NIU’s recently announced Sustainability and Climate Action Plan is a great start to fight against climate change, but the university should be mindful of being too ambitious due to unsecured funding.
NIU President Lisa Freeman signed a commitment to lower carbon emissions from NIU.
While the plan doesn’t have funding yet, it includes a step to allocate funds to hire a consulting company in order to come up with a master plan.
One aspect of the plan is to break down the way the university would look at carbon emissions at NIU.
Instead of some buildings being grouped together in emission recording, this plan separates each building’s reading so NIU can look at its emissions individually.
Looking at the buildings’ carbon emissions separately is a good way of assessing the output of carbon, as the university will be able to tell which buildings are creating the most carbon emissions.
Part of the sustainability plan, the Edible Campus Initiative, has already been put into place. The initiative is using locally grown food at the dining halls instead of food bought from a food distribution company. Edible Campus also provides free-to-pick food from planter beds on campus. Using locally grown food will benefit NIU in a positive way, as it supports local businesses and lowers the need for chemicals like pesticides.
The overall goal of the commitment is to lower carbon emissions 50% by 2030. While this may seem like a huge number and an ambitious goal, it’s great NIU has committed to this plan.
The fact that NIU has a plan to take its own action to combat climate issues is something the students and faculty should be happy about. The plan doesn’t only affect people who attend and work at NIU but also the surrounding community. The sustainability plan can impact everyone as it’s working to save the environment.
Unfortunately, the sustainability plan could be too ambitious for NIU to take on until the funding is figured out. The university has a great idea to combat its carbon footprint; so when NIU discusses its next budget on Tuesday, it should keep its sustainability plan in mind.
