Location: Sayles-Hill, Room 253
Time: 10:00 am
Present: George Vrtis, Martha Larson, Alex Miller, Andrew Farias, George Vrtis, Sharan Ganjam Seshachallam, Madhav Mohan, Mike Nishizaki, Sneha Narayan, Tanya Hartwig, Erica Zweifel

Absent: None

Secretary: Andrew Farias

Agenda:

  1. 2019 Greenhouse Gas Inventory results
  2. Climate Action Week coming up soon!
  3. AASHE STARS reporting and seed grant proposal
  4. Budget Requests
  5. Open Forum

Notes: 

  1. Greenhouse Gas Inventory
    1. Looking forward to a charge from the director of facilities and the VP for the Sustainability Office to update the climate action plan for the next 10 years. 
    2. Martha gave an update about the greenhouse gas emissions for FY19 using Sightlines. There are three types of emissions sources we track: Direct GHGs, Upstream GHGs, and Indirect GHGs. Despite growing our campus and our headcount, there have been significant emissions improvements. Carleton is also on track as far as reductions alongside our peers, yet our emissions are generally higher as a result of weather events. Indirect GHGs are driven by campus activity, particularly commuting and travel. Traveling internationally comes from study abroad trips and recruiting and admissions. Carleton also produces more waste than peers, but this is an estimation. 
  2. Climate Action Week coming up soon!
    1. Full calendar TBD
    2. $1,200 budget request of the EAC
      1. Catering: $700
      2. No Impact Challenge: $350
      3. Publicity Materials: $150
    3. Elizabeth Hoover from Brown University will be the keynote. Funding from the Distinguished Women’s Visitors fund. Her talk will be Feb. 17th at 5:15 pm in Great Hall. 
    4. A motion was made to approve the budget request for all $1,200. The motion passed unanimously. 
  3. AASHE STARS reporting and seed grant proposal
    1. Alex gave a report on the AASHE STARS (Sustainability, Rating, And Tracking System) reporting process that the Sustainability Office updates on an annual basis. We are currently at a silver status but would like to reach gold or platinum standing. 
    2. She recommends a “seed grant” program that will help fund projects and increase involvement with departments across campus while simultaneously increasing Carleton’s overall AASHE STARS rating. This would come out of the EAC or Sustainability Office and we would solicit the campus for ideas. Martha mentioned that the goal is to increase awareness and sustainability outreach. It strategically gives us money that would increase our rating in STARS. 
    3. Carleton currently sits with a Silver Rating and 56 points. 65 are needed to advance to a gold rating. 
  4. Budget Requests
    1. Energy Club, in conjunction with the Sustainability Office, would like to purchase 4-5 light/occupancy data loggers. The committee voted to fund the group $1,025 as it is in their ballpark range of how many loggers they may need. 
      1. The motion passed unanimously. 
  5. Open Forum
    1. None, the meeting adjourned at 11:03 am