Rebecca Hoeffler is the Communications Coordinator for Sustainable Duke, whose mission is to educate and empower the Duke community to create a more sustainable future. She works with student groups and employee workshops to further this mission.
In this episode, we get the details of Duke's 2024 Climate Action Plan. Plus, how do the impacts of individual vs. institutional change differ? And how can students contribute to this goal of carbon neutrality?
CREDITS:
Guest: Rebecca Hoeffler
Hosts: Valerie Tsao, Rishab Jagetia
Producers: Valerie Tsao, Rishab Jagetia, Ryan Lou, Jessie Goldblatt, Olivia Fox
Music:
Cali by Wataboi
Katherine Li
Hey, welcome to Operation Climate, a podcast made by young people for young people, where we break down environmental issues through conversations with cool people.
Rishab Jagetia
Hey everyone, welcome to Operation Climate. I'm Rishab.
Valerie Tsao
And I'm Valerie.
Rishab Jagetia
Today we have a big topic on our podcast, and that is climate change. But first of all, before we talk about that, I just want to know Valerie, how are you doing on this beautiful day?
Valerie Tsao
Good. The weather is finally picking up in Durham and it's sunny outside, so it's been great. How about you Rishab?
Rishab Jagetia
It is perfect Spikeball weather, and that's all I can say, which is always a good thing. But anyways, we're not here for that. We're here to learn about climate change, and specifically, climate change at Duke. So just for some context, I'm a freshman, and I'm in the Class of 2024, which is the class of carbon neutrality. But a lot of freshmen like me just don't know what's going on. What is Duke doing about climate change? What is their plan?
Valerie Tsao
For all our listeners that may not be familiar with Dukes climate goals, the Climate Action Plan aims to transition us to become carbon neutral by 2024.
Rishab Jagetia
We hope that this conversation could be a really good introduction, so we all can learn.
Valerie Tsao
With Duke's freshmen this year representing the class of carbon neutrality, they all have a few questions to ask.
Olivia Fox
How can I make an impact?
Ryan Lou
Is Duke University on track to meet their carbon neutrality goals?
Jessie Goldblatt
What does it mean to be a part of this change?
Valerie Tsao
Today, we have Rebecca Hoeffler with us, the Program Coordinator for Sustainable Duke, who will discuss some of Duke's efforts, challenges, and successes in reducing emissions. We hope that she provides an interesting perspective on some of the relevant questions that students are curious about, especially in our current environment, amidst issues such as the pandemic.
Rishab Jagetia
Rebecca, thanks for joining us. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Rebecca Hoeffler
Sure, thank you for having me. I'm excited to talk more about Sustainable Duke and our mission. Little about me, I am the Program Coordinator for the Office of Sustainability at Duke University, that is Sustainable Duke. I have been here for about five years. I came down from Dartmouth after finishing my fellowship and sustainability education. I have a big focus on education and outreach for campus. You will often see emails from me in the form of newsletters or listserv emails, as well as social media. You'll see me in your class from time to time giving presentations on sustainability and the carbon neutrality goal.
Valerie Tsao
Awesome. Could you tell us a little bit more about what the plan addresses and what carbon neutrality actually is?
Rebecca Hoeffler
The Climate Action Plan was written in 2009 and recently updated in 2019, with the goal of guiding Duke University's efforts to become carbon neutral by 2024. The first year students at Duke this past year are actually the class of carbon neutrality, so I am very excited to see them celebrate that milestone in a couple years. We define carbon neutrality as reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions for various categories, including energy use on campus, university-sponsored air travel, and employee commuting. The plan provides recommendations to reduce emissions and make Duke more sustainable in five areas, which are energy, transportation, carbon offsets education, and campus outreach and communication.
Rishab Jagetia
Cool, I'll just say as a freshman, I'm thrilled to be part of the Class 2024 for that reason. But just going off the point with the categories like energy, transportation, carbon offsets, what do you think has been the most challenging category to achieve actual action on carbon neutrality? And are there any initiatives in mind that you can think of that have been especially challenging?
