BOULDER: In its May 26 meeting, the Boulder Valley Board of Education approved a resolution that makes BVSD the third of four major organizations in the Boulder area teaming up to advance the cause of environmental sustainability.
The City of Boulder and Boulder County have already adopted their sustainability resolutions and the University of Colorado at Boulder is expected to formally adopt its resolution later this summer. These four organizations are committing to prioritize collaborative efforts in the following areas:
- Creation of a workforce available for green jobs through career and technical education training, and teaching and internship opportunities;
- Greenhouse gas emissions reductions and climate change adaptation planning, including unified carbon tracking and reporting;
- Identification of large-scale renewable energy opportunities;
- Pursuance of initiatives in furtherance of zero waste goals; and
- Exploration of joint funding opportunities to further implementation of all of the above.
The resolutions are largely identical, all committing to creating a framework and expectations for future collaborations. Each organization's resolution contains a unique substantive commitment to further environmental sustainability.
The full text of BVSD's new environmental sustainability resolution follows:
Resolution Number 09-07
A Resolution in Support of Enhancing Collaborative Efforts Between the Boulder Valley School District, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder County and the City of Boulder to Progress Toward Environmental Sustainability
WHEREAS, the Boulder Valley School District, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder County, and the City of Boulder (the “Alliance”) are committed to progressing toward environmental sustainability in our separate communities and the community at large, by limiting our negative affect on the environment and using natural resources wisely and in a manner which meets the needs of the community today and in the indefinite future; and
WHEREAS, in addition to providing leadership to address global and local needs and concerns, working toward the goal of environmental sustainability provides each individual organization with short term measurable benefits including financial savings from increased operational efficiencies and reduced energy costs; and
WHEREAS, educational institutions and governmental organizations that engage in these practices provide students and citizens with the on-going knowledge and skills needed to address the critical, systemic challenges faced by the world in this new century and enable them to benefit from the economic opportunities that will arise as a result of solutions they develop; and
WHEREAS, these efforts will further assist with attracting excellent students and faculty, new businesses, new sources of funding, and increased support of alumni and community members; and
WHEREAS, the Boulder Valley School District is working toward a goal of environmental sustainability in many ways including: adopting energy efficiency practices such as installing a district-wide Andover energy management system and participating in a retro-commissioning project; supporting cleaner fuels through the use of B-5 in all school busses and supporting alternative transportation in all schools; engaging in renewable energy projects that include solar photovoltaic arrays displays, small wind turbines and geothermal heat pumps; building the first LEED gold school in the district and including elements of green design in all new construction and in operational services; supporting environmental education by offering a variety of environmental education programs in the schools and including concepts of sustainability in many courses; piloting integrated pest management strategies; switching to post-consumer recycled content paper, practicing recycling in all schools and composting in over a dozen Green Star schools; and
WHEREAS, the University of Colorado at Boulder offers environmentally focused programs, classes and curricula, including courses in which students form partnerships with campus professional staff to address specific campus sustainability issues, strives to efficiently manage water use, and decrease energy usage for electricity, steam, chilled water utilities, and the campus fleet by various means including the installation of solar panels, building to LEED standards, and “right” sizing and managing loads and routes for delivery vehicles, and, will develop an institutional action plan for becoming climate neutral that includes existing programs such as implementation of zero waste management at Folsom Field, and use of environmentally preferable purchasing guidelines, programs in the demonstration phase such as single stream recycling in residence halls, and programs yet to be created and imagined; and
WHEREAS, Boulder County has a strong commitment to increasing the sustainability of both county operations and the community as a whole, has adopted two resolutions in support of sustainability in 2005, one focused on a sustainable energy future and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and one focused on zero waste, has, along with other local governments representing over 97percent of the county’s population adopted resolutions in support of a countywide Sustainable Energy Plan that seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020 as compared to a 2005 baseline, and has a longstanding commitment to fostering collaborative efforts among local governments in the county and among other public and private partners; and
WHEREAS, the City of Boulder has policies focusing on reducing resource consumption, promoting market transformation in the areas of renewable energy and alternative fuels, growing the number of qualified energy efficiency professionals to serve the public’s increased demand for services, increasing alternative transportation options, and furthering a compact and walkable land use pattern, and has furthered these goals through many means including the adoption of a climate action plan and a carbon tax to fund its implementation, development of a multimodal transportation network which has helped reduce single occupant vehicle trips by Boulder residents from 44 percent in 1990 to 38 percent in 2007, provision of single stream curbside recycling and organics collection, acquisition and protection of over 45,000 acres of open space outside the city boundaries, and the continuous development of progressive residential and commercial green building codes; and
WHEREAS, Alliance members recognize the limitations of working within the confines of independent organizational purviews and the necessity of adopting an integrated and intergenerational approach toward achieving sustainability, and have thus already been working collaboratively on many of the efforts described above; and
WHEREAS, the ability to successfully reach the environmental sustainability goals of each organization would be greatly improved by high level recognition of the importance of this collaboration and a commitment to allocating the staff resources necessary to accelerate efforts in this regard,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOULDER VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION, THAT
- The Boulder Valley School District commits to holding regular forums with Alliance members to identify resource sharing opportunities and increase the sharing of best practices in environmental sustainability.
- The Boulder Valley School District will work with Alliance members to prioritize collaborative efforts in the following areas: creation of a diverse and inclusive workforce available for green jobs through career and technical education training and teaching and internship opportunities; greenhouse gas emissions reductions and climate change adaptation planning, including identification of unified measures of carbon tracking and reporting; identification of large-scale renewable energy opportunities; pursuance of initiatives in furtherance of a zero waste production goal; and exploration of joint funding opportunities to further implementation of all of the above.
- Each Alliance member is committing to unique efforts to further the goals of this resolution. The Boulder Valley School District commits to enhancing efforts around environmental sustainability through the creation of a district-wide sustainability management system (SMS). The SMS is a comprehensive approach for identifying and coordinating existing efforts, establishing baselines, defining sustainability for BVSD and creating plans to integrate sustainability into our operations and curriculum. The SMS will be used as a roadmap for future years and will be updated annually. Metrics used to establish baseline levels of greenhouse gas emissions will be in line with metrics used by Alliance members, which will allow for common goals, visions and strategies. The Boulder Valley School District also commits to further supporting green building design and renewable energy technologies by creating sustainable design guidelines for the remaining bond projects coupled with a review of our design specifications. Other activities will include installing Xcel Energy’s smart grid meters in all of the BVSD schools located in the City of Boulder, increasing awareness around sustainability through campaigns for students and staff, updating curricula standards to include concepts of sustainability and prioritizing environmentally preferable products including a transition to green cleaners.
- In order to maintain a high level of investment in, and awareness of, such efforts, the Boulder Valley School District will participate in an annual joint session of the Alliance where updates on collaborative efforts can be presented to public officials and members of the general public.
RESOLVED this 26 day of May 2009.
President, BVSD School Board BVSD Legal Counsel