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By: Savitha Sridharan

Savitha Sridharan, 2nd Year MBA Candidate 2014 from Olin Graduate School of Business – EDF Climate Corps Fellow at Clark Atlanta University; Sitar Mody, Senior Manager (Strategy) at EDF Climate Corps; Brian Cabezas, International MBA Candidate 2013 from IE Business School – EDF Climate Corps Fellow at South Carolina State University; Chaprece Henry – Program Coordinator at EDF Climate Corps

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) face a set of issues similar to other higher education institutions in the US. The majority of campuses must address persistent shortfalls in funding that delay needed capital expenditures and hinder the accomplishment of their missions. Under such frugal conditions, it becomes far more important to make use of available resources more efficiently. Energy efficiency is definitely one of them. Collaborative thinking, creative innovation and focused leadership are key elements that are helping HBCUs to become centers of sustainability.

The United Negro College Fund (UNCF)’s Building Green Initiative at HBCUs and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) has officially moved to Clark Atlanta University (CAU) and will continue working to transform 20th-century campus infrastructures into living, learning laboratories that promote academic excellence and technological solutions needed to address complex social, economic and environmental problems. Under the leadership of Felicia Davis, Building Green Program Director, the initiative has tapped multiple organizations to expand their MSI focused sustainability activities, including the resources available through the EDF Climate Corps program.

For instance, a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation provided support for the placement of EDF Climate Corps fellows on several HBCU campuses, including my assignment at Clark Atlanta University. This opportunity allowed me to work directly with the Building Green Initiative in addition to identifying energy savings for the institution.

EDF has played an active role in helping to advance energy management practices at Clark Atlanta University. This is the second time the school has tapped the talents of an EDF Climate Corp fellow to improve energy efficiency at CAU. Under the supervision of CAU’s principal investigator, Dr. Olu Olatidoye, my focus this summer has been to build an energy management decision tool for the school’s Thomas Cole Research Center of Science and Technology. The tool is a centralized database that consists of energy audit information, utility bills, rebates and tax incentives, a financial analysis calculator and an inventory of all devices that consume electricity on campus.

The energy management decision tool will help faculty navigate and utilize energy data and information and guide leaders in making recommendations. The tool also will help faculty easily identify cost-savings to cushion funding for the research center’s energy efficiency projects.

Contributing to CAU’s energy management planning has been a fulfilling professional experience, so you can imagine how excited I was to participate in the larger Building Green Initiative planning workshop, held at CAU in July.

The Building Green Initiative (BGI) is currently in the strategic planning process and building out the next phase of its development. The planning workshop refined program goals, objectives and major strategies. EDF Climate Corp staff and Brian Cabezas, another EDF Climate Corps fellow servicing an MSI this summer, traveled down to Atlanta to participate in the BGI planning workshop.

During this meeting, EDF’s Virtuous Cycle of Organizational Energy Efficiency gained a lot of attention. In an optimized organization, all five components of the “Virtuous Cycle” function at full capacity, enabling organizations to improve energy performance, and generate maximum financial and environmental returns. The group referenced the cycle in the development of four main goals that were identified at the meeting, including reducing carbon emissions on HBCU and MSI campuses and pinpointing a focus on strengthening organizational infrastructure, financial resources, partnerships and networks to further advance the initiative. To take things a step further, the group established four focus groups to help kick the BGI goals into gear. The focus groups will look into the development of student-run green ambassador programs, green revolving loan funds, marketing green initiatives and energy efficiency retrofit programs.

As Clark Atlanta and the Building Green initiative continue to move forward, I’m glad to have helped to shape the initial resources that will work to sustain their energy efficiency efforts and work towards becoming centers of sustainability.

Source: EDF Climate Corps: http://edfclimatecorps.org/blog/2013/09/25/planning-build-green-clark-atlanta-university-taps-edf-climate-corps

This commentary, authored by N. Jenise Young, originally appeared on EDF’s Climate Corps blog.