Rebecca Hoeffler
The sectors in the Climate Action Plan that deal with behavior change tend to be the most difficult areas. In terms of rate of change and compliance, transportation and energy in particular come to mind. Reducing emissions from single occupancy vehicles and air travel involves both behavior and infrastructure change. It is really important to remember that it is hard to ask staff to change a set routine that is convenient for them, especially when that behavior and routine intersects with the reality of life, staff and faculty at Duke have families and childcare responsibilities. Having a car provides them with the option to leave campus quickly in case of a family emergency or illness. As a world class research institution, faculty and staff travel for field research, studying abroad and conferences, activities that are traditionally vital for the research and education needs for the university.
Energy is another sector that we can talk about as an area of challenge, specifically due to behavior change. The challenge really lies within educating a campus of around 50,000 people all at once to make the same changes like turning off the lights when they leave the rooms, turning off unnecessary office equipment, turning off classroom and lab equipment, and being mindful of their daily behaviors while juggling the rest of life's responsibilities.
As an institution that is training the next generation of leaders, it is crucial that students and staff develop the ability to think critically about the spaces they are in and the impacts that they have. In order to build a better future we all are working towards, that work starts day one on Duke's campus by stressing the importance that behavior change needs to be enacted in tandem with operational changes.
Valerie Tsao
And there you have it. Since the freshmen this year represent the class of carbon neutrality, we asked them to share some of their thoughts.
Jessie Goldblatt
It's exciting and empowering to think that with each year that passes, Duke will be closer to its climate action goals. And that the very year my classmates and I graduate, we will be officially carbon neutral. Just knowing that we contributed to this effort and are now linked to it is such a unique legacy to have and one that I'm proud to be a part of.
Olivia Fox
I'm an environmental engineering major so sustainability is very important to me. I think it's great that we're the class of Duke's Carbon Neutrality Plan, because we'll hopefully get to see some real climate action taking place, and even participate in it ourselves. Duke's pledge to achieve carbon neutrality represents a greater shift underway by universities, corporations, and nations across the globe recognizing the importance of sustainability going into the future. As the Class of 2024, this feature starts here. And I'm very excited to see where it takes us.
Ryan Lou
I definitely feel like it's something of great significance. Growing up and constantly hearing years where catastrophes maybe irreversible, like X amount of ice will be lost by 2050, it just feels crazy that my generation will be a part of that statistic and a positive one at that. I'd like to know more about what Duke is doing to achieve this ambitious goal, and what I can do to help.
Valerie Tsao
So it sounds like students are pretty hopeful about Duke's plan for carbon neutrality. Given that, we asked Rebecca to expand on some of the successes moving forward in the project. Here are some of the highlights.
Rebecca Hoeffler
We just talked about the importance of behavior change and energies. So now we can talk about the operational changes Duke has made in the energy sector as a really great area of success. Starting in 2009, Duke discontinued the use of coal in on-campus steam plants, a huge win in reducing our emissions and stopping the shipment of coal straight to an area of campus off of Coal Pile Drive, where there used to be actual piles of coal on our campus.
In combination with campus heating and cooling utility upgrades and energy efficiency like the LED lighting project that replaced the fluorescent and incandescent lights, in 3.2 million square feet of campus building space with LEDs, we have been able to reduce energy emissions by 30% since our 2007 baseline. To continue on this success, Duke recently committed to a historic solar deal in partnership with Pine Gate Renewables, a solar developer and Asheville. Duke will bolster its renewable energy capabilities through a purchase power agreement of 101 megawatts of solar capacity from three new solar facilities planned for North Carolina starting actually this year. This will result in about half of our entire annual electricity needs coming from solar and will help reduce Duke's emission by 57,000 metric tons.
Valerie Tsao
Wow. So sounds like Duke is doing a lot to mitigate climate change through the use of like LED lights and the switch to solar energy. What do you think about some of these changes Rishab?
