introduction 19 2.2 Building Construction Standards 22 2.3 Building Certifications 26 2.3.1 Current Certifications 26 2.3.2 Pittsburgh 2030 District Goals 28 2.4 Electricity Use in Buildings 30 2.4.1 Electricity Usage Trends and Projections 30 2.4.2 Potential for Energy Savings 35 2.5 Steam and Natural Gas Use in Buildings 36 2.5.1 Steam and Gas Usage Trends and Projections 37 2.5.2 Potential for Energy Savings 39 2.6 Environmental Emissions from Energy Use in Buildings 40 2.7 Cogeneration 47 2.8 Conclusions for Campus Buildings 49 2.9 Chapter 2 References 50 Chapter 3: Sustainable Water and Waste Management 53 3.1 Introduction 53 3.1.1 Metrics of Sustainability 53 3.1.2 Chapter Objectives and Organization 54 3.2 Water Use 54 3.3 Solid Waste Management 61 3.3.1 Total Waste Production 62 3.3.2 Food waste and Composting 64 4 3.3.3 Other Recycling Activities 66 3.3.4 Future Needs and Options 68 3.4 Hazardous Waste Management 71 3.4.1 Hazardous Waste Generation 71 3.4.2 Exposure to Hazardous Materials 72 3.4.3 Management of Hazardous Wastes 73 3.4.4 Future Needs and Options 74 3.5 Conclusions for Waste and Water Management 75 3.6 Chapter 3 References 75 Chapter 4: Sustainability in Transportation 77 4.1 Introduction 77 4.1.1 Current Transportation Systems at Carnegie Mellon University 77 4.1.2 Dimensions and Metrics of Sustainability in Transportation 78 4.2 University Business Air Travel 79 4.2.1 Carbon Emissions from Faculty and Staff Business Air Travel 79 4.2.2 Carbon Emissions from Student Organization Air Travel 83 4.3 University Business Non-Air Travel 84 4.3.1 Faculty and Staff Business Non-Air Travel 84 4.3.2 Student Organization Non-Air Travel 86 4.4 Strategies to Mitigate Emissions from University-Sponsored Travel 88 4.5 Faculty and Staff Commuting 88 4.5.1 Residence Zip Code Mapping 88 4.5.2 Vehicle Zip Code Mapping 90 4.5.3 Strategies to Reduce Driving Commutes 92 4.6 Bicycling 93 4.6.1 Current Status of Bicycling At CMU 93 4.6.2 Plans in Progress 95 4.6.3 What is Preventing Bicycling? 96 4.6.4 Strategies to Increase Bicycling 98 4.7 Conclusions for Campus Transportation Systems 101 4.8 Chapter 4 References 102 Chapter 5: Sustainability Education and Research 104 5.1 Metrics of Sustainability Education and Research 104 5 5.2 Educational Activities in Sustainability 104 5.2.1 Benchmarking Other Universities 104 5.2.2 Sustainability Education at Carnegie Mellon 105 5.2.2.1 Sustainability Programs 105 5.2.2.2 Student and Faculty Engagement 112 5.3 Research Activities in Sustainability 112 5.3.1 Benchmarking Other Universities 112 5.3.2 Sustainability Research at Carnegie Mellon 114 5.4 Conclusions for Campus Education and Research 119 5.5 Chapter 5 References 119 Chapter 6: Societal and Behavioral Dimensions of Sustainability 122 6.1 Introduction 122 6.2 Social/Societal Dimensions of Sustainability 125 6.2.1 Quality of Life 125 6.2.2 Diversity and Equity 127 6.2.5 Current Activities 129 6.3 Behavioral Aspects of Sustainability 130 6.4 Conclusions for Societal and Behavioral Dimensions 133 6.5 Chapter 6 References 134 Chapter 7: Economic and Financial Dimensions of Sustainability 139 7.1 Introduction 139 7.2 Current Activities 146 7.3 Future Needs and Options 151 7.4 Conclusions for Economic Sustainability 152 7.5 Chapter 7 References 153 Chapter 8: Organizational Structures for Sustainability 157 8.1 Summary of Organizational Structures at Peer Institutions 157 8.2 Current Organization at Carnegie Mellon 159 8.3 Discussion of Change Agents 160 