Campuses join green bandwagon

At Duke University's new French Family Science Center, the urinals are waterless, the carpet recycled, the roofs green with plants.

The $115 million building has a Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council -- one of 18 Duke projects headed for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design stamp of approval. Duke said in 2003 it would aim for all new buildings to be green certified.

Not all North Carolina colleges and universities have gone that far. Some have begun to embrace greener living with composting, biodiesel fuels, solar energy and locally grown food in the cafeteria. But it can be an expensive proposition, and there have been missed opportunities.

The biggest building boom in the UNC system's history did not take full advantage of the green building movement. The $3.1 billion in borrowing for higher education construction, approved by taxpayers in 2000, has led to hundreds of new buildings, but most of them lack the latest green advances.

"The first thing that got value-engineered out of every building was the environmentally sensitive, energy-saving devices," UNC President Erskine Bowles said. "I think that's very regrettable."

Short-term tradeoffs

He said the growing campuses instead looked to maximize space in the new buildings. It's unclear how much money the more costly green features could have saved in the long run. By 2008-09, the new buildings will cost an estimated $90 million a year to operate.

"You think, 'Well, I'll make this tradeoff, you know, I don't have to have this energy-saving device, but I really need this classroom space,' and so they made the tradeoff," Bowles said. "I probably would have done the same thing, but I think we're more sensitive to that now, and we're thinking about return on investment."

The system, the state's biggest user of electricity and water, is working to lessen its impact on the environment, and UNC campuses are starting to rethink the way they operate. Under state rules, campuses can retrofit buildings with better equipment and then plow the energy savings back into improvements. UNC-Greensboro has already done one project, and others are expected.

New UNC facilities are built to state standards for longevity, and though they contain some efficiencies, most aren't designed to higher green standards. Some campuses have pushed farther.

At UNC-Chapel Hill, the new FedEx Global Education Center uses stored rainwater to flush toilets and irrigate the courtyard. Five LEED-type buildings are in design or under construction on the campus. UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser has pledged that the proposed Carolina North research campus will be a model of sustainability -- a promise that has been greeted with skepticism by town leaders.

"I think, ultimately, that will be what wins the argument with the town of Chapel Hill," Moeser said. "The town is now beginning to really believe us that we're not just talking about sustainability, we're really doing it."

UNC-CH has a 43 percent recycling rate. Moeser has signed the Presidents Climate Commitment, a promise by 427 college presidents who agree to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work toward climate neutrality. Other signers from North Carolina include Duke President Richard Brodhead, Guilford College President Kent Chabotar and Warren Wilson President Sandy Pfeiffer.

Campus leaders say it's the socially responsible thing to do, and going green cultivates an image of universities as innovators. Their students are also prodding them to do right by the planet.

UNC-CH students are putting their money where their values are. A few years ago, they voted to raise student fees by $4 per semester to invest in renewable energy. The first $185,000 paid for a solar hot water system on the top of the newly renovated Morrison Residence Hall, which reopened this summer. Solar panels on the roof provide hot showers for 860 residents.