ASU noted for impressive carbon neutrality progress

In the global movement toward carbon neutrality, Arizona State University is getting noticed not just for its ambitious commitment, but for its astonishing progress.

A recent Business Officer magazine article titled “Going for Zero” introduced the subject of colleges and universities trending toward alternative, renewable energy options with a brief rundown of ASU’s impressive stats in the arena.

Perhaps most noteworthy is the fact that ASU has more photovoltaic panels than students (78,000 compared to 76,000). The panels’ solar-generation capacity of 23.5 megawatts is more than any other institution of higher education in the U.S., according to Morgan Olsen, university executive vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer.

Olsen also notes that the university has managed to reduce its gas emissions by 15.3 percent while adding 29 percent more space and increasing its student population by 33 percent.

Additionally, the article reports, “ASU’s neutrality initiative calls for 100 percent mitigation of building energy, solid and water waste, and agriculture and refrigerant emissions by 2025, and 100 percent mitigation of all emissions – including transportation – by 2035.”

Olsen contends that an important factor in maintaining carbon neutrality is ensuring its future success: “On the research front, one of the things we can contribute is the training of millions of people we educate every year to become leaders of tomorrow. While in some respects higher education has a small physical footprint compared to the rest of world, from an environmental standpoint we have an outsized ability to have positive impact through our education mission.”