Priorities & Progress

Key Objective

• Secure all purchased electricity from Michigan-based renewables, with an emphasis on catalyzing new installations.
• Build on-campus solar installations across the university.

Progress to Date

• Procured 27 percent of its purchased electricity from Michigan-sourced renewables during FY24, largely as a product of the continued operation of three wind parks, launched in FY21.
• Engaged Radial Power, a Houston-based distributed energy and sustainability solutions firm, to design and build on-campus solar power installations with a capacity of 25 megawatts across all U-M campuses, prioritizing behind-the-meter installations. The contract is estimated to cost approximately $70 million, excluding potential expenses related to building modifications needed before installation. This followed a previous request for information.
• Convening operational and planning partners across the university to begin review of first round of campus solar installation locations.

Near-Term Priorities

• Finalize an agreement to procure 100% of purchased electricity from Michigan-based renewable sources by end of 2025; to begin receiving 100% renewable electricity in FY27.
• Determine campus solar sites locations for phased installation over three years. Project locations have yet to be determined, although the university will prioritize large rooftops, existing parking decks and parking lots, and will consider ground-mounted arrays. Construction is slated to begin in early 2025.
• Coordinate campus installations with campus master planning efforts.

Key Objective

• Develop a new campus master plan that includes carbon neutrality as a central principle.

Progress to Date

• Continued two long-term planning efforts: Vision 2034, a collective strategic visioning process to imagine the university’s shared future priorities; and Campus Plan 2050, a long-term effort to explore how the Ann Arbor campus should be designed to support the university’s vision and mission. Vision 2034 was released in April 2024 and a high-level preview of Campus Plan 2050 was unveiled in September 2024. Sustainability, carbon neutrality, and environmental justice are primary values in each planning effort.

Near-Term Priorities

• Heighten carbon neutrality and climate action as central priorities as planning efforts continue.
• Explore an automated transit system that would enable users to move between the Central, Medical and North campuses in minutes.

Key Objective

• Develop campus-specific utility master plans focused toward decarbonizing heating and cooling infrastructure.
• Selectively install geo-exchange heating and cooling systems in conjunction with new construction projects, major renovations, and other sites, in preparation for full campus conversion between now and 2040.

Progress to Date

• Hired a firm to help develop a utility master plan for North Campus, focused on decarbonizing heating and cooling infrastructure
• Drilled 99 bores (700 ft. deep) for a geo-exchange system at the Leinweber Computer Science and Information Building, 85 bores for the dining hall of the newly-announced Central Campus Residential Development, and 8 additional bores for the new Ginsberg Center building planned for Central Campus.
• Designing all new building and renovation projects to be compatible with renewable energy-driven heating and cooling systems.

Near-Term Priorities

• Develop the North Campus utility master plan focused on decarbonizing heating and cooling infrastructure.
• Launch utility master plan covering all campuses.
• Construct geo-exchange systems in conjunction with new construction projects, and build district-level systems to serve multiple buildings at once.

Key Objective

• Develop new standards for building construction and renovation that reduce life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency.

Progress to Date

• Implemented new guidelines focused on greenhouse gas emissions reductions in new construction, with input from auxiliary units (Athletics, Michigan Medicine, and Student Life) and all three campuses. These maximum emissions targets cover 14 building types and all new construction and major renovation projects more than $10 million.
• Piloting programs centered around building air leakage testing, building envelope sealants, ongoing verification of building system performance and refined maintenance practices.

Near-Term Priorities

• The Central Campus Residential Development, currently under construction, is planned to be carbon-neutral and is targeting LEED Platinum certification.
• At Michigan Medicine, the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion is on track to be a LEED v4 platinum-certified healthcare facility — the largest facility of its kind in North America. It is set to open in fall 2025.
• Build on maximum building-emissions standards with a project to holistically evaluate and enhance its design guidelines. The initiative seeks to integrate best-of-class sustainability practices into the university's building design and decision-making processes.

Key Objective

• Implement a revolving energy fund (REF) for energy conservation measures (ECMs), beginning with $25 million over five years. Learn more about the REF and energy conservation efforts.

Progress to Date

• Established a $25 million REF to support all units across the university.
• U-M allocated $7.3 million from a central revolving energy fund to units throughout the university pursuing energy efficiency projects during FY24. The revolving fund launched in FY22, with $25 million in seed funding to dispense with zero-interest financing over five years. FY24 projects consisted primarily of LED upgrades and HVAC system upgrades, following an initial set of FY22 and FY23 projects that covered LED lighting upgrades across approximately 100 buildings and 10 million square feet of building space.

Key Objective

• Decarbonize U-M’s vehicle fleet.

