​NEW ORLEANS — Implementing a sustainability agenda might be easier for community colleges through statewide collaborations, according to a panel discussion at the annual American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) convention.

An example of such a cooperative is the Code Green initiative, established by the North Carolina Association of Community College Presidents in 2009. Its objective is to encourage colleges to make an environmental commitment, create sustainable campuses, provide education and training in sustainability, support local partnerships, and share best practices.

“We want to empower individual campuses to support sustainability,” said Rose Johnson, president of Haywood Community College in North Carolina.

All 58 community colleges in the state have upgraded their curricula in sustainability, created career pathways, and provided professional development to their faculty, Johnson said. Three Greenforce Summits were hold across the state to promote regional collaboration among colleges and employers.

Johnson outlined the impact of Code Green: In 2010, 83 percent of North Carolina community colleges offered courses on sustainability, compared to 30 percent in 2009. Ninety-six percent of colleges adopted green practices on campus in 2010, compared to 54 percent the previous year.

Having college presidents buy in to Code Green was a key factor in its success, Johnson said. It’s also important to “practice what you teach,” she said. “Campuses need to become learning laboratories of what we’re teaching.”

Lowering energy

All 48 community colleges in Illinois have signed on to the Illinois Green Economy Network, a partnership formed in 2009 to promote the development of green jobs throughout the state while encouraging sustainable practices on campus, said Jerry Weber, president of the College of Lake County (CLC).

CLC is one of 12 network members that created a Sustainability Center to work with local business and industry partners on the green agenda through curriculum development, conservation measures, conferences and community outreach, and student activities, such as participation in the national RecycleMania competition.

CLC reduced its energy use by 5 percent over 18 months, said Weber, who chairs the AACC sustainability task force, which is overseeing the development of the Sustainability Education and Economic Development Center.

The need to upgrade college facilities prompted the California Community Colleges system to form a partnership among its 73 community college districts, the chancellor’s office, and all four of the state’s investor-owned utility companies to provide incentives for energy efficiency.

“There will never be enough money to meet all of our brick-and-mortar needs. This is where sustainability comes in,” said Frederick Harris, assistant vice chancellor for college finance and facilities planning at the California system.

The utilities gave the colleges a 24-cents-per-kilowatt hour rate, which yielded a savings of $1 per thermal unit. The companies also hired student interns for paid jobs to implement energy efficiencies on campus.

Through conservation measures, the San Mateo County Community College District trimmed $1.7 million a year from its operations costs and received an additional $1 million in rebates from its utility company, according to Harris.

Regional focus

In 2009, Austin Community College invited Texas lawmakers, members of Congress, other colleges, and business leaders to a Green Economy Forum. Through discussions, the attendees realized that there was a lack of portability and articulation of education and training across the region, said Mike Midgley, vice president of instruction in the college’s Workforce Education and Business Development Department.

One outcome of forum was the establishment of the I-35 Corridor Collaborative, which consists of colleges, workforce investment boards, and other partners along the north-south interstate through the center of Texas. Its goals are to create a regional green economy, support capacity building for economic development, and train workers for green jobs, Midgley said.

The collaborative received about $3 million in grants, including a $1.1 million Texas Workforce Commission grant, to develop curricula in HVAC, construction, electrical technologies and electric power management systems.

The promise of green jobs to save the nation’s economy hasn’t quite lived up to its potential, Midgley said. However, “it wasn’t all hype,” he noted, adding there has been strong job growth in some areas, particularly the photovoltaic sector.

“Jobs are being created, and it is growing,” Midgley said.