Unity College Demonstrates Long-Standing Committment to Sustainability and Achievement in Governor's Carbon Challenge
Unity College meets the Governor’s Carbon Challenge with a remarkable 20% overall reduction in carbon emissions since 2001. Unity and its 550 students and 60 faculty members, measured a per capita emissions reduction of 28% since 2001, despite adding new building space and students! With a long-standing commitment to environmental education and their Sustainability program, Unity College set an aggressive Governor’s Carbon Challenge goal of 25% reduction in carbon emissions, as well as a 5% per year minimum reduction. President, Mitchell Thomashow says “Unity College is delighted to participate in this exemplary program. It is fitting for Maine’s colleges and universities to take leadership, galvanizing students and local communities, demonstrating how the college campus can be a living laboratory for sustainability initiatives.”
Founded in 1965 in Unity, Maine, the chronology of “Forty-four years of Sustainability at Unity College” includes other notable progress milestones such as using 100% Maine-based renewable electricity, teaching sustainability (including climate change as a good proxy measure) in the classroom and developing a more sustainable campus, conducting a major energy audit of all campus buildings, and replacing inefficient older “leaky” buildings with the construction of new green buildings while employing maximum use of local Maine materials and design/construction know-how. Unity determined their actual carbon emissions are the lowest of any other college they could find.
The Governor’s Carbon Challenge is a voluntary goal-setting program to assist businesses and non-profit organizations accomplish their greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.