8.4 Proposed Organizational Structure for Carnegie Mellon 161 8.5 Chapter 8 References 162 Chapter 9: Conclusions and Recommendations 164 9.1 Summary of Conclusions 164 6 9.2 Recommendations of this Study 165 9.3 Chapter 9 References 169 Appendices 170 Appendix 2-1: Keywords in Building Standards 171 Appendix 2-2: Peer Institutions and Document Length 172 Appendix 2-3: LEED Certification by Net Square Footage 173 Appendix 2-5: CMU Electricity Usage 186 Appendix 2-6: Campus Building Electricity Usage 187 Appendix 2-7: CO2 Emissions Due to Heating 189 Appendix 2-8: Emission Rates Based on Zip Code 190 Appendix 2-9: RECs Pricing and CMU RECs Cost 191 Appendix 3-1: Metering in Academic Buildings 192 Appendix 3-2: Water Use in Academic and Administrative Buildings 193 Appendix 3-3: Water Use in Residential Halls and Greek Houses 194 Appendix 3-4: Waste Data 195 Appendix 4-1: Faculty and Staff Air Travel Costs and Emissions Sorted by College 196 Appendix 4-2: Faculty and Staff Car Rental Costs and Emissions 198 Appendix 4-3: Student Organization Air Travel Costs and Emissions 199 Appendix 4-4: Student Organization Gas Purchase Costs and Emissions 200 Appendix 4-5: Student Organization Car Rental Costs and Emissions 201 Appendix 4-6: Faculty and Staff Residence Zip Code Tally, 2018-2019 202 Appendix 4-7: CMU Parking Permit Holders’ Residence Zip Code Tally, 2018-2019 210 Appendix 4-8: Bike Thefts Reported to CMU Police Department (2/6/2016 - 10/3/2018) 218 Appendix 4-9: Bicycle Advocacy Committee Survey Response 220 Appendix 5-1: Sustainability-Related Keywords 226 Appendix 5-2: Sustainability-Related Courses at Carnegie Mellon 227 Appendix 5-3: Sustainability-Related Programs at Carnegie Mellon 236 Appendix 5-4: Peer Universities’ Sustainability Research Websites 239 Appendix 5-5: Peer universities’ keywords and focus areas 240 Appendix 7-1: Major Finances at Carnegie Mellon University 245 Appendix 7-2: US University Endowments over One Billion Dollars 246 Appendix 7-3: Endowment Per Student for Peer Institutions 250 Appendix 7-4: Expense and Equity Ratio for Peer Institutions 251 7 Appendix 7-5: Top 50 Alumni Networks in US 252 8 Executive Summary In discussing sustainability at Carnegie Mellon University, this report expands upon a previous analysis of CMU’s carbon footprint (Pittsburgh to Paris, 2017) in three main ways: it 1) provides a more comprehensive analysis of CMU’s environmental impacts beyond carbon emissions, 2) incorporates non- environmental aspects of sustainability, and 3) analyzes and recommends a more general set of actions to move CMU forward in sustainability. It begins with a definition of sustainability and defines an evaluation framework for the university’s current sustainability actions and proposals. The analysis is divided into several different areas: Campus Buildings, Water and Waste Management, Transportation, Education and Research, Social and Behavioral Dimensions, Economic and Financial Aspects, and Organizational Structure. After separately evaluating these dimensions, overall conclusions and recommendations are presented. CMU does not have a centralized office of sustainability. Several different entities on campus, such as Facilities Management Services and the Green Practices Committee, independently address certain aspects of sustainability, as do a number of individuals on campus. Overall, however, such activities are highly decentralized, without any high-level organization, structure, coordination or communication.