Transcript Using Nimble Insights - University of Maryland, College Park

Carbon offsets in our back-yard:
Northern Virginia Community College &
WGES CleanSteps Carbon Offsets
Rob Johnson
NOVA – Sustainability Officer
Laura Pagliarulo
WGES- Green Products Manager
Agenda
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Company Introduction- WGES
WGES CleanSteps® Carbon Offsets Product Overview
Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Carbon Reduction Fund
Carbon Offsets to Counter Carbon Emissions
Company Introduction- Northern Virginia Community College
NOVA’s Sustainability Strategy and a Carbon Offset Purchase
Benefits of a WGES CleanSteps® Carbon Offsets Purchase
Company Introduction- WGES
Part One
Washington Gas Energy Services (WGES)
• Subsidiary of WGL Holdings, Inc.
• One of the largest and longest-serving green energy
suppliers in the Mid-Atlantic
• Selling wind power for over 10 years
• Launched a carbon offset product in 2010
• U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Green Power
Supplier of the Year
• DC Mayor’s Sustainability Award
• Aggressive GHG emissions reduction goals- 70% by
2020 based off of a 2008 baseline
WGES CleanSteps® Carbon Offsets:
Product Overview
Part two
Carbon Offsets 101
What is a carbon offset?
• Most activities that use non-renewable energy create a
“carbon footprint,” including natural gas use
• A carbon offset represents a greenhouse gas emission
reduction made in one place to compensate for emissions
created in another place
• Sometimes called a verified emission reduction (VER) or a
carbon credit
Carbon Offsets 101
• Applied to Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions
• Demonstrates “additionality”
• Provides critical financial support for projects that
avoid or absorb carbon from the atmosphere
1 offset = 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide
WGES CleanSteps® Carbon Offsets
• First of its kind initiative
• Developed as a way to offer
residential and business customers
in MD, DC, VA and PA an easy way
to green their natural gas usage
• Carbon offsets matched to a
customer’s natural gas usage
WGES CleanSteps® Carbon Offsets
• Offsets support carbon-reduction
projects in the transportation and waste
management sectors
• Automatic inclusion of 5% from
Chesapeake Bay projects in all of our
standard gas supply residential
contracts (3.5% small commercial)
• Residents- High offset option (100%)
• Businesses- offset only or as a % of
natural gas use
WGES CleanSteps® Carbon Offsets - Overview
• Goal is to improve air and water quality in
the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
• Sourced 100% in the Chesapeake Bay
Region
• Added Value: WGES carbon offsets fund
new projects — such as tree plantings
along rivers and streams that flow into
the Chesapeake Bay — that are managed
by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation
The Carbon Reduction Fund and the
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Part three
Carbon Reduction Fund
• WGES CleanSteps Carbon Offsets features a reinvestment
component to develop new local sources of carbon offsets
• Carbon Reduction Fund (CRF) managed by the
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
• More than 109,000 carbon offsets have been purchased by
WGES customers since 2010, this is equivalent to:
• Taking over 22,000 cars off the road for one year; or
• Avoiding the consumption of over 12 million gallons
of gasoline
Carbon Reduction Fund
$500,000
In contributions to the Carbon
Reduction Fund to date
9,000 acres
Of trees planted on 45 acres in
several counties in Maryland
Carbon Offsets to Counter Carbon
Emissions
Part four
Carbon Offsets to Counter Carbon Emissions
• Universities and colleges can purchase carbon offsets to
help meet emission reduction and carbon neutrality
goals
• Carbon offsets can also be made available to students,
faculties, staff, etc. to offset their individual emissions
• A variety of offset providers depending on your purchase
criteria
Carbon Offsets to Counter Carbon Emissions
• Examples of how other Universities are using carbon
offsets:
• Middlebury College- Students neutralize emissions
from study abroad travel
• Seattle University- Counterbalances 100% of their
natural gas usage
• Duke University- Students, faculty, and staff hold
‘carbon neutral’ individual or departmental special
events
• University of Florida- Invests in carbon reduction
projects in the area, such as tree plantings, to help
achieve carbon neutrality goal
Company Introduction- NOVA
Part five
Northern VA Community College (“NOVA”)
•
1 of 23 Virginia Community Colleges
•
NOVA = 6 campuses + 4 centers; 75,000 students, 2,600 faculty & staff
including Extended Learning Institute and Workforce Development
•
Sustainability Mission: Reduce NOVA’s carbon footprint & educate future
generations in environmentally sustainable policies & practices through a
combination of projects and initiatives spanning campus operations,
academics, workforce training, College community behavior, & external
engagement & community outreach.
30miles
40miles
18
NOVA’s Sustainability Strategy
• Why Sustainability at NOVA now?
–
–
–
–
Resource constraints and impacts
New students’ decision point
Competitive and marketable with peers
Workforce development
• What’s the plan?
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Campus and Executive buy-in
Sustainability in Curriculum
Campus as a Living Lab
Renewable Energy
Green jobs training
Sustainability in facilities and operations
Student, staff, faculty, & community
19
NOVA’s Sustainability Strategy (cont’d)
Visible campus projects
College strategies
& policies
LEED Certifications
Annandale
Sustainability Strategy
Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Woodbridge
Carbon Offsets
Hosted
events
Green Festival
Sustainability is not just recycling …
but recycling is one of the most recognizable
20
Why Carbon Offsets at NOVA?
• Opportunity
– College can’t operate without natural gas … infrastructure
– Natural Gas agreement an annual renewal
• Impact
– Visible marker of sustainability initiatives
– Measurable way to reduce carbon emissions
• Strategic
– College executive-level awareness of sustainability initiatives
– Willingness to pay more to reduce carbon footprint
• Why WGES CleanSteps?
– No substantive change in agreement details
(& no service provider change)
– CleanSteps connection to Chesapeake Bay Foundation
21
Marketing Benefits: NOVA and a
CleanSteps® Carbon Offsets Purchase
Part six
22
Benefits of a CleanSteps Carbon Offsets Purchase
• Goals: Position NOVA as an environmental leader and
reduce NOVA’s carbon footprint
• Demonstrate NOVA’s environmental commitment to
improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions
• Provide an environmental signal to attract top students,
faculty and staff
• Matching every 100,000 therms of natural gas usage
with carbon offsets has the environmental benefit
equivalent to taking more than 100 cars off the road for
one year
Benefits of a CleanSteps Carbon Offsets Purchase
• Student involvement in
the annual Carbon
Reduction Fund tree
planting with the
Chesapeake Bay
Foundation
Marketing Benefits of a CleanSteps Carbon Offsets Purchase
• Marketing tools and press
release to promote NOVA’s
environmental commitment
• Increase awareness of
NOVA’s environmental efforts
Questions?