When I was in high school and summer rolled around, I’d head to a week-long cross country camp at Appalachian State University. It was the highlight of my summer.
Now, as 30-something working in higher education, one of my summer highlights still takes place at Appalachian State University. But now, it’s the Appalachian Energy Summit.
This year marked the 12th annual Summit, and my third time attending. The Summit is free for attendees, thanks to individual and corporate sponsorship.
Monday, June 3
My first session this year was all about high-performance campus design. No, I don’t know much about this topic. But in order for me to do my job and translate science in a meaningful way, I have a lot to gain from listening to the experts.
And Mike Kapp, a project manager in the University’s Planning, Design and Construction Office (and current Interim Director of the Office of Sustainability), is an expert!
He began his presentation talking about atmospheric CO2, and the unfortunate, record-breaking number reached in April 2024: 426.57 ppm. Though atmospheric CO2 has been increasing since the industrial revolution, in the past 50 years, that number has increased 20%. This translates to rising temperatures, and as a result, permafrost melt (releasing methane, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere) and more frequent and intense storms.
This introduction provided a great background for the discussion. It made me care about buildings and how they’re constructed. After all, buildings are responsible for approximately 39% of global energy related carbon emissions.
At Carolina, following green building guidelines was a strategy in our original Climate Action Plan, published in 2009. We continue to work with our partners on campus to keep our green building guidelines up to date and carry out retrofit projects to decrease EUI on campus.
Conference Keynote by Katrin Klingenberg
This first session also set me up well for the keynote speaker we’d hear from later that day, Phius Executive Director Katrin Klingenberg. Katrin spoke following dinner in the ballroom above the University’s football stadium. (The vegan dinner was delicious – as it is every year.)
Katrin founded Phius two decades ago. Despite its long history, Phius has continued to update its standards to meet efficiency and carbon neutrality goals. The most recent updates were made in 2021. The same year the organization rebranded themselves, going from Passive House Institute US to more simply, Phius.
Katrin’s presentation contained loads of interesting statistics and diagrams. But I – the strategic communications person – could have listened to entire presentation on the rebrand! Katrin made a comment that Phius sounds like Prius, and that Phius wants to do for buildings what Prius did for car electrification. Taking “house” out of the organization’s name also meant less confusion. The guidelines Phius publishes aren’t just for houses, but for all buildings.
Tuesday, June 4
Following an obligatory run through campus and quick stop at my favorite Boone bakery right when they opened, I met up with some of my communication colleagues at breakfast. This past year, I started attending quarterly meetings with my counterparts from ECU, UNC-Charlotte, NC State University, Duke University and Davidson College. I was absolutely giddy to meet my virtual friends from ECU, NC State and UNC-Charlotte for the first time.
The first two sessions that day continued the building guidelines discussion. Josh Brooks, a former Appalachian State student and current partner at WayBright, LLC, spoke about universities as a microcosm for challenges at the municipal and state levels. I thought about our Carolina students, especially those on the Renewable Energy Special Projects Committee, making big decisions about campus energy efficiency projects.
State Sustainability Developments
The morning sessions wrapped up with the NC Department of Environmental Quality and the State Energy Office. Delaney King, a recent UNC MPA graduate and current recycling specialist with NCDEQ, spoke first.
One resource I didn’t know existed is the NC Public College and University Solid Waste Annual Report, which contains data on outreach campaigns, waste reduction strategies and recycling and composting efforts. I can’t wait to use this in our continued partnership with UNC OWRR, to see where there might be gaps in our collaborative efforts.
Finally, the State Energy Office gave an update on its programs, like the Utility Savings Initiative and the Energy Services Coalition. We also heard about grants made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and tax credits available through the Inflation Reduction Act.
Most recently, the U.S. EPA granted the State Energy Office $156,120,000 in Solar For All Funds, through the Inflation Reduction Act. EnergizeNC can now plan solar projects to reduce GHG emissions and provide access to clean energy to low-income communities.
Sustainability in Academics
The conference closed with conversations about climate literacy. Laura England and Shea Tuberty, who serve as associate director and director (respectively) of the University’s Climate Literacy Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) spoke first.
Universities develop QEPs as part of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges’ (SACSCOC) accreditation requirements. The plans outline key issues at an institution and implement ways to enhance learning outcomes in that area. Laura and Shea shared their work to train faculty through workshops and incorporate sustainability into student coursework.
Side note: This is where the higher education sustainability world gets small. Ten years ago, when I was a senior at Carolina, Shea Tuberty let me venture to the Dan River for a radio story on his research following the 2014 coal ash spill. It marked my first time really going out into the field for a story — I remember wading in the water, looking on as their team searched for macroinvertebrates (organisms that are tiny, but visible to the human eye) along the bottom of the river. That experience is one of the reasons that, now that I’m working in higher education myself, I always try my best to assist student journalists on their stories and help them paint an accurate picture.
The conference wrapped up with two students sharing their COP28 experiences. I’ve listened to Carolina students talk about their experiences at COPs – it’s such a pivotal experience for many. The fact that multiple UNC System institutions send their students to this international climate conference says a lot about our united commitment to sustainability and our planet’s future.