Through the ACUPCC, institutions agree to reduce and eventually eliminate their net greenhouse gas emissions from specified sources – including some indirect “Scope 3” sources, specifically: regular commuting to and from campus, and air travel paid for by the institution. These Scope 3 emissions can be tricky to measure, and in fulfilling the ACUPCC schools have come up with creative and effective ways for doing so, from estimates based on zip codes to campus-wide surveys.
Now, initiatives like the ACUPCC are helping to drive innovations and new solutions to help organizations tackle these challenges more effectively. A few years ago, students atMiddlebury College, conceived of Brighter Planet– and recently they’ve partnered with MasterCard to help organizations track travel emissions by calculating and reporting emissions from flights, hotel stays, car rentals, etc. based on purchases with corporate cards.
Learn more about the program in this article.
What kinds of solutions has your institution been considering to manage Scope 3 emissions? Would this service be relevant for school and its systems? What other kinds of innovations would you like to see companies develop to help you meet your climate goals? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
(Thanks to Inside Higher Ed’s “Getting to Green” blogger, G. Rendell, for bringing this project to our attention in the recent post, “In Praise of Plastic“).
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