Concordia’s Plan for Carbon Neutrality

Concordia officially launched its Climate Action Plan with a goal to become carbon neutral by 2050. The plan, created by the President’s Sustainability Council with input from across campus, was laid out March 30.

“There is no more pressing global need than addressing the reality of climate change,” said President William Craft. “There is no virtue higher than the love that leads us to care for all creation.”

The plan aims to fulfill obligations the college pledged to support when President Craft signed the national Integrated Climate Commitment (ICC) in 2017. The ICC is run by Second Nature, a nonprofit working to accelerate climate action in institutions of higher education.

Dr. Ken Foster detailing the Climate Action Plan

“As climate change and ecological degradation come to define our 21st-century world, we must equip our students, staff, and faculty to wrestle with these realities to be part of the historic effort to stabilize the climate, ensuring the enduring health of the Earth,” said Dr. Ken Foster, President's Sustainability Council chair and chair/professor of political science. “Our work to implement it will strengthen the college, benefit our neighbors, and make a positive impact on the world.”

The plan is broken up into three main goals: charting a path to carbon neutrality, building community resilience, and equipping students to act.  

Carbon Neutrality

Concordia College aims to become 100% carbon neutral by drastically reducing its carbon emissions. In the short term, the college will build on its quick and low-cost strategies such as completing thermostat and lighting control upgrades and supporting campus campaigns that focus on changing behaviors.

“This work isn’t just for those of us who teach or study environmental science. It isn’t just for those of us who are involved in sustainability on campus. This work is for all of us,” said Gabrielle Lommel, Concordia’s sustainability coordinator. 

The long-term goal is to address the top energy use: heating and cooling. The college contracted with an engineering firm that assessed a geothermal system would be the most effective strategy for reaching emissions targets. But converting an entire campus would be a costly and timely commitment — approximately 25 years and an estimated $40 million.

To determine if a geothermal system is feasible, over the next several years, the Sustainability Council will actively monitor for public policy grants and incentives that could be used to help with funding. It will also seek partnerships with other organizations that could share the system.   

Building Community Resilience

As the plan states, “Concordia is not an island. It is embedded in the Fargo-Moorhead community. In working toward greater resilience, Concordia must work closely with campus partners. This work can help our entire community to build on its strengths and ensure it can thrive regardless of what challenges may come.”

This effort to build resiliency will focus on building collaborative partnerships, advancing equity, and promoting the health of the ecological systems of which Concordia is a part.

Climate and Sustainability Education

An instrumental part of the plan includes ensuring that all students acquire knowledge and skills needed to act on climate issues. Some of the strategies to accomplish this are including sustainability coursework into the core curriculum and providing faculty development opportunities on climate change and sustainability.

“This plan affirms our purpose to educate students to influence the affairs of the world and challenges us to offer a curriculum that includes climate education for our students,” said Dr. Susan Larson, provost and dean of the college. 

Impact

With rising sea levels threatening her home country’s existence, Fanan Nazim ’25 from the Maldives, sees the potential impact of the plan as inspiration for others to act.  

“For too long, people across the globe have felt hopeless and lost,” Nazim said. “But as a student who calls Concordia College my home away from home, the Climate Action Plan liberates me from these feelings and instead is a guiding path to a vital avenue.”

Student sustainability ambassador Anna Larson ’23 says addressing climate change requires the college as a whole to work together.

“The Climate Action Plan supports students in such a way that it will not only enhance their classroom understanding of climate change but will give students the opportunity for hands-on experience through research, internships, and direct involvement with the goals and objectives of the plan,” said Anna Larson.

“Students want change,” she added. “Their future depends on it.”

For more information visit Campus Sustainability, see a brief overview of the plan or view the full version at ConcordiaCollege.edu/ClimateActionPlan.