Episode 40: Carbon neutrality should not be the end goal with Alex Barron and Aaron Strong

June 29, 2022 by David Karlsgodt in Justice, Electrification, Carbon Emissions, Scope 3 Emissions, Renewable Energy, Student Engagement, Sustainability Curriculum

Alexander Barron (left) and Aaron Strong (right)

Guests:
Alexander Barron, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Policy
Smith College
LinkedIn | Bio

Aaron Strong, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Hamilton College
LinkedIn | Bio

Host: Dave Karlsgodt
Director of Energy and Sustainability at Brailsford & Dunlavey, Inc.

In this episode we interview two professors and researchers discussing a recently published paper in the peer-reviewed journal One Earth entitled: “Carbon neutrality should not be the end goal: Lessons for institutional climate action from U.S. Higher education.” You’ll hear lead author Alex Barron of Smith College and co-author Aaron Strong from Hamilton College discuss their study of U.S. schools that have announced that they have achieved carbon neutrality. This work was co-authored with Maya Domeshek and Lucy Metz (recent Smith College graduates who worked on the paper) and Laura Drauker (formerly of Amherst College, now at the Boston-based non-profit Ceres), and reflects feedback and input from many other sustainability practitioners.

Resources:

Link to the paper: https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(21)00472-3
Alexander R. Barron, et al. "Carbon Neutrality Should Not Be the End Goal: Lessons for Institutional Climate Action From U.S. Higher Education." One earth, v. 4 ,.9 pp. 1248-1258. doi: 10.1016/j.oneear.2021.08.014
Drs. Barron and Strong along with Smith student Lucy Metz also summarized their findings for an op-ed "Five ways colleges should respond to the climate crisis" in Inside Higher Ed.
A different paper by Dr. Barron and others on internal carbon pricing in higher education that may be of interest to some listeners:
Barron, A.R., Parker, B.J., Sayre, S.S, Weisbord, D.J. and S.S. Weber. 2020. Carbon pricing approaches for climate decisions in U.S. higher education: Proxy carbon prices for deep decarbonization. Elementa.
Information about the Second Nature Climate Leadership Commitments.

Production Team:

Episode Transcript:

The following is an automated transcription of this episode which will include errors and omissions. You can listen and follow along with the text here: Otter Transcript

You can find a text-only version of the transcript here: Episode 40 Transcript

Episode 36: Podcasting for Sustainability - AASHE 2020

December 11, 2020 by David Karlsgodt in Education, Student Engagement, Sustainability Curriculum

From left to right: Brian Campbell, Director of Sustainability and Partnerships, Central College, Katie Boyle, Enrollment and Marketing Director, Bard Graduate Program, and Dave Karlsgodt, Director, Brailsford & Dunlavey — From left to right: **Brian Campbell**, Director of Sustainability and Partnerships, Central College, **Katie Boyle**, Enrollment and Marketing Director, Bard Graduate Program, and **Dave Karlsgodt**, Director, Brailsford & Dunlavey

Guest Co-hosts:
Katie Boyle
Enrollment and Marketing Director, Bard Graduate Program in Sustainability and host of the “Impact Report” podcast

Brian Campbell
Director of Sustainability and Partnerships, Central College and host of the “MidAmericana” podcast

Host: Dave Karlsgodt
Director of Management Advisory Services, Brailsford & Dunlavey, Inc.

In this special episode of the podcast, we present a recording of Podcasting for Sustainability in Higher Education from AASHE’s 2020 Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education. Dave Karlsgodt, Katie Boyle and Brian Campbell talk about what it’s like to run a podcast and how they utilize their shows to further the conversation on energy and sustainability. All three delve into the missions behind their podcasts, as well as how and why they pick topics to cover. In this episode that explores podcasting as a tool for sustainability in higher education, our hosts aim to aid participants and listeners in learning how to frame their sustainability efforts in stories, making them compelling to a variety of audiences, from students to senior leaders, academics to alumni.

Resources:

The Impact Report: https://leadthechange.bard.edu/podcast
MidAmericana: https://www.midamericana.com
The Associate for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Ed https://www.aashe.org/

Production Team:

Episode Transcript:

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You can find a text-only version of the transcript here: Episode 36 Transcript

Episode 20: Streamlining Sustainability Reporting with AASHE STARS

July 02, 2019 by David Karlsgodt in Carbon Emissions, Education, Student Engagement, Sustainability Curriculum

Guest: Julian Dautremont
Director of Programs, AASHE

Host: Dave Karlsgodt
Principal, Fovea, LLC

Production Assistant: Sarah Barr

From energy use to purchasing decisions, waste management to community engagement, it’s no secret that sustainability is a notoriously broad and difficult to measure concept.

Creating a comprehensive sustainability rating system was exactly the challenge guest Julian Dautremont and colleagues from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) were tackling when the STARS program was born. STARS is short for the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System and is the most widely used sustainability reporting system among colleges and universities in the United States. (It’s also the primary metric used to determine the Sierra Club’s “Cool Schools” ranking each year, in case you were wondering).

