October 8^th was the first Sustainability Task Force (STF) meeting of the 2015-2016 academic year. Students, faculty and staff came together for a meeting highlighting NYU’s sustainability efforts and the collaboration between NYU and the city and state’s sustainability goals. Attendees heard from Patrick Love, NYC Carbon Challenge Coordinator, about the Mayor’s Carbon Challenge, which aims to cut New York City carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 by working in concert with universities, hospitals, and other entities within the city. After hearing about the citywide plan, participants heard from Dianne Anderson, Acting Director of Sustainability, about the work that NYU has been undertaking to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and overall energy use. Highlights from Dianne’s presentation include:

• NYU’s involvement in climate related challenges at the city, state and national level, including the Governor’s newly announced Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) Campus Challenge.
• NYU’s 30% reduction of carbon emissions, well before the 2017 deadline.
• A reduction of overall energy consumption since 2006.
• Installation of LEDs and lighting controls to help reduce energy usage.
• Potential implementation of the University of Michigan Sustainability Survey to gauge awareness of sustainability on NYU’s main campus.

Nicolas Gordon, Manager at the Office of Sustainability, then spoke about the other facets of NYU’s sustainability program, including BikeShare, Green Grants and ECO Reps. All of which directly engage with students, whether it be in the form of the smoothie bike at events, or through a Green Grant to fund a student’s sustainable idea.

The session concluded with the introduction of three working groups focusing on: Engagement, the Climate Action Plan, and the Sustainability and Cultural Indicators Survey, which STF members will be working on in the coming months. The first goal of the STF is to formulate ideas around these areas and from there they will recommend or develop campus implementation plans with the help of the Office of Sustainability. Overall the first meeting was a success! Participants after the meeting expressed excitement about the overall goals NYU has committed to and the progress NYU has made thus far in reducing emissions and energy use.

If you would like more information about how you can get involved in sustainability at NYU, or are interested in any of the Office of Sustainability’s programs you can check out our website or our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.