RELEASED: December 31, 2009

By Abby Malik

DANVILLE, KY—Since choosing to be a charter signatory on the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment in 2007, Centre College has moved in very positive directions with regard to sustainability.

As one of the more than 650 members of the ACUPCC, Centre is required to submit an action plan that outlines steps the College will take to achieve a climate-neutral campus. Centre has recently joined around 130 other institutions that submitted its plan for public viewing on the ACUPCC Web site.

"Centre College, in more recent years, has become a regional and even national leader among liberal arts colleges with regard to environmental concerns," says Centre President John Roush. "We have some distance to travel, of course, and this plan moves us decidedly in that direction. And while I believe that sending informed and responsible citizens forth each spring as Centre graduates remains our highest calling, the work that we can do as a collective here at the College is also valued."

To read the entire plan, click here.

The College's Advisory Committee assembled in fall 2007 and began study of methods to achieve climate neutrality. By November, the committee recommended, and President Roush adopted, three immediate actions: (1) energy conservation in all new construction, (2) Energy Star (low-energy usage appliances) purchasing policy, and (3) participation in RecycleMania. By fall 2008, the first comprehensive inventory of greenhouse gases (based on fiscal year 07/08) was completed. This data provided insight into the actions that would have the greatest impact for conservation and efficiency.

Each ACUPCC-member college or university must set a date for achieving the goals set in its climate neutrality plan; Centre has set its target date as 2040, a date the committee members view as urgent and reasonable.

As the College implements the plan to achieve climate neutrality in the future, it has already taken a number of extraordinary steps toward sustainability and environmental responsibility over the past several years:

Pearl Hall: LEED Gold
Pearl Hall residence hall, opened in August 2008 and dedicated in October 2009, was granted in April 2009 LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for its environmentally friendly design and construction. Pearl Hall is Kentucky's first LEED Gold awarded-building and has the highest LEED rating for any residential facility in the state.

In October 2009, Bluegrass Tomorrow—a regional coalition of businesses, farms and others who promote preservation and economic development in Central Kentucky—presented Centre with the prestigious "Vision Award for a Green Community" for Pearl Hall's Gold LEED certification. In March, Pearl Hall won Heart of Danville's "Downtown Investment Heart of Gold Award" for the remarkable investment made through its construction in downtown Danville.

Energizing Kentucky
In 2008, Centre helped launch Energizing Kentucky, a collaboration among Centre, Berea College, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Louisville. The series of three conferences brought together state and national energy experts to discuss the economic, educational, and environmental opportunities and challenges presented by the world's current energy situation.

Green Fund
Centre students care about sustainability, too. In 2007, more than three-fourths of Centre students voted for the adoption of a Green Fund, an initiative that requires students to pay a $20 surcharge on their tuition to purchase renewable energy credits from the local Mother Ann Lee Hydroelectric Plant, located near Harrodsburg, Ky. This is a partnership with E.ON US and its subsidiary, Kentucky Utilities. This partnership is E.ON's first with a Kentucky higher education institution and the first time a college/university in Kentucky has privately funded local renewable energy sources in order to offset its carbon emissions.

The Centre Board of Trustees unanimously accepted the student-initiated proposal in October 2008, and the fee was instituted beginning in fall 2009 term.

The College's faculty and staff subsequently affirmed the initiative by introducing a voluntary salary reduction whereby employees could elect to donate a portion of their pay to the cause.

In November 2009, E.ON., the parent company of Kentucky Utilities and Louisville Gas & Electric, presented Centre and its students with the company's favorite non-residential customer award for students' efforts on behalf of the Mother Ann Lee Hydroelectric Station. This was the first presentation of the award.

Other
Along with these more recent efforts, the College has been committed to sustainability for the past 30 years: only recycled paper products are purchased; residence hall rooms are equipped with light bulbs never exceeding 68 watts; state-of-the-art energy management systems are in 90 percent of campus facilities to allow technicians to set energy-reducing temperature schedules; 75 percent of campus windows are dual pane, reducing heating and cooling waste; low-energy cooling systems are in all buildings; recycling containers are located in every building on campus; and the campus has a recycling coordinator who organizes campus recycling efforts.

Have comments, suggestions, or story ideas? E-mail leigh.ivey@centre.edu with your feedback.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.