Click here to read the original Action Item
Progress to Date
Beginning in September 2024 with the installation of Shalanda H. Baker as the new Vice Provost for Campus Sustainability and Climate Action (VPSCA), AVP Shana Weber began working closely with Michigan Medicine VPSCA Tony Denton, the Office of Student Life, and the Athletics Department to provide the campus with a comprehensive and collaborative leadership approach to sustainability, environmental justice, climate action and other opportunities.
Work is currently underway on a range of projects:
- Site selections began in August 2024 for a 25 megawatt onsite solar generation installation—built by Radial Power—to serve the Ann Arbor, Flint and Dearborn campuses (15-20 AA, 2.5-5 Flint, 2.5-5 Dearborn)
- Radial Power agreed to provide living-learning lab opportunities for the university community, while donating 10 percent of installation proceeds to solar projects in surrounding communities to support energy equity
- Upcoming geo-exchange installations at Palmer Field and Regent’s Plaza will include an educational feature that enables these systems to be “visible and experiential,” supporting our vision to be a source of inspiration for the broader community and region
- A study is underway to set scope III emissions goals, which will include a focus on impacting environmental justice in supply chains
U-M strives to demonstrate a sensitivity to environmental justice when citing the significant off-site renewable energy projects needed to reduce its scope II emissions. Additionally, campus demonstrations of a sustainable and just energy transition will encourage others to adopt similar solutions. In Year 2 and beyond, as campus-wide sustainability and climate action frameworks are developed, the university will continue its commitment to making justice integral to problem solving, and serving as a source of inspiration for the community and the region.
Responsible Unit(s): Business & Finance, the Office of the Provost, and Michigan Medicine