Vassar College
At a Glance
Industry
College or University
Project Types
Data Analysis, Goals/Targets, Sustainability and Energy Management Strategy
Year
2021
Location
Poughkeepsie, NY
Summary
Aniket worked with Vassar College to evaluate the potential verification protocols for Vassar’s carbon offset project and developed a detailed timeline to implement this project.
Goals
Vassar College has an ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. Vassar’s 415-acre College Farm and Ecological Preserve (VFEP) serves as a carbon sink, which sequesters around 217 tons of carbon each year. However, this is threatened by the growth of invasive vines, which cover around 80 acres of the preserve. Furthermore, reforestation effort is needed in 20 acres of the preserve to improve forest sequestration. Vassar College enlisted Aniket in an effort to research possible ways to claims carbon credits for additional investment in the VFEP to combat these threats.
Solutions
Aniket approached the problem in four steps:
- Currently, there is no specific protocol for vine removal in the USA. Therefore, after reviewing several registries, Aniket identified that the Improved Forest Protocol of American Carbon Registry and Climate Action Reserve would be most suitable for Vassar’s needs.
- He developed an excel sheet to calculate carbon sequestration as per protocols.
- Then he provided a detailed roadmap and timeline to develop a carbon offset project.
- As the offset generated by the project at VFEP would be sufficient to eliminate all the emissions of Vassar. Therefore, he provided an overview of types of offset projects purchased by the peer institutions.
Potential Impact
As per the literature reviews, the removal of vines can increase carbon sequestration by nearly 35% in the longer term. Additionally, Aniket’s fellowship work would create an opportunity for a student group project to engage in the development of a carbon offset project by implementing the steps recommended by Aniket.