Our Demands
For Climate Justice At App State
As a Public university, ASU must begin serving the public by taking immediate and bold climate action that centers the needs of community members, especially those who are and will be most impacted by the climate crisis.
We demand that the App State Board of Trustees:
1
Create a multi-stakeholder standing Climate Action Committee on the Board of Trustees by Fall 2021, tasked with guiding the university to Climate Neutrality by 2025.
Create a Climate Action Committee on the ASU Board of Trustees by Fall 2021, tasked with guiding the university to Climate Neutrality by 2025. The Climate Action Committee shall be organized as a standing committee and shall include Trustees and a diverse group of university and community stakeholders, including students, faculty, and staff. The committee’s responsibility should include assessing climate-related risks to the university, establishing a plan for climate neutrality by 2025, assessing all possible actions through a lens of justice and equity to ensure support for the most marginalized communities, facilitating climate action through fiscal and administrative means, and monitoring progress and establishing accountability mechanisms across the university. The Climate Action Committee shall also be responsible for evaluating the internal carbon pricing pilot program and assessing opportunities to scale this up across the university.
2
Develop and implement an “Environmentally and Socially Preferable Purchasing Plan”, accompanied with internal carbon pricing, for all university procurement, redirecting ~$100 million per year to local businesses, sustainable goods, and minority & women owned businesses.
The purchasing plan should establish policies governing the social and environmental conditions for purchased goods, contracted services, and the businesses providing those goods and services as mandated in the UNC System Policy Manual Section 600.6.1. These policies should incentivize purchasing of sustainably produced goods and contracting with local, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses. The internal carbon pricing pilot program should be tested within the major divisions of the university (academic affairs, athletics, business affairs, the office of the chancellor, and student development) by the 2022-2023 fiscal year to evaluate the strengths of a market-based approach to addressing climate change.
3
Commit to 100% renewable energy purchasing by ASU by 2022 and by NRLP by 2025 without increasing cost for customers. Create policies for fair net-metering and inclusive financing of community solar and weatherization.
4
Commit to purchasing 100% renewable energy for ASU operations beginning in January 2022 and direct ASU-owned electric utility New River Light & Power to establish a clean energy transition that includes: (a) 100% renewable energy for all customers by 2025 at the latest, while using all available programs to reduce costs for customers, (b) policies for fair net-metering and inclusive financing of community solar, and © weatherization programs that prioritize low-income customers, but include all customers, utilizing inclusive financing programs. NRLP should be instructed to use the PAYS OBT weatherization program to reduce energy use and customer costs, with the goal of weatherizing over 75% of all homes, apartments, and businesses by 2035.
Reinvest $50 million of investments into internal sustainable infrastructure, into Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and into community development.
Reinvest $50 million of endowment and other non-restricted funds into greenhouse gas reduction and climate justice initiatives including: (a) the development of climate resilient and carbon negative infrastructure at Appalachian, (b) Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and other funds serving the most climate vulnerable communities in North Carolina, and (3) local climate justice initiatives and community development.