Seventeen commissioners and over 1000 people worked for two years to address GHG emissions reductions objectives:
“Encompassing two years of work, the Commission’s report provides President Schlissel and the Regents with a proposed roadmap to carbon neutrality. It describes, in great detail, how certain cultural or institutional practices could spur a more sustainable university community, and how various technical approaches across emissions categories could move U-M toward a carbon-free future.” (p. 7)
Strategic and tactical recommendations are thoughtful, supporting a roadmap for how to achieve carbon neutrality and beyond via financial investment and cultural shifts.
A critical enabler mentioned throughout the report is the need to implement a carbon accounting system (what I refer to as an ECMS, or energy and carbon management system, i.e., a digital system used to gather, store, and analyze emissions and related data. Here’s an example:
My research documents the people, process, and technical challenges of implementing an ECMS here, as well as the need for accurate data to achieve emissions reductions objectives here.
Kudos to the colossal effort and detailed modeling and recommendations described in the PCCN. The next steps involving implementing an ECMS that achieves the wide scope of objectives detailed in the PCCN within budget and on time will be challenging – but attainable with appropriate planning and implementation expertise.
