Some DU students question the feasibility of the University’s carbon neutrality goals

The bicycle rack at Nelson Hall.  [Photo by Ally Olis.]

 The University of Denver has committed to a goal of becoming a completely carbon neutral institution by 2030. 

The school’s initial claim, made in 2008 pledged to achieve neutrality by 2050, and joined the Presidents’ Climate Leadership Committee. The new timeline accelerates the original by 20 years.

The DU administration is reporting a current reduction of carbon emissions by 28%. With the provision of light rail passes for students, the installation of 18 solar panels and motion-sensored lights in many restrooms, the progression is on a steady track. 

However, some students feel as though the university fails to understand the gravity of the changes they are attempting to implement.

“A big, important step that needs to be taken is to reallocate university funding that’s going towards fossil fuel corporations and instead investing in green energy companies, organizations dedicated to monitoring the climate crisis or even local organizations that work to keep cities green,” said Ellen Bussey, a freshman international business major at the university. 

Chancellor Jeremy Haefner noted that DU in 2008 produced 53,280 metric tons of carbon each year. DU’s former executive director of sustainability, Chad King, said that 50% of the on-campus carbon emissions come from electricity. 

 Claire Broemmer, a freshman psychology and criminology major, who works for the Center of Sustainability at DU, said that she thinks that moving the initial goal was very much a PR stunt on the part of the institution as they are not prioritizing any data collection or large changes per the direction of Chad King. 

As a result, the university has yet to account for the transportation necessities of students in their new sustainability goals and has no present solutions for such an issue. 

“One of the twenty-five by twenty-five goals was to eliminate the need for students to have a car, which seems unfeasible with accessibility, especially for those of us who maintain jobs off- campus. They suggested some of us work on the project over the summer without pay,” Broemmer said. 

With the extensive outward projection that DU is working towards sustainability, this ensures the interest of environmentally conscious students in attending the school.

According to a study by the Princeton Review, 74% of students indicated that information on an institution’s environmental policy would influence their decision on where to attend. 

“It feels like these statements are being made just to ensure students who care about sustainability are coming here. They are addressing it because it’s a backburner issue a lot of students care about, but they don’t actually understand the steps that need to be taken. We don’t even sustainably run kitchens,” said Broemmer. 

DU has a lasting contract with Sodexo, which is one of the largest contributors to fossil fuels and carbon emissions in their slaughterhouses and production of goods. 

“The investments the University has made in favor of the fossil fuel industry directly contradicts what they are attempting to do with carbon neutrality. It’s something that no one pays attention to and it’s a vital element of this process that needs to be rectified,” said Aidan Philipps, a freshman political science major. 

DU has also aligned its goals with the new commitments of the presidential administration to sustainability efforts. 

An  official statement for the Biden administration by the White House says with their current policies, the goal is to achieve 100% carbon-pollution-free electricity by 2035 and reach net-zero emissions economy-wide no later than 2050. 

Some students are questioning DU’s motives in following the government’s environmental goals and whether or not that means more federal grants and compensation. 

 “There’s a lot of awards that a school can get when there’s campus engagement in sustainability efforts. It adds money and more students who prioritize environmental efforts. It’s really attractive to them and President Biden has his own goals for reducing carbon emissions and aligning with that can mean more funding on the federal level,” Kania Campbell, a freshman public policy major at the center for sustainability said.

Carbon neutrality begins with the individual footprint and in the coming years the task is to translate these changes to the scale of the entire student body, practices, and faculty as an institution. In order to fully achieve its goals, DU must be willing to divest from fossil fuels and confront the issue at its source.