Carbon Newts
Pittsburgh
350 Pittsburgh’s Carbon Newts is a project to support carbon neutrality (CN) within ten universities in southwest PA by working with each university’s students and administration.We particularly want to elevate student voices. To achieve this we have created a Scorecard called TRACE (Three Rivers Assessment of Carbon Emissions) that the students use to measure the success of each school in getting to carbon neutrality. We conducted a pilot in 2023 to establish a 350 Pittsburgh presence on campus. We aim to support student projects, education and advocacy. As a result of the pilot working, we have expanded to more campuses.We’re also learning how we can best assist each university with its CN objectives. This is not a “one size fits all” exercise. Some universities are far along in their pursuit of CN, while others have yet to create their first formal plan. We want to listen carefully to what’s needed and then bring to bear the expertise and energy of the 350 Pittsburgh climate crisis communities.