{"id":13,"date":"2015-03-24T22:34:07","date_gmt":"2015-03-24T22:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/offices\/sustainability\/?page_id=13"},"modified":"2021-11-01T21:36:22","modified_gmt":"2021-11-01T21:36:22","slug":"commitments","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/offices\/sustainability\/commitments\/","title":{"rendered":"Planning & Commitments"},"content":{"rendered":"

91̽»¨ has committed to becoming carbon neutral by the year 2050 as signified by its signing of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in 2008.<\/p>\n

\"78\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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History<\/h5>\n

In 1998, BSU established its first Environmental Policy Statement<\/a>\u00a0and ever since has been identifying concrete ways to become more environmentally responsible as an institution. In 2006 we signed the Talloires Declaration<\/a> to further that commitment, and as a result our students, faculty and staff worked to establish a purchase of 616 100 kilowatt-hour blocks of wind power through Ottertail Power Company\u2019s Tailwinds program<\/a> to \u2018power\u2019 our Student Union. This purchase qualifies BSU as a Green Power Partner by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.<\/p>\n

We have also established a set of Sustainable Procurement Guidelines<\/a>\u00a0and have instituted many sustainable practices such as replacing most light fixtures with energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs across campus, purchasing a hybrid security vehicle, installing water-conserving shower heads, installing motion sensors in some rooms and common areas and purchasing supplies with more recycled content.<\/p>\n

And in 2008, BSU took its most substantial step towards becoming a leader in sustainability by signing onto the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment<\/a>; pledging to become carbon neutral by the year 2050.<\/p>\n

President Hensrud reaffirmed BSU’s commitment to carbon mitigation in 2017.\u00a0 Shortly thereafter, in 2019, Hensrud signed the Climate Commitment.\u00a0 Doing so expanded BSU’s commitment to include resilience-building measures, or adaptation.<\/p>\n

BSU also holds membership in the following organizations that are involved with environmental issues:<\/h5>\n