Rishab Jagetia
I have a lot of thoughts, and probably too many to include on the podcast. But I think it's a really good start for Duke to take on this low-hanging fruit. Rebecca talks about all the institutional changes that we can do. Because as a university, you have to deal with electricity. You have to figure out how to reduce your emissions on that end. However, I think one thing that I wish she could have touched on more, and I wish that Duke could do a little better is not only doing those low-hanging fruit that are a lot of technical solutions, but actually changing our social policy to make sure that as we do these institutional changes, how can we include community members of Durham around us? How can we do this in an equitable manner that isn't just something where we throw a bunch of money at it and suddenly it becomes green?
Valerie Tsao
Yeah, definitely, I agree with you. I think the initiatives Duke is pursuing is a step in the right direction, but we need to think about how we affect community members and what we're doing on a larger scale and not just Duke in its own bubble.
Rishab Jagetia
It's clear from Rebecca's words that climate action is a really continuous process at universities, and for our listeners of the show, but also for other universities, it's important to know what we've learned from the process, and specifically what Sustainable Duke has learned. So we really wanted to know, what were the bright spots? Where is the potential for more action? And what has Rebecca learned throughout this whole process?
Rebecca Hoeffler
One of the most important lessons I've learned, at least here during my time at Duke, is that there is actually a critical energy source being left out of the renewable energy conversation. And that energy source is people. All the work that has been done and will be done to reduce emissions and get us to carbon neutrality is only possible because of the sustained source of energy from Duke's leadership, its student advocates, sustainability engineering facilities, and operations staff. Even those not in a leadership position are some of the most powerful change agents we have. The LED lighting project I mentioned before was actually started by first-year engineering student Anoush Tekar. Our labs have reduced energy and waste because over 70 PIs and lab managers completed our green lab certification. We now have over 100 certified green workplaces because staff have made the commitment to reduce energy, waste, and water in their departments. People, in my opinion, are the most sustainable source of power on the planet and at Duke.
Rishab Jagetia
People are the most sustainable source of power at Duke. What do you think about that?
Valerie Tsao
Yeah, I think as an environmental organization, it's sometimes hard for us to gauge the impact an individual can make, because we really do believe that everyone can make a difference. And we want people to have an active voice and an active role in the fight against climate change and climate justice. But I do think institutional impact is where we are going to effect large scale differences and really make the change we want to see in the world.
Rishab Jagetia
Yes, I totally agree. I think it's a bottom-up movement in the fact that we can make change and we can push for change, but it's also top-down. They need to make decisions that can improve our well being at the end of the day.
Valerie Tsao
Now that we recognize that this movement is one that involves both individuals and institutions, we wanted to ask Rebecca how she's learned from other organizations and universities doing similar things.
Rebecca Hoeffler
Duke is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education and also Second Nature, both of which are large collectives of other colleges and universities working to reduce emissions and make their campuses more sustainable. AASHE has annual conferences, which have been a fantastic resource for Sustainable Duke staff over the years. Another group that Duke has greatly benefited from over the past 10 years is the IV Plus Sustainability Consortium. IV Plus is a group of 14 colleges and universities that have aligned to share best practices, report on collective impact, and different research special topics.
Valerie Tsao
So I know we've talked a lot about the overview of Duke's Climate Action Plan and how we are making an effort to minimize our carbon footprint. But in your opinion, is Duke on track to achieving the 2024 carbon neutrality goal? And have there been any notable setbacks particularly with COVID-19?
Rebecca Hoeffler
We are absolutely on track. The solar deal is a really amazing new development that has helped to leapfrog our goal to source for more renewable energy sources to reduce our emissions. COVID-19 has reduced overall University emissions in the short term, particularly from air travel and employee commuting, but once Duke resumes more normal operations in the future, emissions could begin to increase again. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the university's budget and campus population have potentially delayed several sustainability-related initiatives, things like competitions and events. But they have also greatly accelerated the conversation around expanding telecommuting options for employees for the long-term.
Valerie Tsao
Right. So during the pandemic, I think it was a lot harder to practice some sustainable actions that were accessible to me pre-COVID. For example, I used to take my hydroflask everywhere. So when I went to a ABP or Twinnies, I could always ask them to make a drink in my reusable water bottle. So that was really great, but obviously wasn't an option during COVID times.
