Welcome to the official website of the student-run organization, Carbon Neutrality @ Purdue! We are one of many organizations on campus dedicated to addressing environmental issues, but with a specific focus: reducing the amount of carbon emissions (carbon footprint) of Purdue University, both on the institutional and community level. We work with Purdue administration to incorporate energy efficiency and sustainable practices into the strategic plan.
How our club got started:
In the spring of 2007, a diverse group of around 20 students and 6 faculty/staff from the areas of Civil/Environmental Engineering, Chemistry, Earth and Atmospheric Science, Agronomy, Political Science, Biology, and Forestry and Natural Resources, and Purdue Physical Facilities came together to craft a comprehensive document detailing Purdue’s carbon emissions as well as a plan to mitigate those emissions. For more information on their results, as well as a copy of the document, see Purdue’s Carbon Footprint (link to that page).
In April 2007, a group of students from the class presented their findings to Executive Vice President and Treasurer Morgan Olsen and other important members of the administration, where they were warmly welcomed. This began our group’s close relationship with the administration, which, with the help of Dan Schuster from Physical Facilities, has been very productive and holds great promise for the future.
A presentation was also made to the community in April 2007, which was well attended, including by former mayor of West Lafayette Jan Mills. Mills was very excited by our project and wanted to extend it to include the city of West Lafayette as well. This is something we may pursue with the current and future mayors.
In the fall of 2007, continuing on the amazing momentum produced, some students in the class formed the current student organization under the same name, Carbon Neutrality @ Purdue. See our past and upcoming events (link to Events page)
If you want to join:
We need lots of new members to keep us going! There is a lot of important work that needs to be done! Join our mailing list, and come to our meetings. Check back later for more information on locations and times for the Fall 2008 semester. Currently we have no dues, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t join.