A New Approach to Offsetting:The College of William and Mary Offset
Program
Max Cunningham (2013)Dr. John Swaddle
The College of William and Mary
• Suburban Williamsburg, VA
• About 5,800 undergraduate students
• Public University
Sustainability Initiative
• Sustainability has grown within the last four years– Committee on Sustainability
• Improving transportation sustainability– Carpooling– Public transit usage– Offsetting?
Carbon Offset Defined• Compensating for personal emissions
• Example: Flight from Richmond, VA to Singapore– Direct Flight: 7,600 lbs of CO2
• To offset: contribute to a carbon reducing project– A town in Kansas replaces its coal
plant with wind energy
Carbon Offset Companies• Offset companies identify carbon reducing projects
• For profit– Prefer big donors as official partners
• Less than transparent– Unclear how donated money is spent
The W&M Solution
• Launch our own W&M Offset Program– 100% of money goes toward energy reduction
projects on campus– Give full transparency to donors
The W&M Solution Cont.
• Program design:– Identify carbon-reducing projects on campus• Example: HVAC renovations
• Members of W&M community offset their activities by contributing to W&M improvements
ExamplesActivity Offset
ContributionCarbon Offset
(Metric Tons of CO2)
Airplane Flight to Asia $114 1.44
Airplane Flight to New York
$9 0.12
Driving an SUV for 1,000 miles
$47 0.59
Current Status
• Experimental stage– Results pending
• Advertisement and promotion
• Eventual broader participation
Web of Interaction
Study Abroad
Admissions
Athletics
Commuters
Alumni
Board of VisitorsConferences
Implications
• Ease of implementation– Economic setting
• Put carbon offsetting on a local level– Sustainability reaching a new audience
• Drive towards carbon neutrality– Education
Acknowledgements
• Funding– William and
Mary Committee on Sustainability
• Collaborators– Dan Patterson, Energy
Manager– Sarah Hanke,
Sustainability Fellow– Development– IT– Creative Services– Study Abroad– Admissions– Alumni Association– Facilities Management
• If you want to offset: http://offset.wm.edu/