New office enhances NAU sustainability efforts

Sustainability and environmental outreach are being strengthened at Northern Arizona University through the creation of a new office that will become a main point of contact for sustainability issues affecting campus and the region.

The newly created Office of Sustainability will implement sustainable energy, water, transportation, purchasing and recycling efforts on campus and develop partnerships that can bring practical application of university research to campus, the state and the nation.

The office will work closely with NAU's Center for Sustainable Environments to share technology and research.

"The nation and the world are grappling with complex ecological issues that will have a profound impact on generations to come," said NAU President John Haeger. "Northern Arizona University is strengthening its role as a regional steward by expanding our efforts on these important issues."

Richard Baron, manager for the Applied Research and Development building, is the new director of the Office of Sustainability.

The new Office of Sustainability will fall under the purview of the Office of the President with its day-to-day operation led by Rich Bowen, associate vice president for Economic Development and Sustainability, and director Richard Baron, currently the manager for the Applied Research and Development building, the award-winning "green" building housing many of the university's environmental programs. Program coordinator Heather Farley will move from CSE to support Bowen and Baron.

"The mission of the office is to meet the president's climate change commitment and to use NAU-developed green research to make the campus carbon neutral," Bowen said. "We see ourselves as the implementation arm of research and teaching, taking very pragmatic steps to reach our goals."

In 2007, Haeger became a charter signatory of American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, created as an avenue for university leaders to define and address the challenges of climate change. This agreement commits NAU to develop a comprehensive plan to achieve climate neutrality using the Office of Sustainability to guide the development and implementation of the plan, conduct comprehensive inventories of greenhouse gas emissions and improve sustainable energy practices.

Bowen emphasized the need for the new office to promote outside partnerships with other universities, government agencies and private businesses. APS, for example, already is a strong supporter of NAU's sustainability efforts, he said.

"The university's process of becoming carbon neutral can generate local jobs," he said. "Working with other entities will help stimulate the economy."

One example is NAU's plan to use biomass fuel as a renewable energy source. Two on-campus generators would burn wood particles gathered from forest thinning projects to produce up to one-third of the university's energy needs. NAU also is working on large-scale implementation of solar energy and off-campus components to generate wind energy.

Baron, the office's new director, said, "We plan to bridge sustainable education and campus implementation, striving to apply many of the sustainability recommendations made by NAU students in various academic fields."

NAU already has taken a leadership role in on-campus sustainability through robust recycling efforts, a pledge to purchase 5 percent of the university's power from renewable sources, and an initiative to irrigate more than half of the Flagstaff campus with reclaimed water, saving 8 million gallons of potable water per year, Baron said.

NAU also is home to three LEED-rated buildings, including the Gold-rated Business and Engineering buildings and the Platinum-rated ARD building, "higher education's greenest building," according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

NAU is upgrading and installing high-efficiency computers, boilers, more insulation and motion detectors that turn off lights after occupants leave the room.