Colgate University
PRE-2: Points of Distinction

In April 2019, Colgate University became the first higher education institution in New York State to achieve carbon neutrality by reducing gross emissions by 46% compared to its 2009 baseline and investing in high-quality, verified carbon offsets.

Colgate University’s forests are managed using principles of sustainability that emphasize teaching and research opportunities, outdoor recreation and aesthetic value, conservation of ecosystem services and biodiversity, and forest carbon storage and sequestration. The land is certified through the American Tree Farm System and is highly valued as an on-campus carbon sink for Colgate University. Colgate’s 1,059 acres of forests contain 193,755 tons of stored carbon and sequester an additional 3,776 tons of carbon annually.

Colgate purchases all of our wood chips — about 8,000 tons per year — from Gutchess Lumber Co., Inc. in Vernon, N.Y., less than 20 miles away from campus. The wood chips are a byproduct of the mill’s operations and are ultimately sourced from well-managed state and private forests. This includes Gutchess’ own 29,000-acre forest, which has been owned and sustainably managed by the company for more than a century. As long as there is no land-use change, the use of Gutchess’ wood chips in Colgate’s wood boiler can be a climate solution.

Sustainably managed working forests can be an important aspect of combating climate change. As young trees grow, they actively capture carbon from the atmosphere, but as they age, the amount of carbon they take in decreases. Selectively harvesting those trees makes way for new growth that can continue the cycle of carbon sequestration. The harvested trees taken to Gutchess Lumber are then milled and used in a variety of furniture and building applications, storing the carbon held within the wood for generations.