Agnes Scott College

Located in Decatur, GA, Agnes Scott has a roughly 100-acre campus with 27 institutional buildings totaling approximately 1,000,000 sq ft, serving around 1,000 students. In 2007, Agnes Scott College became a charter signatory of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), which committed Agnes Scott to be carbon neutral by 2037. It was the belief of the Agnes Scott team at that time that in order for the college to deliver on its mission to educate its students to both live honorably and engage in the intellectual and social challenges of their times, students must have a robust understanding of climate change and climate justice. Despite challenges like campus community growth, and the need for a more robust renewable energy programs, the college has made significant progress toward its carbon neutrality goal.

Agnes Scott plans to continue to implement energy reduction strategies, invest in renewable sources of energy, educate the campus community to be mindful stewards of the environment, promote cleaner modes of transportation, and develop community-focused carbon offsets that have regenerative benefits to our vulnerable region. By leveraging the unique financing structure of the college’s Green Revolving Fund, Agnes Scott has aggressively pursued performance and efficiency improvements toward its carbon neutrality goal. Since 2007, Agnes Scott has:

Completed a landmark Climate Resilience Plan in partnership with the City of Decatur and is currently in year four of implementation with over 50% of the new initiatives either in-progress or complete.
Installed nearly a half megawatt of solar power and two geothermal HVAC systems, in which the geothermal supports 10% of the buildings on campus.
Pioneered the use of a Green Revolving Fund, raising $1 million from donors combined with $1.8 million in energy savings to invest more than $2.2 million in energy and water efficiency.
Developed a multidisciplinary environmental and sustainability studies minor with the number of students declaring the minor reaching a record 15 students.
Created a Center for Sustainability, unique for a college of Agnes Scott’s size, which works to integrate sustainability into both the college’s operations and its curriculum and houses at least two full-time staff and five or more student interns and volunteers during each semester.

Webinar

Built to Last: Strategies to Strengthen Critical Infrastructure

Presentation

Weather It Together: Energy Strategy and Community Resilience

Solutions

Leadership Commitments