College one of first in nation to submit ‘green’ plan
Sept. 25, 2009
The College had a good, “green” reason to celebrate when it began its new academic year in September.
On Sept. 4, LaGrange became the ninth school out of 650 participating
institutions nationwide to submit its Climate Action Plan to the
American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment reporting
site – a week ahead of its deadline. The College came in ahead of such
schools as Arizona State University, Oberlin College, Duke University
and other sustainability leaders.
The Presidents Climate Commitment encourages schools to become climate
neutral, and LaGrange College leader Dan McAlexander said he is proud
of the work put into the College’s plan.
“LaGrange College is committed to serving our community and our world,”
he said. “By being good stewards of our resources, we can lead the way
in educating our students, faculty and staff about ways to care for our
planet – and they can educate others.”
The five-year climate action strategy has been dubbed “Knowledge is
Power Saved.” The specific measures are designed to inform and educate
building management and occupants about energy usage. These low-cost
measures have the capacity to save the College thousands of dollars
each month in utility bills, according to the report.
The plan provides a road map for how LaGrange College will reduce
greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years, aiming for a 10 percent
cut by 2014. It focuses on the near term and takes a pragmatic
approach, seeking to lower emissions in the most cost-effective manner
while reducing utility costs.
Tiffany Mixon, who chaired the project, said reaching that goal should not be difficult.
“When we were working on this, we realized that we were already doing a
lot of these energy-saving things,” she said. “This plan reinforces
Recent sustainability efforts at LaGrange have centered on reducing
energy usage through extensive retrofits of existing buildings, she
said. These retrofits, conducted by a performance contract with an
energy service company, began in July 2006 and were completed in August
2007. In late 2008, the LaGrange campus saw the addition of a
45,000-square-foot library that is designed to be LEED-
When Banks Hall was being renovated after the new library opened,
materials and equipment such as energy-efficient windows,
motion-activated and low usage lighting and a state-of-the-art heating
and air-conditioning system were used.
“We’re continuing our efforts to keep sustainability as a focus on our campus,” she said.
To complete the action plan, the College worked with the consulting firm MarionEco of Atlanta.
"I'm very pleased with the way this project came together," said
MarionEco principal Oliver Ferrari. "LaGrange College’s plan takes a
common sense, pragmatic approach to sustainability and energy
efficiency. Simple and sensible changes to operations, like limiting
the use of certain buildings in the heat of the summer, can save the
college thousands of dollars while reducing pollution.”
The committee included Martin Pirrman, James Blackwood, Karen Clark,
Mary Lou Dabbs, Dr. Melinda Pomeroy-Black, Joe Wiegand (student), Bob
Vitale (National), Ben Podbielski (National), Susan Lancaster
(National), Ben Mason (Linc Mechanical) and John Bradford and Matthew
Carter of Interface.