If STARS still stumps you or if you’re simply curious about how a broad concept like sustainability can possibly be quantified and compared, join us this episode as Julian guides us through STARS’ creation, current function and challenges, and goals for the future.

Resources:

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE): https://www.aashe.org/
- Conference and Expo, Workshops: https://www.aashe.org/events-education/
- Membership: https://www.aashe.org/membership/
STARS, Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System: https://stars.aashe.org/
- Register: https://stars.aashe.org/participate/
- Reports: https://stars.aashe.org/reports-data/
- Help: https://stars.aashe.org/resources-support/
Sierra Club “Cool Schools”: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/cool-schools-2018/top-20-coolest-schools-2018
STARS 2.2 is Live! https://stars.aashe.org/news/stars-2-2-released/?_zs=GHG7a&_zl=nOin1

Episode Transcript:

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Episode 20: Streamlining Sustainability Reporting with AASHE STARS - Transcript

Episode 15: Landfill-gas flaring project at Central College of Pella, Iowa

November 30, 2018 by David Karlsgodt in Renewable Energy, Utilities, Carbon Emissions, Community, Solid Waste, Scope 3 Emissions, Sustainability Curriculum, Education

Brian Campbell (left) Rob McKenna (right) — Brian Campbell (left)
Rob McKenna (right)

Guest: Brian Campbell
Director of Sustainability Education
Central College of Pella, Iowa

Special Guest and Co-host: Rob McKenna
Principal, Fovea, LLC

Host: Dave Karlsgodt
Principal, Fovea, LLC

In this episode you’ll hear an interview with Brian Campbell, Director of Sustainability Education at Central College in Pella Iowa. We discuss Central College’s recent climate action plan with a focus on a unique landfill-gas flaring project that came out of that planning effort. Rob McKenna, a principal at Fovea and the consultant who lead this climate action planning effort, joins both as guest and co-host.

Fovea would like to give a special shout out to Energy Strategies and MEP Associates who were our partners and collaborators on this project.

Resources:

Central College website: https://central.edu/sustainability
Contact Brian: campbellb@central.edu

Second Nature Carbon Commitment Signatory Distribution

During this podcast, Rob McKenna discusses how Central College with roughly 10,000 MTCO2e / year has a typical emissions profile among signatories to the Second Nature Carbon Commitment.

Episode Transcript:

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Episode 15: Landfill-gas flaring project at Central College of Pella, Iowa - Transcript

Episode 13: The Challenges and Opportunities of Aggressive Climate Action

July 27, 2018 by David Karlsgodt in Sustainability Curriculum, Education, Community, Communications, Behavior Change, Carbon Emissions, Co-generation, Energy Efficiency, Food, Renewable Energy, Scope 3 Emissions, Utilities, Wicked Problems

The panel at CHESC 2018 (Left to right) Tyler Durchslag-Richardson, Fletcher Alexander, Lindsey Kalkbrenner, Eric Eberhardt, Dave Karlsgodt — *The panel at CHESC 2018 (Left to right)* Tyler Durchslag-Richardson, Fletcher Alexander, Lindsey Kalkbrenner, Eric Eberhardt, Dave Karlsgodt

Guests:
Eric Eberhardt
Director of Energy Services
Energy & Facilities Management Services
University of California, Office of the President
Lindsey Kalkbrenner
Director, Sustainability, University Operations
Director, Center for Sustainability
Santa Clara University
Fletcher Alexander
Sustainability Programs Manager, Institute for Sustainable Development
California State University, Chico
Tyler Durchslag-Richardson
Senior Analyst, Facilities Services and Integrated Planning
California Institute of Technology
Host: Dave Karlsgodt, Principal, Fovea, LLC

This episode was recorded live on July 10th at the 2018 California Higher Education Sustainability Conference (CHESC) which took place on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dave Karlsgodt moderated the session: “The Challenges and Opportunities of Aggressive Climate Action.” Panelists from a cross-section of California institutions answered questions about their climate action efforts. You’ll hear both success stories from these leading institutions, but also some honest discussion on where they have more work to do. Topics include the nature of their climate action strategies, making the business case for sustainable practices, the dual role of higher ed. to lead and to educate, carbon neutrality, 100% renewable energy and more. Audience members bring up some challenging questions including how to consider equity, social justice, and the stratification of resources to address these challenges. The discussion includes a combination of inspiring success stories and honest self-reflection from sustainability professionals working in the trenches.

Resources:

California Higher Education Sustainability Conference: https://chesc.org/
Caltech Sustainability: http://sustainability.caltech.edu/
Sustainability at Chico State - http://www.csuchico.edu/sustainability/
Center for Sustainability at Santa Clara University - https://www.scu.edu/sustainability/
Sustainability at UC - https://www.ucop.edu/sustainability/

Episode Transcript:

The following is an automated transcription of this episode which will include errors and omissions. You can listen and follow along with the text here:

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