Goals, Targets, and Actions

Summary of Strategies

Click on the Index Links at left for the Goals, Targets, and Actions for each section.

 The plan’s strategies include:

For emissions from energy use and production

Strategy: Further reduce energy consumption; complete the transition of building heating and cooling systems off steam; electrify campus systems to reduce burning fossil-fuels on site; generate electricity from solar energy (zero-emissions energy) on-site; procure purchased electricity from renewable sources; and offset the remainder.

For emissions from commuting and university-financed air travel (Scope 3).

(These emissions typically account for about 16% of Miami’s annual MTCO2e emissions.)

Strategy: Reduce barriers to and equitably increase accessibility of alternative transportation modes and reduce the campus drive-alone rate. Reduce as much as possible Miami’s commuting and university-financed air travel emissions, and offset
the rest.

Curriculum and Research

Miami students are increasingly provided with opportunities to learn about sustainability and climate change, whether through an academic course, undergraduate research, an education module, living learning communities, or other initiatives. Through offerings from each academic division, the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability, Miami Plan Signature Inquiry courses, and other initiatives, we will aim to provide all Miami students with climate change education.

Student Engagement and Outreach

We propose the creation of a new Student Sustainability Outreach Coordinator position, and, with the support of Associated Student Government, the implementation of a modest Student Sustainability Fee. These resources will help in projects to motivate behavior change for the goal of building a campus culture of sustainability on campus.

Resilience

While specific climate impacts vary based on regional conditions and context, no region of the nation is immune from the impacts of climate change. As part of the Campus-Community Climate Resilience Assessment for Miami University (submitted to Second Nature in August 2023), a study on the historical and predicted effects of climate change in southwest Ohio found that in the Midwest, future changes in average annual temperature are projected to be higher than in any other region of the United States. While our campus has many strong assets for resiliency, our resilience monitoring plan will help us assess targeted vulnerabilities on a regular basis.

Zero Waste

Scope 3 emissions related to waste disposal and recycling — while not currently addressed under the Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments should be an integral part of a plan for climate action and sustainability. A campus Zero Waste planning committee will be formed to conduct a feasibility study and cost analysis for a Zero Waste Campus Plan