President Ruth Simmons and the Sidney E. Frank Foundation committed $350,000 last month to reducing carbon emissions at Brown and in the Providence community. Now, students and administrators are brainstorming how to put the money to work.
First recommended by the Energy and Environmental Advisory Committee, the Community Carbon Use Reduction @ Brown, or CCURB, program will primarily allocate funds to student-led projects, said Vice President for Finance and Administration Beppie Huidekoper. But instead of focusing on efforts at Brown, CCURB will concentrate on reducing emissions in Providence while helping to meet the city's needs. Brown students, faculty and staff and community and civic groups will work together on the projects that are eventually approved.
The University has already avoided 37,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions through on-campus initiatives and recently received an Excellence in Energy Efficiency Award from National Grid, Huidekoper said. CCURB is "intended to complement the work that Facilities Management is doing on campus" to reduce Brown's carbon footprint, said Kurt Teichert, Environmental Stewardship Initiatives manager.
A committee of 12 administrators, students and faculty, chaired by Huidekoper, will develop a proposal review process for potential CCURB projects. To introduce the effort and proposal submission guidelines, the committee held an information session on Wednesday night that drew more than 30 students. Those spearheading the initial CCURB committee - such as Huidekoper, Teichert and Undergraduate Council of Students President Michael Glassman '09 - emphasized the need for projects that demonstrably reduce carbon emissions in the greater community.
All Brown community members are eligible to submit proposals, but at least $200,000 will be used to fund student projects. To spur discussion, Glassman said the committee might consider proposals to distribute compact fluorescent lamps to a low-income neighborhood, start educational initiatives with public school partners or work with Providence public transportation. Proposals can request a maximum of $100,000 and a minimum of $5,000. Funding will be managed by the Office of the Vice President for Research, Teichert said.
Projects should also engage non-University groups in thinking about increased sustainability and provide learning opportunities for all those involved, Teichert said. Community partners are required for all projects but are not to be contacted until after letters of interest - a brief overview of the proposal and how it fits into the program objectives - have been approved by CCURB, Teichert said.
Though CCURB intends to select projects affecting Providence at large, proposals targeting some as yet unexamined aspects of Brown's energy use, such as supply chain purchasing of computers or food, could possibly be considered, Glassman said.
"This is an initial set of funding," Teichert said. "We're hoping that this is successful and can lead to expanded funding and more programs."
Students interested in submitting a project should first send a letter of interest - which will be made available Dec. 10 and is due Jan. 28 - to CCURB@brown.edu.
After letters of interest are approved, grant applications will be due on Mar. 22, and grant allocation decisions will be made by April 15. Successful proposals, Terichert said, will have "verifiable, measurable reduction" and strong relationships with community partners. Teams of multiple participants are not required but encouraged, and individuals who submit similar projects may be joined together.
Committee members don't yet know how exactly proposals will be chosen and who will serve on the grant allocation committee, Teichert said.
Those involved with CCURB's creation have high hopes for the program.
"We want to make sure that we do it really well, and become a model for other institutions," Huidekoper said.
"What's exciting about this program is that there aren't a whole lot of limits," Glassman told those at the information session. "You guys should try to think outside the box."
Jennifer Baumstein '08, a member of the Sustainable Food Initiative, said she was impressed.
"I think that it's a much better solution than what most other schools have," she said, adding that SuFi will most likely be submitting several project proposals.
"We've been really into it from the get-go," she said. "We want to see this succeed, too."
For students who are interested in learning more, there will be another CCURB information session Dec. 11 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in MacMillan 115.
