A new University-wide commission will oversee and advise on Carolina’s sustainability efforts, UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz announced Wednesday in conjunction with Earth Day.

The University Sustainability Commission will be used to support the work of the Three Zeros Environmental Initiative.

The Three Zeros Environmental Initiative is the University’s commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, net zero water usage and zero waste to landfills. The initiative was launched in 2016 by former UNC Chancellor Carol Folt.

Guskiewicz announced via Twitter that the commission will be led by Mike Piehler. Piehler’s job as head of the commission will be to align sustainability efforts across the University and support the work of the Three Zeros Environmental Initiative.

Piehler is the current director of the UNC Institute for the Environment. He also holds joint faculty appointments in the Department of Marine Sciences, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, and the Environment, Ecology, and Energy Program at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Piehler and the sustainability commission will work to continue decreasing UNC’s environmental impact. The university has seen an overall reduction of 19 percent in Greenhouse Gas Emissions since 2007 and a 63 percent decline in water use intensity since 2000.

UNC has promoted the Three Zeros initiative in several ways such as providing electric cars for faculty transportation, recycling and composting waste and reclaiming non-potable water.

To further outline its plans, the University plans to publish a “Three Zeros Roadmap” in the upcoming days. This roadmap will serve as a guide for faculty, staff and students to help identify high-potential projects and programs, evaluate and report results, and achieve campus sustainability goals. 

According to the University, “Since planning transparency is so important for the success of the action plans, the 2020 Three Zeros Roadmap will contain interim goals, monitor progress against commitments and targets inform stakeholders when projects or activities fail.”

This roadmap will also further outline the role of the University Sustainability Commission.

To learn more about the Three Zeros Environmental Initiative, visit UNC’s website here.

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