Cardinal Points

Issue date: 4/13/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Ryan Hayner The SUNY Energy Task Force will look at ways to reduce pollution through smarter energy use and will examine energy consumption to help improve energy conservation efforts.

The SUNY Energy Task Force has taken the lead on propelling SUNY to follow a more green approach to campus operation.

SUNY's commitment toward reducing pollution through smarter energy use has been documented in a report that outlines the goals of the committee.

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry President Neil Murphy Jr. and SUNY Morrisville President Raymond Cross are the co-chairs of the task force.

Murphy said educational institutions have the responsibility as moral leaders to educate their students on becoming more energy conscious.

"No public university has had such a comprehensive approach to energy management," Murphy said. "This is very unique."

Murphy said the role of the task force is to examine energy consumption and make recommendations on how each individual SUNY campus can help in energy conservation efforts.

"There are close to 15 other members on the committee," Murphy said. "The report reasonably reflects the interests and perspectives of the other members of the energy task force."

Cross said he hopes the outcome of the report will serve to catapult SUNY into a national leadership role in terms of the reduction of its campus energy use.

"The energy task force has defined ways to improve SUNY's ability to manage energy wisely," Cross said. "SUNY has over 2,900 buildings spread over more than 90 million grossed square feet. When we decide to address issues of energy consumption, it will have a huge impact."

Cross said the task force identified the three main goals of the report as conservation and sustainability, transformational opportunities and management and planning.

Each campus, he said, will be required to reduce energy use by 2010 so energy consumption is 37 percent lower than what was used in 1990.

Each campus will be expected to decide its own method of approach to achieving the desired reduction percentage, Cross said.

Another goal identified by the task force is for each campus to increase the use of renewable energy by 30 percent.

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