Our sustainability consciousnesses are all being raised as we’re learning more about the precariousness of our environment. Many of our campuses have committed to reduce their carbon footprint as part of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.

According to a study conducted by SUNY Cortland’s Physics Department, the greenhouse gases emitted by Cortland total 31,300 metric tons per year. Certainly IT contributes to this campus carbon footprint, which can be broken down into: electricity 35%; heating 33%, food (including transportation) 18%; transportation 13%; and office paper 1%. You can determine your own carbon footprint using EPA’s calculator.

Some of our sustainability measures, such as adding new server room technology and enabling power management systems that save energy from the enterprise to desktop environments, quickly translate into cost savings. However, other measures require additional financial commitments. The most energy efficient computers are more expensive, and “green” print program licenses are prohibitively expensive in these tough budget times. Other programs, such as responsible recycling programs, require staff time. As we learn more about the energy we use and the greenhouse gases we emit, we must consider environmental issues in every decision we make. We must consider the entire life cycle of the equipment we acquire. Not only must we use electronic equipment responsibly ourselves, but we need to educate our campus constituencies to do the same.

Educating campuses about environment responsibility is a key element of the Presidents Climate Commitment. Such a shared awareness and sincere commitment are absolutely necessary if we are going to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and protect this earth for our children and grandchildren.