Net Positive Symposium at the R.W. Kern Center 2019

It's no secret that college and university campuses are heavy energy users with high greenhouse gas emissions (spoiler alert – it's the buildings). The urgency of the climate crisis and student activism, together with rising operating costs have driven many colleges and universities to adopt institutional climate commitments that require bold actions to reduce or eliminate their carbon impacts in just a few short decades. This will require significant changes to how we heat, cool, and power our buildings.

Join a discussion of the programs, projects, and plans they are putting in place to achieve their planned reductions. They'll talk through their explorations of net zero energy, decarbonization, carbon-free electricity, fossil-fuel-free, and more, to show how similar carbon reduction goals can be achieved by wildly differing strategies and by institutions of varying sizes and means. Along the way, they'll share the easy wins and tough calls that went into their latest initiatives (such as on-site solar, off-site solar, fuel switching, and electrification).

• Understand how different colleges and universities approach "decarbonization" or "carbon neutrality"
• Articulate options for renewable and carbon-free electricity supply
• Evaluate options for carbon-free heating systems
• Identify strategies for making and keeping bold climate commitments