Climate Action Plan - ACUPCC Reports - Climate Commitment

• Local, state, and federal policies and laws that further sustainabilityefforts and the particular impact policies have on educational institutions.• Development and growth patterns at the University to help plan forfuture needs in office, classroom, research, and housing space.• Systems integration around water and energy for high performancecampus and educational building settings.• Decision-making frameworks, research informatics infrastructure, andtools to assist the University in determining which climate neutralitystrategies to pursue.• Psychosocial research to identify what triggers people to care about anissue and take action to solve it.• Interconnectivity between personal and public health and wellness, andsustainability. Potential projects include the effects of environmental andbuilding materials on health and the identification and effects of indoorair quality issues.Accelerating this research agenda will require targeted incentives and supportivestructures, which may be accomplished through some of the following strategies:• Expand existing units that facilitate sustainability research such as theInitiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment and the Institute onthe Environment.• Create new consortia and informatics infrastructure of centers,departments, and units to further research efforts.• Designate new sources of internal funding and seed money and financethem by tapping new existing revenue streams like gravel excavationroyalties from UMore Park or by dedicating a portion of Indirect CostRecovery.• Develop new or utilize existing mechanisms for distributing those funds.• Increase partnerships with local companies to allow the University tobecome a test bed for new technologies that move both the company andthe University towards sustainability.FinancingA comprehensive financing plan is not within the scope of the current report, butthe committee recognizes that implementing emissions reduction strategies ofteninvolves up-front investment. Acknowledging this, the committee anticipatesthat potential financing may include:• Grants and Corporate Sponsorships. The University currently receives20.5% of its funding from sponsored grants and contracts. Grants areoften what make the groundbreaking research endeavors at theUniversity, including those involving sustainability, possible.This document is intended to be viewed online.Please think about the environment before printing.University of Minnesota, Twin CitiesClimate Action Plan v. 1.0 ‐ Page 15 of 24