Rutgers Buses, like the one pictured here, only account for about 1% of the University's carbon footprint.

Buses, Cars, and Planes- Accounting for Our Transportation Emissions

mdrews2023, Climate 101

By: Samantha Donner
Since transportation, and especially road travel, is a large contributor to transportation emissions, it is important to understand the what vehicles, systems, and behaviors contribute to transportation emissions broadly and at Rutgers. With this understanding, we can take meaningful action to address climate change.

Composter

Food Consumption and Waste: Holiday Edition

mdrews2022, Climate 101

By: Kelly Vaz Lima
A major issue throughout the holidays is waste. “Over 70 billion pounds of food waste reaches our landfills every year, contributing to methane emissions, wasting energy and resources across the food supply chain” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.

Emissions and total weight of food purchased by Rutgers Dining Services in FY2019

Scope 3: Emissions Tracking and Food

mdrews2022, Climate 101

By: Andrew Saponara
Last month in Climate 101, we discussed the different emission classifications, scopes 1, 2, and 3. Of these, scope 3, which includes commuting, business travel, and food emissions, is the most difficult to track. Tracking emissions is crucial in helping Rutgers meet its climate goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040. It will assess how much progress Rutgers has made toward achieving its goals and will help identify procedures that can be made more efficient.

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Classifying Carbon Emissions: Scopes 1, 2, and 3

mdrews2022, Climate 101

By: Katie Parrish
In the September edition of Climate 101, we discussed Rutgers’ commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2040. The first step in doing this is determining which emissions are attributed to Rutgers and how to track them. Greenhouse gas accounting uses the concept of ‘scopes’ to help organizations understand their emissions. There are three scopes, or level of responsibilities, for emissions – Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3.

carbon neutrality balance scale

What Is Carbon Neutrality and What Does It Mean for Rutgers?

mdrews2022, Climate 101

By: Stella Campbell
A recent poll from the Morning Consult found that most adults in the U.S. don’t know what the term “carbon neutral” means, and only 45% of self-identified environmentalists were able to correctly identify the exact meaning of the phrase. With Rutgers committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2040 and becoming carbon-negative (removing more carbon dioxide than we are putting into the atmosphere) no later than the University’s 275th anniversary in 2041, it is worth starting off the year with a quick explanation of this terminology.   

Helping Shape Rutgers’ Climate Commitment

Meenal Vaggyani2020

Amid an extraordinary year altered by the coronavirus pandemic, work continues at Rutgers University to address another ongoing crisis with dire consequences: climate change. Following the release of an interim report, the President’s Task Force is continuing its work on a comprehensive climate action plan.

Rutgers-buses-in-the-background-and-a-green-painted-bike-lane-in-the-foregound

Rutgers Moves Toward a Climate Action Plan

Meenal Vaggyani2020

The President’s Task Force on Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience this week released an interim report following six months of intensive effort by seven working groups, comprised of faculty, staff, students and other key university community members, as they work to create a climate action plan for Rutgers.

Rutgers holds town hall for Climate Task Force

Meenal Vaggyani2020

By: Puja Mahendru
The President’s Task Force on Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience held a public town hall focused on how carbon emissions can be reduced at Rutgers.

Solar Farm on Camous

Rutgers Advances Work on Climate Action Plan

Meenal Vaggyani2020

Rutgers University has taken an important step to develop a Climate Action Plan that will reduce the university’s carbon footprint and its vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.