Carbon Offsets Should Make a Difference: Connecting Offsets for University-Sponsored Air Travel to a Vision for an Energy and Climate Partnership with West Philadelphia

Before the pandemic, air travel was one of the major contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. Whether you travel privately or for your institution or company, invariably air travel makes up the biggest chunk of your carbon footprint and overshadows your other efforts. To its credit, the University of Pennsylvania recognized that University-sponsored air travel made up 20% of Penn’s carbon emissions, making it the second largest source of carbon emissions at Penn. In January, 2020, the University announced a plan to purchase carbon offsets to neutralize its emissions. Join Penn experts and Steve Luxton, CEO of the Energy Coordinating Agency, for a webinar that will focus on

the carbon footprint of air travel
air transportation trends in the US and globally
how carbon offsets work and what options there are for individuals
Penn’s plans to offset university-sponsored air travel
developing a vision of how Penn could invest its carbon offsets to help residents in West Philadelphia become more energy efficient, switch to renewables, and become more climate adaptive

Speakers

Megan Ryerson

UPS Chair of Transportation, Associate Dean for Research Weitzman School

Benjamin C. Pierce

Henry Salvatori Professor of Computer and Information Science Penn Engineering

William W. Braham

Professor of Architecture, Director of the Master of Environmental Building Design and of the Center for Environmental Building + Design Weitzman School

Steve Luxton

Executive Director and CEO The Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia

Andrew Huemmler

Senior Lecturer School of Engineering and Applied Science

Dr. Huemmler worked for Exelon and its predecessor, PECO Energy, for 20 years. He started his career at PECO as an energy conservation analyst and finished at Exelon's Power Team as a senior power transactor buying and selling electricity in wholesale power markets. He was a member of the New England Power Pool's Transmission Operations Committee and participated in the rulemaking process which created electricity markets in the northeast U.S. Prior to joining PECO Energy, Andy worked in the City of Philadelphia's Energy Office during Mayor William J. Green III’s administration. He authored an Energy Emergency Operations Plan for the City of Philadelphia and implemented the City's first neighborhood-based energy education program. Early in his career, Andy worked for a small hydropower developer and the Philadelphia Water Department, was elected to the Board of Directors of the Queen Village Neighbors Association for eight years and served as a Democratic committeeman in Philadelphia’s 2nd Ward. Currently he is on the Board of Directors of the Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia having served as Board President from 2014-2017. ECA provides community-based energy efficiency services and assistance to low-income families in Philadelphia, the poorest of America’s ten largest cities.

Regina Bynum

Director of Teaching and Learning for University-Assisted Community School Programs The Netter Center for Community Partnerships

Moderator

Simon Richter

Department of Francophone, Italian and Germanic Studies University of Pennsylvania

Simon is the Class of 1965 Endowed Term Professor, Department of Francophone, Italian and Germanic Studies, and chair of the Climate Week at Penn planning team. Simon's teaching and research focus on cultural aspects of resilience, climate adaptation and sustainability, especially with regard to water and forests, and take the climate emergency as their starting point. Recently, Simon has been a member of international design teams working on climate adaptation projects in Semarang, Indonesia, and Amsterdam.