Progress to Date

• Eight electric buses are operating on the Ann Arbor campus. Four more will be delivered over the next year, for a total of twelve electric buses by 2025.
• Deployed 56 EVs that can utilize a total of 169 charging stations across campus.
• 120 new Level-2 charging spaces were installed during FY24. In addition, U-M began a project to introduce Level-3 fast-charging spaces to campus, with expected completion in FY26.

Near-Term Priorities

• Continue to replace existing U-M vehicles with low/zero carbon alternatives.
• For FY25 and beyond, U-M will purchase four more battery-electric buses, install 11 more Level-2 charging spaces and begin an infrastructure project aiming to create approximately 50 to 70 more Level-2 charging spaces by 2026.

Key Objective

• Develop viable strategies to mitigate Scope 3 emissions across multiple categories, including university-sponsored travel, commuting, purchased goods and services, food procurement, and investments.

Progress to Date

• Successfully completed a pilot program with Delta Airlines to purchase 324,000 gallons of sustainable aviation fuel. This partnership resulted in the avoidance of 3,500 metric tons of CO2-equivalent.
• Embarked on a Scope 3 emissions analysis and planning project to define indirect emissions mitigation targets universitywide, inclusive of U-M Health/Michigan Medicine.
• U-M Health’s virtual/remote care program included 441,864 visits in FY24, resulting in 33 million driving miles saved, an estimated reduction of 12,937 tons in CO2-equivalent.

Near-Term Priorities

• Partner with U-M Procurement Services to explore emissions reduction strategies associated with purchased goods.
• Develop preliminary roadmaps for mitigating Scope 3 emissions across several categories.

Key Objective

• Develop accounting systems to accurately estimate and track Scope 3 emission categories.

Progress to Date

• Assessed preliminary confidence levels around current Scope 3 estimates and identified categories that are good candidates for establishing quantitative Scope 3 goals.
• Identified outlying data gaps for Scope 3 emission categories.
• Sustainability Culture Indicators Program survey provided commuter mileage data for UM-Flint and UM-Dearborn.
• Expanded communication with city of Ann Arbor and Ann Arbor Public Schools to coordinate reporting methodology for Scope 3 emissions associated with drinking and wastewater purchasing.
• Embarked on a Scope 3 emissions analysis and planning project to define indirect emissions mitigation targets universitywide, inclusive of U-M Health/Michigan Medicine.

Next Steps

• Continue to refine carbon accounting strategies to better track U-M Scope 3 emissions.
• Focus on data requirements and calculation methods associated with food purchasing.
• Begin reporting on Scope 3 categories where data confidence is high and set goals.
• Develop goals for adoption by U-M in 2025.

Key Objectives

• Secure initial funding required to transition to a carbon-neutral campus.
• Transition natural resource investments toward enabling a low-carbon economy.

Progress to Date

• $300M in green bonds issued to fund infrastructure investments that advance U-M sustainability goals.
• Discontinued direct investments in companies that are the largest contributors to greenhouse gases; discontinued investments in funds whose primary focus is oil reserves, oil extraction, or thermal coal extraction.
• Invested $1 billion into climate solutions over the past five years, as of FY24.
• Transitioned public equities portfolio to an ex-fossil fuels index that excludes companies named on the Carbon Underground 200, a list of top coal, oil and gas companies.
• The endowment is on track to be net zero by 2030.
• Avoided emissions from U-M investments are likely to exceed the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the Ann Arbor campus in 2024.

Near-Term Priorities

• Continue to fund campus infrastructure and investments that decrease carbon emissions.
• Pursue a net-zero endowment by 2050.

Key Objectives

• Engage with academic leaders across all schools and colleges toward integrating sustainability and carbon neutrality into core curricula.
• Make significant investments in carbon neutrality research and deployment, building on multidisciplinary initiatives.

Progress to Date

• Marked late March and all of April 2024 with a series of events focused on sustainability and climate action, continuing a tradition that began with the first “Teach-In on the Environment” in 1970 — which grew into what is now known as Earth Day. More than 20 events involved several university units and spanned various environmental sub-topics.
• Graham Institute awarded seven total “catalyst grants” in FY24 to foster climate resilience and sustainability projects across various sectors. Projects explore renewable energy deployment in Nepal, climate justice in the Midwest, textile recycling innovation, equitable transportation infrastructure planning, predicting pollutants like PFAS in water bodies, wave energy converters to power coastal communities, and durable road materials inspired by mussel-binding proteins, respectively. Each project team received $10,000.
• The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) launched its Bold Challenges initiative in 2021, which includes a significant emphasis on sustainability and carbon neutrality research.
• Michigan Engineering and OVPR launched a new Institute for Energy Solutions that aims to accelerate an equitable transition to a more sustainable energy future.
• Michigan Engineering, OVPR, and the School for Environment and Sustainability launched MI Hydrogen, a new initiative to provide the leading research necessary to accelerate the use of hydrogen beyond current industrial limits.

