Sign of the Times: VCU Hires “Director of Sustainability”

Virginia Commonwealth University has created a new position, director of sustainability, to guide the university toward climate neutrality. Earlier this year, President Eugene Trani had signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, an initiative to reduce the global emission of greenhouse gases by 80 percent by mid-century.

Jacek Ghosh, a visiting community scholar in VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, was appointed to fill the position. The Canada native will conduct an inventory of all VCU greenhouse gas emissions and then develop an “institutional climate action plan.”

“It is my hope that sustainability becomes an integral component of the academic, administrative, clinical, operational and research activity VCU engages in every day, Ghosh said. “I would like to see sustainability become ingrained in VCU’s DNA as a matter of course.” More.


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4 responses to “Sign of the Times: VCU Hires “Director of Sustainability””

  1. Anonymous Avatar

    I wonder if what it costs to sustain the Director of Sustainability is greater or lesser than the cost of the emissions he can hope to reduce?

    RH

  2. Anonymous Avatar

    More window dressing by VCU. How much of their new building has actual green building in it? I suggest quizzing state official Preston Bryant further on this. I suspect VCU gets around a lot of the state mandate by having their private Real Estate Foundation handle their real estate matters.

  3. Anonymous Avatar

    Does it occur to the skeptics that this Directorate might actually be the way to do these things? Someone to coordinate and chide, etc. VCU is actually late to the game in this area, other schools have completed their inventories, revised their standards, etc.

  4. Anonymous Avatar

    I just don’t think you need a permanent director level job for this. Pick the low hanging energy fruit and move on.

    RH

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