Agnes Scott Goes Green

Agnes Scott College will cross a major milestone to create a sustainable future when it reports its first greenhouse gases inventory this September.

Among the first group to sign the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment in September 2007, Agnes Scott will mark the one-year anniversary by completing and reporting its inventory of greenhouse gases, which help the earth maintain its warmth but may also contribute to a phenomenon known as "global warming." Reporting the inventory – due Sept. 15 – marks the end of year one in a two-year process that calls for completion of an action plan for climate neutrality at Agnes Scott, which ACUP recommends be evaluated and updated every two years.

“That's really our number-one priority for the summer – to get the inventory complete and reported," said Susan Kidd, sustainability director for Agnes Scott. Project faculty adviser John Pilger, William R. Kenan Professor of Biology, is working closely with Kidd to ensure the inventory’s accuracy.

By summer's midpoint, Pilger, Kidd and other members of Agnes Scott's sustainability team are committed to running whatever peer review might be needed to gauge accuracy of results before they are reported.

After signing the climate commitment last fall, Agnes Scott President Elizabeth Kiss and Kidd worked with students, staff, faculty and alumnae leaders committed to fighting the effects of global warming to organize the college's sustainability advisory committee. The planning process began with an early spring charrette titled "From Footprint to Blueprint” dedicated to information gathering that would move the college forward in its commitment to become an environmentally sustainable community.

More than 60 participants began the day by dividing into three groups to tour the college’s historic campus, known for its collegiate Gothic architecture, trees and overall beauty. The oldest building on campus was constructed in 1891 and its newest dedicated in April 2008.

Nationally recognized environmental leaders named to Agnes Scott's National Sustainability Advisory Committee joined members of the college's Sustainability Steering Committee to advise the planning process. Atlanta-area experts, Agnes Scott College faculty, staff, trustees and students committed to the goals defined in the ACUP Climate Commitment participated.

When the group convened, numerous ideas and suggestions emerged through the dialogue that followed. Discussion ranged from the importance of simply turning lights off when they aren't needed to thinking through the implications of constructing buildings that should last another 100 years.

Furman University President David Shi, a member of Agnes Scott’s National Sustainability Advisory Committee and a leader in ACUP, encouraged the college to follow the “BIS” plan – Borrow Ideas Shamelessly. He then shared what he has learned through his work in college sustainability, and in particular what Furman University is doing.

Other environmental leaders who shared their expertise during the charrette include student Dara Satterfield, class of 2009, Agnes Scott Trustee Clayton Rolader, Associate Dean of Students Michelle Hall, whom Kiss credits with bringing the Presidents' Climate Commitment to her attention, Carol Couch, director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, DeKalb County Commissioner Kathy Gannon and Julian Keniry, director of campus ecology, National Wildlife Federation and Agnes Scott alumna from the class of 1989.

“This is an ongoing learning process,” Kiss said. “We don’t have all the answers, and we will make mistakes.

“But that’s okay, because we’re learning along the way and it’s a pleasant thing," she added. "It is a process that has already engaged people from every segment of this campus. I’m excited about this sort of shared joint learning process.”

More than 500 colleges and universities are expected to report their emissions inventories on September 15. Data generated by the inventories will provide benchmarks for every college and university involved, Kidd said.

"We will be setting the goals for year two and beyond based on that inventory," Kidd said. "The inventory reduction we hope to achieve going forward will be based on the facts we have gathered so far.”

Agnes Scott College formalized its commitment to sustainability by making it part of the Living Honorably initiative in its seven-year strategic plan, “Engaging a Wider World.” In addition to endorsing the strategic plan, the Board of Trustees passed a resolution supporting the college’s efforts at sustainability.