In June, President Obama called for action during his milestone climate change speech. He said, “…we’ve got a vital role to play. We can’t stand on the sidelines. We’ve got a unique responsibility.”

Melting ice glaciers are out of sight, out of mind in Houston where extreme heat and hurricanes are the norm and where I’ve spent the last year studying at Texas Southern University (TSU). What I have learned while studying at TSU surprised me – urban, minorities communities, like those surrounding TSU, are among those already struggling with the effects of climate change. In fact, numerous studies document the unequal burden of climate change and the differential application of climate policies within African American communities. For example, the Race, Poverty and Environment Journal for Social and Environmental Justice reports that African-Americans spend 30 percent more of their income on energy than their white counterparts, despite emitting 20 percent fewer greenhouse gases per household. In addition, the journal reports that “the six states with the highest African American populations are all within Atlantic hurricane zones expected to experience more storms like Katrina in the future.” In Texas, more than 20 weather and climate disasters that cost over one billion dollars have impacted the state over the past decade.

As an EDF Climate Corps fellow, I am excited to spend my summer on TSU’s campus and in the community laying the groundwork that will educate and enable students and administrators to address climate issues already impacting our community. I had the opportunity to connect with the university President, student government and other key personnel to discuss the negative effects of climate change. In these conversations, I emphasized the importance of making energy efficiency upgrades and improvements a part of the university’s capital budget. Although I was hired as an EDF Climate Corps fellow to ultimately identify the savings from energy efficiency projects, I am working diligently to educate the entire campus about climate change, sustainability and best energy practices.

In addition to my task of helping the campus to improve the efficiency of its energy use, I’m working with a team of Barbara Jordan Mickey Leland Scholars to build upon the Climate Education Community University Partnership (CECUP) groundwork developed by Dr. Robert Bullard, Dean of TSU’s School of Public Affairs. The goal of this partnership is to establish a climate change research consortium for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the Gulf-Coast and Southern-Atlantic.

HBCUs have played a key role in conceptualizing Climate Justice Principles and serving on advisory boards of environmental groups that produced some of the first reports and research that addresses African Americans, global warming and climate policy. For instance, representatives from HBCUs were founding members of the Environmental Justice Leadership Forum on Climate Change, a coalition of over 45 organizations working to advance climate justice and impact policy to ensure the protection and promotion of communities of color and low-income communities. More importantly, environmental justice scholars from several HBCUs helped organize the first Climate Justice Summit in 2000 at the UN Climate Summit–COP5 meeting in The Hague, Netherland. Knowing that my work this summer is critical to this movement is nothing less than inspirational.

By identifying both the economic and environmental benefits of energy-efficiency, HBCUs are establishing the groundwork for sustainable and healthy communities. At TSU, the School of Public Affairs is exploring the possibility of retrofitting the lighting in one building by taking advantage of Center Point Energy’s Retro-Commissioning program. By upgrading one campus building, TSU would continue driving Texas’ momentum towards low-carbon buildings. Through President Obama’s Better Buildings Challenge, Houston, El Paso and Fort Worth all committed to reducing energy intensity 20 percent by 2020 in a combined 38.2 million square feet of buildings. Additionally, TSU is also considering advocating within the Pleasantville super neighborhood, by supporting community representatives working to ensure fair environmental protection for vulnerable populations that border Houston’s Ship Channel.

This summer has been an amazing experience. EDF Climate Corps enabled me to collaborate with diverse and vulnerable populations and fight climate change. However, the years ahead are outlined with lots of hard work. Relationship building, stable funding mechanisms and behavior change initiatives are all needed to help lighten the disproportionate burden of climate change on urban communities. Despite the challenges ahead, I’m hopeful that my generation will continue to lead our communities, nation and planet in changing the way we consume energy.

Source: http://blogs.edf.org/texascleanairmatters/2013/08/14/historically-black-colleges-and-universities-lead-climate-action-in-minority-communities-starting-with-texas/