Vanderbilt University
PRE-2: Points of Distinction

In 2019, the university set a goal to power its campus entirely through renewable energy and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Several efforts have made significant strides toward this goal. While the university continues to push innovation on many fronts, it identified a near-term opportunity to work with Climate Vault and use the cap-and-trade market—which is designed to limit harmful emissions—to accelerate its impact, allowing Vanderbilt to become the first member of the Association of American Universities to achieve carbon neutrality. In Spring 2021, Vanderbilt University began this collaboration with Climate Vault which allows the university to address the full extent of its carbon footprint for FY20 and FY21, achieving carbon neutrality decades ahead of its initial goal of the year 2050.The initiative effectively removes carbon pollution permits from regulated carbon markets while simultaneously stimulating research into emerging carbon removal technologies.

Vanderbilt University entered into an agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Nashville Electric Service through TVA’s new Green Invest program to procure off-site large-scale renewable energy to help mitigate the campus’ greenhouse gas emissions. Through this partnership, Vanderbilt is tackling climate change head-on by working towards its goal of powering its campus entirely through renewable energy and committing to carbon neutrality.

Vanderbilt is the first customer to partner with a local power company on this type of agreement in the seven-state TVA region. The 20-year agreement will support Vanderbilt’s goal to power its campus entirely through renewable energy.

Vanderbilt’s initial partnership, announced in January 2020, will mitigate approximately 70 percent of the university’s greenhouse gas emissions beginning in spring 2023. Groundbreaking for the Vanderbilt One solar farm in Bedford County occurred in January 2022 and the installation will open in Spring 2023. The second Green Invest project will supply enough renewable energy to offset the remaining 30 percent of the university’s annual indirect greenhouse gas emissions from purchased electricity when complete.

The agreement is the result of two years of intensive effort through the Large-Scale Renewable Energy Study by Vanderbilt to identify the best renewable energy strategy for the university on the basis of key criteria that include financial, social and environmental benefits and risk mitigation.

The Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center, hosts multiple climate-focused programs which contribute Vanderbilt’s to sustainability leadership and benefitting the greater Nashville community.

The Climate Innovation Accelerator program is a 10-week program that engages minority-led/owned nonprofits and small businesses to identify innovative sustainability opportunities within their mission to equip entities to be more future-fit and climate-ready for those they serve. The inaugural cohort includes five local small businesses and six nonprofits with a diverse set of missions, products and services to illustrate how innovation can work in different sectors to advance climate solutions, from reimagining packaging, services, stakeholder education, reporting frameworks and greening supply chains.

To help small businesses and nonprofits with limited resources prioritize sustainability and innovation, the accelerator provides in-depth sessions on the topics and strategic frameworks to bring both to life.
Programming includes executive education sessions on the topics of sustainability, innovation and strategy. The cohort members will develop a specific project and be paired with an interdisciplinary team of four students from Vanderbilt, TSU and Fisk to develop a final presentation and briefing report to serve as a springboard for implementing the project. The program is co-created and led by Jaclyn Mothupi, director of social innovation at the Wond’ry. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2023/02/28/wondry-launches-climate-innovation-accelerator-to-help-nashville-small-businesses-and-nonprofits-advance-climate-ready-solutions/#:~:text=The%20Wond'ry%2C%20Vanderbilt's%20Innovation,innovation%20at%20the%20Wond'ry.

The Wond’ry is also home to the Climate, Health and Energy Equity Lab, co-founded and directed by Dr. Zdravka Tzankova (Vanderbilt University Climate Studies), Dr. Carol Ziegler (Vanderbilt University School of Nursing), and Dr. James Muchira (Vanderbilt University School of Nursing). The Lab combines research, practice, and teaching to advance just approaches to climate mitigation and renewable transitions. Lab members collaborate with Dr. Tzankova and Dr. Ziegler to map corporate & institutional awareness on the equity implications of climate mitigation pledges & actions; develop conceptual and strategic approaches for using climate mitigation to alleviate specific economic, environmental and health inequities; and, design strategies that simultaneously advance climate mitigation and health, energy, environmental, and economic equity. https://www.vanderbilt.edu/thewondry/programs/social-innovation/