Social Context:

Introduction

Although solar energy systems would be a highly technical project for Lafayette to invest in, there are a multitude of non-technical factors that must be discussed. The reasons for wanting to implement these systems on campus broach many different contexts and these must all be considered when determining the feasibility of a solar audit. Climate change is the most overarching context that is a driving force for a solar initiative on campuses across the nation. Next is how Lafayette fits into the American college community and how it can remain competitive with other institutions in a variety of ways. Finally, our most narrow context is what kind of message visible solar panels would send to campus visitors and the community as a whole. Each of these plays a role in the value that solar energy systems have to Lafayette and each must be considered when making a decision.

Climate Change (Global)

In recent years, climate change has been in the news a noticeable amount. Its effects have been seen and felt all over the globe and many nations are doing what they can to help the planet. Because of this, there has been a strong environmental movement for us to each do our part. The Paris Agreements recently made the environmental goals of every country more clear and although President Trump declared his intentions for the United States to pull out of the agreement, many American businesses and institutions have made it abundantly clear that they are still willing to make conscious efforts to reduce carbon emissions and invest in energy efficient technologies (Victor, 2017). Switching from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy such as solar would be a step in this direction.

Countries around the world realize that climate change is an international issue that is affecting everyone. It is a problem that does not see country borders or beliefs; therefore, it should be solved through international collaboration. Each country sets its own goals and initiatives through the Paris Agreement; the only criterion is that they should improve over their own current efforts (Paris Agreement, 2015). We can learn from what the European Union is doing and try to follow their example in the United States. These European efforts and how they compare to what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is doing will be discussed in more depth in the Political/Policy Context.

Media has also played a role in spreading awareness for climate change. With the rise in climate change related events such as hurricanes and flooding, the world has seen the environment become a hot topic to discuss. A study in Japan looked at how prevalent topics were in the news and found that the environment has skyrocketed to being one of the most discussed issues (Sampei and Aoyagi-Usui, 2008). It passed both peace and nuclear weapons, among other topics, in 2006. This exemplifies the role the environment has started to play in the international narrative and serves as an example of how climate change has taken the spotlight in the news.

All of these things add to an international pressure to become a more sustainable college. Seeing all these international efforts should serve to reinforce the idea that climate change is a real issue, one that we should all be doing our best to mitigate and adapt to. Saving the environment is an issue that countries all over the world are devoting themselves to as can be seen in the Paris Agreement and if Lafayette wants to continue to be a be a competitive college, it should strive to continue to embody these ideals and improve upon them. With the prevalence of climate change related news, creating visible sustainable efforts on campus can be the catalyst that sparks an interest in preserving the environment for students.

Lafayette College values sustainability and realizes its role and responsibility as a part of the global community to be environmentally aware. As per the Campus Master Plan, Lafayette aims to be a sustainable campus and strives to have the smallest impact on the environment possible. In January of 2008, Lafayette also signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) which doubled down on this value. Since then, Lafayette has made an effort to reach its sustainability goals with its construction of the new Rockwell Integrated Sciences Center. While these efforts pale in comparison to the global scale, they are steps in the right direction for a college of Lafayette’s size.

Climate change is a global force that is shaping the playing field in more ways than one. People all over the world are feeling its effects and are stepping up to do something about it. In order for Lafayette to hold true to its ideals and continue being a school with an international perspective, investing in sustainable energy is the correct move for the future.

Higher Education Institutions (Country)

Colleges in the US are plentiful and prospective students are looking for schools that stand out from the crowd. Sustainability and environmental awareness are issues that the younger generation values and are looking for in a college. While Lafayette does prioritize these values, as can be seen in our Master Plan (2009), our efforts are not easily noticeable and this is where visible solar energy systems and our project come into play.

Many other colleges have implemented visible sustainability efforts with varying degrees of success. The most successful colleges do not only have green programs on campus; they embrace the movement as a whole and integrate their ideas into the culture of the campus. For instance, Arizona State University implemented solar parasols to an area of their campus that was previously unusable due to high exposure to sun and high temperatures in summer. Solar energy systems brought a utility to this previously unused plaza and now their extended solar network brings in enough energy to power almost 4000 average US homes (Goldfarb, 2016). Although solar energy is much more efficient in Arizona, the idea can still be applicable here at Lafayette.

Efforts, like this one at ASU, have approached the topic of sustainability in a variety of unique ways and these will be discussed in later sections. The unifying theme of these projects is that they were campus wide initiatives that incorporated the community and built off of existing projects. They all also increased the amount of recognition on campus since it was much easier for students to notice the efforts going on. In Lafayette’s case, Buck Hall was designed to incorporate solar panels in the future and is in a very visible place (J. Nicodemus, personal communication, 2017). This lends itself as a very clear option to make our sustainability efforts visible that will be talked about in the Technical Analysis.

