On May 19, UW students received an e-mail from Dean Sandra Archibald, chair of the Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee, soliciting feedback on the university’s Climate Action Plan, which is being revised and finalized. Students were invited to visit the Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Web site to read through the 53-page draft and offer their opinions.

The UW is one of the first signatories of the American College & University Presidents Commitment to Climate (ACUPCC) and has been working on the plan since January. To date, there are 637 signatories.

“As part of that, the commitment is to have a plan toward carbon neutrality,” said Claudia Frere, manager of the Office of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability. “This document is basically a result of the various campus groups who have come together to form a plan toward carbon neutrality.”

The Office of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability is taking a lead role in the drafting process, but has collaborated with groups like Students Expressing Environmental Dedication (SEED), WashPIRG and ASUW, as well as with faculty and staff across all three UW campuses. One of the main goals of the plan is to eliminate the UW’s net greenhouse-gas emissions.

“It’s a huge, huge task,” said Elise Davis, project manager in the Office of Strategy Management, which oversees the Stewardship and Sustainability Office. “Some of the challenges have been, obviously, the budget; we’re in kind of a financial crisis. We’re trying to be bold, but also be sensitive to the fact that there’s not a lot of money.”

As far as soliciting feedback from the campus community, Davis said that’s been an integral part of the process.

“What we’re really trying to do is get as many ideas together as possible, then get as many faculty members, staff members and students to get a look at it and tell us if we’re going in the right direction,” she explained.

Davis’ office has been trying to implement some of the actions they’ll be recommending in the plan, such as using video conferencing or Skype to communicate between campuses, rather than driving back and forth for meetings.

The UW is hoping to reach climate neutrality by 2050, but is “unable to set this as a firm target due to unknown emerging technologies, conservation and funding,” according to the online draft of the plan.

Senior Aubrey Batchelor, a biochemistry major, wanted to work as a student assistant in the Stewardship and Sustainability Office after she discovered her passion for climate change during a chemistry department trip to Brazil in summer 2007.

“That really sparked my interest. Our actions here in America could negatively affect someone halfway across the world, really affect their means to survive; it’s really scary to think about,” Batchelor said.

Now that she’s involved in the Stewardship and Sustainability Office, Batchelor is glad to see the university taking such a proactive approach toward carbon neutrality, especially in this time of limited funding.

The Climate Action Plan will be submitted to UW President Mark Emmert Sept. 15 for his signature. Until then, students and staff are invited to look at the draft online at the UW’s Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Web site.

After that, Davis said, the plan will be a living document in order to respond to any changes in emerging technology or funding.

Reach reporter Molly Rosbach at news@dailyuw.com.