Duke Today
Summary
Significant investments in making new buildings sustainable and increasing the efficiency of older buildings and infrastructure helped Duke meet its climate neutrality pledge.
The efforts have not been cheap, but the investments will pay for themselves over time in reduced energy costs. Emissions from energy consumption dropped by 42% since 2007, even as the campus grew by over 3 million gross square feet.
“We’ve made very important progress towards carbon reduction through transformative investments in the University’s energy infrastructure," said Duke Executive Vice President Daniel Ennis. "These investments have been essential in meeting Duke’s carbon neutrality goal, but the effort is so much larger and has counted on, amongst many actions, the efforts by so many in our community to carefully consider the carbon footprint of their commuting and travel patterns.”
If you've ever had to buy a new HVAC system for your home, you know it can be pricey. The biggest portion of Duke's energy savings so far have come from upgrading a third of the campus’ heating and cooling systems. Hot water is being installed to replace steam heating, and air conditioning was centralized in three chiller plants, saving 10 percent of electrical demand.
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