Sustainability has become an important facet for colleges in the United States. This can be best seen in the creation of the Association of Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). First launched in 2006, AASHE serves to help higher education institutions pave the way with sustainability efforts in the country. With hundreds of colleges already members, AASHE has grown very quickly and demonstrates the level of value that colleges in the United States are putting on their relationship with the environment. One of AASHE’s strategic goals for 2017 is to “catalyze sustainability leadership in higher education through increased visibility and recognition.” This speaks to the point that having visible progress on campus can inspire students to get involved. Having visible efforts also has the potential to attract prospective students to Lafayette.

In conclusion, colleges in the United States are where the leaders of tomorrow are being made. This means that colleges are the perfect environment to serve as model communities for the country. Colleges have the means and resources to stand out as examples for their surrounding communities. Students are looking for colleges that are doing this and want to get involved once they are on campus. Lafayette should strive to provide its students with opportunities where they can really make a difference and to remain competitive with colleges that are doing so.

Lafayette College (Easton)

Lafayette has made it a personal goal to increase its sustainability efforts and environmental friendliness. Our most recent Master Plan, Lafayette’s far reaching plan of action for the future and the direction that it wants to head in, revolves around improving our campus in a few different ways, all working towards making our campus more sustainable. The biggest issue that Lafayette has run into has been creating visible ways to demonstrate the progress that we have made (M. Hyde, personal communication, 2017). Faculty and students stand by these ideals, but struggle to come up with apparent examples. While the new science center is a step in the right direction, Lafayette should not settle with only this project.

Part of the problem is that a lot of what Lafayette has done is not obvious to visitors on campus. For example, refillable water bottle stations and double insulated windows are not anything that would make someone stop and think about the environment, but they are both attempts at creating a better campus. Lafayette has a multitude of policies and systems in place to help its sustainability but they all suffer from a lack of clear visibility or publicity of any kind (M. Wilford-Hunt, personal communication, 2017). This is where incorporating visible solar energy systems would have the largest impact and create the most social benefits.

We want our efforts to be easily seen by prospective students who are looking at Lafayette as a potential home for the next four years. While students can read all about all of our current efforts and the eco-friendly design of our buildings, it is much more impactful for them to be able to point at something on campus that falls in line with their own values. After speaking with Dean of Admissions Matthew Hyde, he confirmed this belief. He stated that the number of students applying with an interest in environmental studies/sciences has only been increasing in recent years and said it is not a far leap to assume these students are interested in sustainability efforts. Grossman House is a current building on campus that is supposed to be more progressive, and yet there is nothing apparent about its appearance and it is not even on the tour route. Matt Hyde commented that the admissions office would love to have another talking point and a solar installation on campus could provide that.

Throughout the course of our project, it has become abundantly clear that, while it has gotten a lot cheaper in recent years, solar energy does not have immediate economic payoffs (Richardson, 2017). Solar energy has dropped to $1.65 million per megawatt in 2016. This is the cheapest it has been in over a decade. Using renewable energy would not reduce the college’s energy costs for quite a few years. This will be examined more in depth in our Economic Analysis. However, the potential social benefits that the Lafayette community values outweighs any initial monetary investment. These benefits could come in the form of prospective students, community values, and an overall responsibility to our planet.

Lafayette has already demonstrated that it is willing to spend a little more money to make sure that its sustainability efforts and intentions are clear. The new Rockwell Integrated Science Center is LEED Gold certified which means that Lafayette put in more resources to make sure that it had a higher rating. The college could have just as easily settled for a lower LEED certification or passed on it completely as was told to us by Professor Cohen. This would have been the cheaper alternative and it is highly unlikely that incoming students would take the LEED certification of a building into consideration when looking at college. The fact that the college strived for a higher LEED certification goes to show that it is willing to spend more resources on something that it values. Lafayette has a progressive mindset and we think that implementing visible solar energy systems would be the next logical step for the school.

Another Lafayette specific issue that arose was the social acceptance of solar panels on certain buildings. It was brought to our attention by Professor Nicodemus that adding solar panels to buildings with historic value such as Pardee Hall could have repercussions with alumni who think that they would be ruining the aesthetic of the building. On the flip side, it could be a sign of progress since putting solar panels on an iconic building would show just how serious Lafayette is to its goals. Based on our analysis, Pardee does not seem like an ideal spot for solar panels, while we are considering more modern buildings on campus.

Conclusion

The social context for the feasibility of solar panels on Lafayette’s campus span a wide set of criteria and topics. Visibility has been a central factor to the campus and something that it has struggled with in the past. While there are multiple sustainability policies in place, they lack recognition. Without visibility, Lafayette will suffer in the highly competitive college market since eco-friendly schools are becoming increasingly popular. Colleges across the country are increasing their efforts to be sustainable for many different reasons, with student interest being one of these. Another is the heavy international focus that is being put on the environment. With countries all around the world devoting themselves to being sustainable, it is hard not to see the importance.

 

Next Section: Political/Policy Context