Climate champions partner with the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Office of Sustainability to advise and advance initiatives on campus aligning with the 2023 Climate Action Plan.
Learn about each of the five categories of emissions' champions below.
Energy Supply
| Jim Kochevar |
| Carley Rice |
| Kate Nelson |
| Shane Stennes |
| Brian Swanson |
| Whitney Taha Frakes |
Energy supply emissions are primarily created by burning fossil fuels for heating, cooling, and electricity. Most of the heating and cooling for the University of Minnesota Twin Cities is generated by power plants on campus and supplied through a district system. The energy needed to make steam is generated on campus through the burning of mainly natural gas (97.5%), which is supported by coal (1.9%), and fuel oil (0.6%). The University also produces some of its own electricity during this process. Chilled water for cooling is created through equipment that uses either electricity or steam to power the process. In addition, the University purchases electricity and natural gas to support buildings and operations on campus that are off the district system.
Electricity not produced on campus is purchased from Xcel Energy, which uses a mix of fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewable sources to generate power. The University engages in voluntary programs to purchase additional renewable energy, beyond what is provided in the Xcel grid-mix, to further reduce emissions from the power supply.
Climate action within energy supply focuses on transitioning to a carbon neutral energy supply coupled with storage (for example, renewable energy and thermal batteries). Energy supply strategies also focus on efficiency measures such as conversion of steam distribution to hot water, energy recovery at the plants, and chiller plant upgrades.
Energy Demand
| Dana Murdoch |
| Carley Rice |
| Kate Nelson |
| Shane Stennes |
| Marc Partridge |
| Maram Falk |
| Brian Swanson |
| John Seidelmann |
| Bill Paulus |
| Monique MacKenzie |
Energy demand refers to the amount of energy used on campus, primarily by buildings. To achieve the University’s climate goals, buildings will need to be high-performing and regenerative, for both the University community and the environment. Energy demand strategies focus on improving energy efficiency through physical improvements and also consider the people, practices, and policy measures such as behavior changes, space utilization, and design/ operation standards.
Commuting
| Peter Helgeson |
| Carley Rice |
| Kate Nelson |
| Kendra Turonie |
| Nick Juarez |
| John Mark Lucas |
| Mannix Clark |
| Lonetta Hanson |
| Eric Lind |
| Tina Erazmus |
Commuting is considered travel to and from the University for school or work as a part of regular activities. This does not include students moving to the Twin Cities area for the school year to a campus address or traveling back and forth from a home address and a campus address during academic breaks. This also does not include attendees traveling to events on campus. Commuting results in emissions as cars, buses, trains, and other forms of transportation burn fossil fuels like gas and diesel. Emissions from commuting can be reduced by traveling less and switching to sustainable modes of transportation, such as walking, biking, transit, and EVs.
University Fleet
| Melina Helgeson |
| Sandy Cullen |
| Clint Schoeck |
| Carley Rice |
| Kate Nelson |
The University fleet refers primarily to emissions from travel using University-owned vehicles and secondarily travel contracts to supplement fleet travel. The roughly 519 University vehicles (including University contracted buses) have different uses, including:
- Research
- Operations
- Rental
- Emergency response
- Transit
Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) is responsible for purchasing, leasing, and maintaining the UFleet. PTS also administers contractual agreements for the Campus Connector and other operations.
U Sponsored Travel
| Rebekka Gronfor White |
| Carley Rice |
| Kate Nelson |
| Shane Stennes |
| Kyle Shelton |
| David Hagen |
Travel is essential to the University's mission. Emissions from University sponsored travel covers emissions from third-party vendors associated with air and ground transportation. Emissions can be reduced by choosing a different travel mode, the uptake of more sustainable sources of fuel, reducing the amount of travel where equal hybrid options are possible, and lastly, buying offsets.
The use of sustainable jet fuel, hydrogen, and electrification options are emerging. However, technology is still lacking to be used at scale. Because of the University’s reliance on industry travel, a large portion of the emissions in this sector will need to be offset (instead of reduced or transitioned to alternatives) within the next 10 years and then be reevaluated.