The Zero Emissions Society was founded at the Australian National University in 2007 to tackle the issue of human induced climate change. The ANU now uses some $8 million of electricity each year which amounts to a huge quantity of greenhouse gas pollution – the highest in the Australian Capital Territory. Because climate change is such a major threat to our future and way of life, the Society’s goal is for ANU to lead Australia and the world by becoming a net ‘zero emissions’ campus in 2010.
What are the main areas involved in achieving this?
Coordinating undergraduates, employees and researchers within the university to bring about:
* 100% of ANU electricity from certified renewable energy (http://www.greenpower.com.au/)
* Renewable energy generation on campus (sliver cells on building roofs; see http://solar.anu.edu.au/level_1/projects/sliver_proj.php)
* Energy efficiency through infrastructure improvements and refurbishments
* All new buildings meeting the Green Star Six standard for university buildings
* Energy waste reduction through strong GreenOffice, GreenHall, GreenLab and GreenGrad programs in every building on campus
* Information campaigns about our climate crisis and the solutions on a local and national level
* A whole lot of other activities yet to be thought of
We hope to do this by openly engaging all concerned parties in the university. This seems like a lot of work for a new society (and it is!) but by setting specific goals and timelines we can begin the critical process of making our campus a true world-leader in applied sustainability. We’re excited to have such a powerful and important goal. To be kept up to date sign up to our email lists:
– Event Announcements
– Active Member Discussion
Please also consider coming to one of our events shown in the calendar on the right.
Our meeting schedule for 2007 is to have fortnightly meetings on Mondays at 4pm. Dates are shown on the calendar (right). We will also have 4 General Meetings each year, where everyone is asked to make an effort to come along, we have food and drink and discuss major issues. The society will remain non party-political but may publicise the comparative climate change policies of different political parties, promote schemes like carbon taxes, and coordinate debates between political groups.
Our Constitution in Brief
The aims and objectives of this Society are to:
– Work with all in the university to reduce the net greenhouse gas emissions associated with the ANU to zero, including electricity consumption, travel, product use, heating and cooling and gas burning.
– Inform all involved with the university about the threat of climate change and empower them to reduce their contribution to it.
– Inform the community about possible government policies to reduce climate change but not to endorse or promote any particular political party.
– There are four executive members elected annually in the last academic term who can order the expenditure of money, oversee the society’s activities and organise meetings: the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. A General Meetings of the Society is to be held every term. Anyone can join the Society and fully partake in meetings.