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A new policy requires UNCG, N.C. A&T and its sister universities across the state to meet ambitious sustainability goals that address everything from operations and transportation to classroom instruction and recycling.

One goal — achieving “carbon neutrality” by 2050 — requires the university system, state government’s biggest energy user, to either generate no carbon dioxide emissions or to offset emissions with carbon storage projects. The UNC Board of Governors approved the policy Friday.

The financial and technical challenges of meeting those goals are just beginning to sink in for college officials in Greensboro.

Jorge Quintal , associate vice chancellor for facilities management at UNCG, wondered how the land-locked school will generate enough renewable energy to offset its fossil fuels use.

“Realistically speaking, with the technology the way it is now, it will be very difficult for us,” Quintal said. “Forget the cost. I’m just talking space.”

The policy sets standards above state law and advances initiatives already under way at various campuses. The general administration will develop guidelines over the next few months, said Shari Parrish , a UNC administrator who helped develop the policy. The system also plans to pursue legislation that would help the universities pay for the improvements, such as through revolving loans or special savings.

“We’ve got 41 years of technology and development (ahead of us) to help us reach those goals,” Parrish said. “We at the university are in the perfect place to try to develop those technologies.”

North Carolina already mandates that state-owned buildings cut energy use by 30 percent between 2003 and 2015. But many climate scientists say energy efficiency is not enough. They say countries must drastically reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels use to avoid the worst potential effects of global warming, including drought, more intense storms and coastal flooding.

As a result, 655 colleges and universities across the country — including UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State, Appalachian State and the N.C. community college system — have pledged carbon neutrality by signing the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.

“Carbon neutrality is huge,” said Anna Marshall-Baker , an interior design professor who helped start a sustainability committee at UNCG in 2006. “It’s just unrealistic to think we can continue to do business the way we’ve done it throughout the 20th century. As an educational institution, it’s irresponsible.”

The goal can be met. The College of the Atlantic in Maine achieved carbon neutrality in 2007. Nationally recognized Warren Wilson College, a small liberal arts school near Asheville, boasts an ecodormitory, a vegetarian cafe, community bike shop, certified organic vegetable garden and compost operation.

“The real challenge is how do you take a campus of 18,000 students and turn it into a model of sustainability?” Marshall-Baker said.

UNCG undertook various projects over the past few years, including installing water aerators in sink faucets and on-demand water heaters in 12 buildings; serving locally produced foods and meals without trays; hosting a public sustainability film series; and developing an environmental studies major.

A&T is known for its special research programs, such as the Waste Management Institute and Center for Energy Research and Technology, where students study biofuels and other renewable technologies. But the daily habits of students and employees lag behind their academic achievements. Recycling bins cover only a third of the campus. And the school does not yet require the purchase of environmentally responsible cleaning supplies, said Carey Baldwin , physical plant director.

“Our initial approach is to just get everybody recycling,” Baldwin said. “We’re at the basic stage at this point, but we’ve got to start somewhere.”

Both A&T and UNCG plan to establish an office to oversee initiatives, inventory their greenhouse gas emissions and create an action plan for reducing them in 2010. A&T also plans to buy energy-monitoring meters and then hire a company to upgrade its buildings, Baldwin said.

“I think the primary challenge is having the dollars to implement the program as designed,” he said. “The recession has set us back, but I think we will get there.”

Contact Morgan Josey Glover at 373-7078 or morgan.josey@news-record.com