Climate Action Goals

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Through energy efficiency measures, energy conservation, renewable energy sourcing and energy management, Lehigh is proactively reducing its campus greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating global climate change. Lehigh continues to play an active role in the search for innovative solutions addressing global climate change and in resiliently adapting to its impacts.

Resiliency

Goal 1

**Conduct a resiliency assessment by 2023 that includes a focus on business continuity planning and integrating climate change impacts into emergency management planning and procedures. Share the assessment with the City of Bethlehem and community groups and implement the assessment’s recommendations in a phased manner.

Goal 2

Working with the City of Bethlehem, participate in co-operative planning and engagement for climate change and resiliency. Support the city in local climate change risk early warning, monitoring and adaptation.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Goal 3

**Develop a Climate Action Strategy (focusing on Scope 1 and 2 emissions) by 2021 that establishes a carbon neutrality goal, subject to board approval, and share with the City of Bethlehem and community groups. Implement the strategy’s recommendations in a phased manner.

Goal 4

Develop a more accurate way to measure, track and reduce certain Scope 3 emissions from sources including student and employee commuting, air travel and reimbursed personal mileage and public transit by 2025. Other Scope 3 emissions including paper purchasing, waste, and wastewater are covered elsewhere in this plan.

Goal 5

**Develop a partnership with a company to provide an opportunity for 1) members of the Lehigh community to purchase carbon offsets on behalf of the university to counterbalance their travel emissions by 2023 and 2) for employees to participate in a voluntary payroll deduction to offset the emissions associated with their daily commute by 2024.

Energy Efficiency

Goal 6

**Implement the recommendations from the Climate Action Strategy and Central Utility Plant Master Plan for campus/building energy efficiency projects in a phased manner. Consider third party financing options.

Goal 7

Audit and assess campus space utilization by 2022. Develop parameters for improving efficiency and establish short- and long-term goals with the purpose of minimizing the amount of conditioned building space required to meet university needs by 2025.

Goal 8

Replace all non-LED fixtures, as per the Climate Action Strategy and Central Utility Plant Master Plan.

Goal 9

Complete retrofits for energy-intensive buildings, as per the Climate Action Strategy and the Central Utility Plant Master Plan.

Goal 10

Develop a life-cycle cost analysis process by 2023. Incorporate life-cycle cost analysis methods and procedures as part of consideration for building component procedures by 2024.

Renewable Energy

Goal 11

**Offset 100% of Lehigh’s electricity consumption with renewable energy in 2023, through a combination of off-site and on-site projects, energy conservation, and RECs.

Goal 12

**Continue to seek out additional renewable energy opportunities to offset natural gas usage, per the Climate Action Strategy.

Transportation

Goal 13

**Complete a comprehensive study of the future of Lehigh transportation that evaluates transportation and fuel options by 2021. Develop a plan to fully transition the campus bus and vehicle fleet to run exclusively on renewable energy by 2030.