Students Help St. John’s Reduce Carbon Footprint

April 30, 2012

St. John’s University has cut its campus carbon dioxide emissions by 13,498 metric tons over the past three years, equivalent to the amount of gas released by 2,747 vehicles during the same time period.

This achievement — which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) noted in its most recent assessment report — stems from the many innovative energy conservation and recycling initiatives the University has introduced since 2009.

These measures were taken as a result of St. John’s commitment to become a higher education PlaNYC Challenge Partner and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2017. They are also a result of the University’s historic agreement with the EPA. “In 2008, we became the first private institution to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the agency,” said Thomas Goldsmith, Director of Energy and Environmental Conservation at St. John’s. “Under the terms of the memo, we agreed to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2017.”

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