Rishab Jagetia
Yeah, COVID is definitely a mixed bag for me. For one, we use our laptops all the time and that requires so much electricity. But on the other end, we don't even have to take the bus anymore that much. So it's really hard to weigh all of those together when we look at the whole environmental impact. To Rebecca's point, I think COVID has accelerated a few trends. But one of the trends that I've noticed is horrible is waste. So I wanted to hear her words on that.
Rebecca Hoeffler
Increased disposability is actually something we see fairly often, when it comes to life-safety standards. When life-safety and sustainability go head-to-head, sustainability will lose every time. I think one of the most important things we could do right now is acknowledge this and have a conversation around sustaining the health of our student population and staff population, but ensuring that when we think long term, could we reduce consumption? How do we reject these behaviors that we're adopting now in order to sustain us until we get to normal operations again?
Rishab Jagetia
That's great to know. And it's definitely a balancing act that I certainly don't know how to handle, but it seems like Duke's trying its best.
Valerie Tsao
So I think we've reached our final question for you Rebecca, and that is what can Duke students do to contribute to help achieve carbon neutrality on our campus? In other words, what's the most important thing to be mindful about when thinking about these issues?
Rebecca Hoeffler
For students, I think it's really about engagement and education. Finding those educational points in your courses that relate to sustainability, diving more into those issues, being up-to-date about the reality of the climate movement, and the climate crisis is really important. Another really great way to help make a difference for carbon neutrality is to understand your personal impact. So Duke has a carbon calculator, we also have the carbon neutrality module, which is a website that will guide you through each sector of the Carbon Action Plan that will help you understand how we're going to do the things we do within each sector, and also helps you understand how you affect every every emission in every sector on campus.
Another great example for students to help us reach carbon neutrality is going to be personal leadership. So leading by example, being that sustainable friend for your community, helping them see you participate in sustainable practices and advocate for these issues can make all the difference in the world.
Rishab Jagetia
Well, Rebecca, we just want to thank you one more time for joining us, because this is a great conversation.
Valerie Tsao
Yeah, thank you for sharing your perspective and providing an insider look to what Duke is accomplishing.
Rebecca Hoeffler
Thank you for having me and continue to have these great conversations. It's really important for students to have these talks with different staff and different faculty and among your friends, and I really appreciate your effort to do so.
Valerie Tsao
So Rishab, what did you take away from this conversation?
Rishab Jagetia
Hmm, well Val, I think there's a lot that we can take away. It's clear that Duke's trying its best in trying to be an institution that really makes profound change on climate. This means that they're doing a lot of technical things like changing our electricity, making sure that our buildings are more efficient, and getting all those nuts and bolts in place so that we can be a zero emissions campus. But at the same time, I felt like I was missing something from this conversation. Something where we really include the equitable and social sides of climate action.
Valerie Tsao
Mhmm yeah, and while I really enjoyed having that conversation and learning about the initiatives that Duke is currently pursuing, it kind of struck me that for a university to make change, there is a lot of baggage involved with tackling the climate movement. We have to think about the historical legacies of global warming, we have to think about injustices that are still being incurred in communities and be cognizant that yes, while students like us can make a change and can do our part, there will always be leaders in power that can do more, and that have to start making more informed decisions.
I'm Valerie,
Rishab Jagetia
and I'm Rishab,
Valerie Tsao & Rishab Jagetia
and we'll see you next time!
Katherine Li
Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of Operation Climate. Make sure to subscribe on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, and anywhere else that you find your podcasts in order to stay updated about future episodes. Visit our website at bit.ly/operationclimatepodcast for a full transcript of this episode, and for more information and links that you can explore to learn more about this topic that we covered today. Follow us on our socials. We are @operationclimate on Instagram. And lastly, we want to hear from you. So write a review on Apple podcasts that would help us so much. And send us your feedback and your messages through our website. Email us, you can DM us on Instagram, you can fill out our feedback form which is on our website. And if you're a student listening to this podcast, head to our website to fill out our students stories form to get the chance to have your story and voice featured on a future episode of Operation Climate. Thanks so much and we hope you join us next time. See ya.
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