Cornerstone MIAMI UNIVERSITY FINANCE AND BUSINESS SERVICES
MIAMI 2040:
Miami University's Climate Action Plan Bridget Maney In a landmark move towards sustainability, Miami University has pledged to a comprehensive Climate Action Plan, committing to achieving carbon neutrality on its Oxford campus by 2040. The plan, titled Miami 2040: Miami University’s Climate Action Plan, sets ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions from energy use, commuting, and university-financed air travel as much as possible by 2040. This plan is a bold step towards committing to a more sustainable future for the university, a decade sooner than all other Ohio public universities. Miami has already achieved significant reductions in energy-based carbon emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) since 2008, resulting in an accumulated cost savings of over $100 million and reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 51%. Scope 1 is emissions that are generated from utilities we produce on campus. Examples of this include emissions from running our natural gas-powered generators to produce electricity for the campus, as well as the production of steam for heat. Scope 2 is the emissions generated from the creation of the electricity that we purchase from the grid.
President's Climate Leadership Commitment One of the cornerstones of the Climate Action Plan is the commitment made in the President's Climate Leadership Commitment that was signed by Dr. Crawford in September 2020. This commitment signifies a dedication to sustainability and underscores the university's role in addressing one of the most pressing challenges of our time. The plan’s introduction includes that, as a signatory of Second Nature’s Climate Commitment, the Climate Action Plan outlines the goals, targets, and actions that will lead Miami’s Oxford campus to carbon neutrality for energybased emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) and emissions from commuting and university-financed air travel (Scope 3). The goal is to eliminate at least 90% of emissions to avoid carbon offsets as possible.
CO N T I N U E D O N N E X T PAG E