When Meghna Tare became the University of Texas at Arlington鈥檚 first sustainability director in 2010, the was in its infancy. She started from scratch, building the university鈥檚 as a hub for recycling, food waste reduction and student education initiatives.
Fourteen years later, the university is embarking on a new journey: becoming the first UT campus to create a climate action plan, with goals to significantly reduce carbon emissions by 2040.
Other UT institutions have sustainability offices working toward energy efficiency and other environmental benchmarks, Tare said. What sets UTA apart is the formal climate planning process, which kicked off Jan. 22, and its focus on becoming carbon neutral over the next 15 years.
鈥淲e are taking the next step forward by saying: 鈥極K, we have accomplished all these operational sustainability and efficiency goals. How do we take that success and move the goalposts a little further and work towards it?鈥欌�� Tare said.
What is carbon neutrality?
Carbon neutrality means that an organization into the atmosphere as it takes out through some other means, such as installing solar panels, reducing vehicle trips or switching to renewable energy sources like wind or geothermal.
With more than 40,000 students and 5,000 faculty and staff, UTA is a 鈥渃ity in itself,鈥� Tare said. The sustainability office provides a wide range of services to that population, including composting and recycling services, an e-bike rental program, a community garden and environmental policy research. Students work as 鈥渆co-reps鈥� to educate their peers about sustainability programs through outreach on campus and social media campaigns.
Tare鈥檚 team is also responsible for tracking the . Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming, according to the . Burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat and transportation is the largest source of emissions.
Because UTA鈥檚 campus expanded in size between 2010 and 2022, the university鈥檚 overall greenhouse gas emissions decreased only slightly from 73,000 metric tons in 2010 to 71,847 in 2022.
However, the university reported that emissions per square foot decreased by almost a third during that period, largely because of decreases in electricity use. UTA鈥檚 emissions ticked up slightly in 2023, as officials increased their purchase of electricity.
Compared with its peer institutions like UT-Dallas, UT-San Antonio and UT-Austin, UTA emits fewer total greenhouse gas emissions and emissions per square foot. Data collected over the past 14 years will help inform university officials on where they need to focus their efforts next, Tare said.
鈥淭he intention of the climate action plan is to create a roadmap that sets UTA on a path of decarbonization,鈥� Tare said. 鈥淲orking with our facilities management and transportation people, how do we go on this decarbonization path considering all the challenges that we face?鈥�
Groups of staff, faculty and students will convene every three months until the final document, including goals for carbon emissions reduction and strategies to get there, is ready by the end of the year. Climate action plans such as installing solar panels on buildings, transitioning from diesel to electric vehicles and expanding existing programs to reduce food waste.
At the same time the climate action plan is being developed, university officials are also updating the to identify necessary improvements to infrastructure and buildings. Simultaneous planning efforts will help ensure that UTA is in position to withstand more frequent extreme weather events, Tare said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working toward making sure the operational aspect of the campus, the infrastructure, is sustainable, but also the students,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are our biggest assets on campus.鈥�
As UTA each year, the university must prepare for the future in terms of sustainability on campus and in the classroom, Tare said.
鈥淯TA is on this immense journey of growth right now, and for the next few years,鈥� she said. 鈥淗ow do you grow in a sustainable way so that it accommodates students physically on campus, but also in terms of the kind of courses they want to study?鈥�
Thanks to student support in 2022, UTA became the first university in Tarrant County to . Each student pays a flat fee of $5 per semester to go toward environmental projects on campus. For UTA, which implemented the fee last fall, the green fund can support programs such as electronic waste recycling, composting, urban farming and the climate action plan process itself.
While Dallas and other Texas cities have developed climate action plans, Tarrant County cities have not. Of the top 25 largest U.S. cities, that has not adopted a long-term plan to reduce its carbon footprint, achieve sustainability goals or address the challenges posed by climate change.
Tare sees an opportunity for UTA to help the region achieve its environmental goals, including . The university has built strong partnerships with the Arlington-based North Central Texas Council of Governments, the city of Arlington and other government agencies.
鈥淯TA is such a big part of the region,鈥� Tare said. 鈥淥ver the last 14 years, we have transitioned from making sure everything is functioning right on campus in terms of operational sustainability to building those stakeholder relationships and partnerships outside of the campus walls.鈥�
Haley Samsel is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. You can reach them at haley.samsel@fortworthreport.org.
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