Connecticut College

Profile

Connecticut College, established in 1911, is a private liberal arts college located in New London, CT with an enrollment of approximately 1850 students. The campus is situated within the Connecticut College Arboretum, encompassing 750 acres of preserved open space overlooking Long Island Sound. The College has a longstanding commitment to responsible environmental stewardship, and seeks to integrate environmental best practices into both the curriculum and the everyday operation and maintenance of facilities. Several environmentally-focused campus student groups work on a diverse range of issues; additionally, an official College body called the Environmental Model Committee (EMC) is charged with “developing policies, initiating programs, and overseeing community education in order to ensure that College operations function as models of environmental sustainability.”

Past Initiatives

Connecticut College first acted to mitigate its greenhouse gas emissions in 1999, working with Reforest the Tropics to plant trees on land formerly used for pasture in Costa Rica. The College planted enough trees to compensate for the 593 tons of carbon dioxide to be emitted over the next 30 years as a result of electricity use in the Crozier-Williams College Center. Another step was taken when a successful student petition drive organized by the Renewable Energy Club resulted in adoption of a $25 renewable energy fee addition to the comprehensive student fee, which monies were used to purchase 17% of College energy from “green” sources in 2002, 22% in 2003, and 44% in 2004. In the summer of 2002, the College also provided a summer internship to a student to complete a Connecticut College Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Inventory. Partnering with Clean Air-Cool Planet (using their Inventory Calculator tool), the intern completed a comprehensive GHG emissions report back to 1990 as well as a cost/benefit analysis of several suggested methods of reducing GHG emissions.

Current Initiatives

Currently, the EMC is creating a zero interest loan fund (similar to the Green Campus Loan Fund implemented by Harvard) to provide capital for energy efficiency upgrades and energy conservation campaigns. Some of the savings generated by these projects will be re-invested in the fund to ensure that it continues to grow over time. Also in the works is a student effort to create a facility for processing dining hall waste oil into biodiesel, to be used in the campus’s on- and off-road vehicle fleet, as well as in heating applications for Earth House. In other efforts, the Renewable Energy Club is researching the possibility of using the student renewable energy fee funds to build a new green energy generation facility; the revenue generated by selling the resultant electricity into the grid would then be re-invested in other green energy projects. By investing in energy production rather than simply purchasing green energy, the College hopes to provide a hands-on educational opportunity and to demonstrate the economic feasibility of this approach.

Future Initiatives

Connecticut College will be using Clean Air-Cool Planet’s revised Inventory Calculator (v4) to update its GHG emissions inventory. After this new report is completed, the College may move toward the adoption of a formal GHG emission reduction target and development of a comprehensive campus climate action plan.

Contact

For more information on Connecticut College green campus initiatives, visit greenliving.conncoll.edu or contact Matt Turcotte, the Campus Environmental Coordinator, at 860-439-5218 or mjtur@conncoll.edu.