Near-Term Priorities

• Explore additional sustainability curricula opportunities with university leadership and academic leaders.
• Continue to identify and support critical research that addresses the climate crisis.

Key Objective

• Implement organizational structures and executive-level leadership positions advising the U-M president.

Progress to Date

• Hired Shana S. Weber as inaugural Associate Vice President for Campus Sustainability, following extensive search, to build on university carbon neutrality and sustainability efforts.
• Hired Shalanda Baker as inaugural Vice Provost for Sustainability and Climate Action to advance sustainability education and research across U-M schools and colleges.
• In April 2024, T. Anthony Denton, senior vice-president and chief ESG officer for U-M Health/Michigan Medicine) was recognized a “Notable Leader in Sustainability” by Crain’s Detroit Business.

Near-Term Priorities

• Define additional sustainability executive leadership position(s) and institutional structures needed to elevate and integrate academic, operational, and cultural sustainability initiatives.

Key Objectives

• Collaborate with unit leaders to implement carbon neutrality strategies universitywide.
• Develop a campus-wide strategy to improve and expand opportunities for the community to support carbon neutrality efforts.
• Engage at U-M and with surrounding communities to best address equity and justice issues as they pertain to the university’s carbon neutrality efforts.

Progress to Date

• Engaged all executive officers and deans to identify opportunities for collaboration and feedback.
• Planet Blue Student Innovation Fund and the Social and Environmental Sustainability grant program collectively awarded more than $120,000 to 27 unique sustainability projects during the 2023/24 academic year.
• More than 280 students wore sustainability-themed honor cords at graduation 2024, emphasizing U-M’s commitment to sustainability with support from approximately 130 campus groups.
• University leaders meeting regularly with U-M climate and sustainability advocates.
• Planet Blue Ambassador program expanded to UM-Flint and UM-Dearborn; with training modules posted to Canvas.
• Student Life Sustainability expanded its staff, the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts hired a new carbon neutrality program manager, and Michigan Medicine expanded its environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership.
• The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts launcheda Year of Sustainability in 2024. In operations, the college has recently pursued new building standards, LED lighting efforts, and overall greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

Near-Term Priorities

• Continue to engage university leaders and their units on a range of carbon neutrality actions.
• Implement a campus-wide strategy to improve and expand opportunities for the U-M community to engage with carbon neutrality efforts.
• Share strategies with UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint to assess transferable opportunities.
• Student Life Sustainability is prioritizing expanding grants in response to high student interest.

Key Objectives

• Engage at U-M and with surrounding communities to best address equity and justice issues as they pertain to the university’s carbon neutrality efforts.
• Work with like-minded universities, nonprofits, corporates, and municipalities to advance climate action.

Progress to Date

• Co-founded the Midwest Climate Collaborative, which aims to facilitate the development of a coherent Midwestern response to the climate crisis through acceleration of climate action, knowledge and leader development led by a cross-sector collaboration of key organizations throughout the Midwest.
• Joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Climate Challenge, in which participating organizations set ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and share resources on their respective climate action efforts.
• Joined the U.S. EPA Green Power Partnership, which encourages organizations to use green power voluntarily to protect human health and the environment. U-M currently ranks eighth among U.S. universities in renewable electricity use.
• Assumed the leadership role for the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3), which connects 23 of the world's leading research universities and university systems committed to accelerating climate action on campus, in communities, and at a global scale.
• Became the first university to join the First Movers Coalition — a coalition of organizations using their purchasing power to create demand for innovative clean technologies across several industrial sectors.
• Participated in discussions with public-sector organizations in Washtenaw County regarding the potential establishment of a local sustainability collaborative.
• Coordinating regularly with the city of Ann Arbor; collaborated to issue parallel calls for proposals to build solar installations on respective properties.
• Joined the International Sustainable Campus Network

Near-Term Priorities

• Continue to consult with experts to address environmental justice issues associated with U-M policies and actions.
• Continue to meet regularly and collaborate with city of Ann Arbor representatives.
• Help define new organizational priorities for UC3.
• Continue participating in a wide range of collaborative networks, including UC3, the Midwest Climate Collaborative, the Big Ten and Friends Sustainability group and the Ivy Plus Sustainability Listening Post Consortium.

Key Objective

• Publish a website and interactive progress tracking dashboard to engage U-M and external communities.

Progress to Date

• Launched progress tracking web pages.
• Published a wide range of sustainability dashboards, covering energy and emissions, transportation, waste, land and water, buildings, and green bonds.

Near-Term Priority

• Refine and expand dashboards as efforts progress and additional data becomes available.