NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Vanderbilt University has unveiled a plan to reduce its environmental impact and says it wants to use renewable energy to power the Tennessee campus entirely.
The school says it wants to be carbon neutral by 2050 and even go beyond that to produce more renewable energy than it consumes.
The plan features investing in on-site clean energy and off-site large-scale renewable energy, increasing campus green spaces, reducing energy consumption and waste, decreasing its carbon footprint from transportation and commuting, and investing in sustainable infrastructure.
Vanderbilt said it commissioned several comprehensive studies to develop plans to achieve the goals and has already made headway with earlier sustainability projects.
Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos said the intent is to improve quality of life in Middle Tennessee as well as provide a proving ground for sustainability approaches.
