Climate Friendly Cooling Pledge and New Regulations Affecting Campuses: Opportunities and Implications

This webinar is brought to you by the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development, the Yale Refrigerants Initiative and the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) and its members: SCUP, AASHE, CSHEMA, and APPA.

Action is needed now by college staff in facilities, EHS, sustainability, student life, business offices, auxiliary services, housing, dining, planning and procurement. In December 2020, Congress passed the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, a bipartisan bill that put the United States on the path to phase down hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants nationwide. These refrigerants are greenhouse gases thousands of times more potent compared with carbon dioxide. And they’re everywhere: in refrigerators and mini-fridges, air conditioners, lab equipment, and vending machines.

The good news is Project Drawdown estimates that refrigerant management has the potential to reduce emissions by 57.75 gigatons of CO2eq through 2025. Other groups estimate that improved refrigerant management could generate $39 billion in economic benefits by 2027.

This webinar will feature experts on integrating refrigerant management best practices into student and staff initiatives, legislation impacting HVAC equipment, buying options for sustainable technologies, and leaders on programmatic responses.

Registration Information

This is a free webinar.
To register visit the AASHE website.
All registration questions should be directed to AASHE.

Presenters

Tilden Chao

StudentYale College

Miranda Gorman

Senior Research FellowIndustry, Project Drawdown

Laurie Husted

Chief Sustainability OfficerBard College

Jim Romanski

Power Plant ManagerYale Office of Facilities

Kristen Taddonio

Senior Climate and Energy AdvisorInstitute for Governance and Sustainable Development