This Friday’s Midnight Madness will emit thirteen tons of carbon, according to an audit conducted by Georgetown Eco-Action.
To offset these carbon emissions, Georgetown will spend about $170 on carbon credits.
The proposal, headed by GUSA’s Secretary of Green Initiatives and Chairman of the Corp Green Initiative Adam Alfi (MSB `11), was approved earlier this week by the Georgetown Athletics Department.
On behalf of the Corp Green Initiative and the GUSA Green Initiative, Alfi approached the coordinators of Midnight Madness with the idea of buying carbon credits to offset the carbon emissions of the event. The cap-and-trade system used by Georgetown for the event allows carbon credits to be sold by eco-friendly companies to less environmentally friendly businesses for a profit.
“This system applies real economic market pressure on companies to reduce their carbon emissions. The more the demand for these credits goes up, the higher the offset prices rise,” said Alfi, GUSA’s Secretary of Green Initiative and Chairman of the Corp Green Initiative.
Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs Dan O’Neil and Director of Marketing in the Athletics Department Greg Driscoll sat down with Alfi over the last few weeks to discuss the plans thoroughly, reaching the final decision Monday night. The Corp and GUSA finalized their commitment on Tuesday night.
“This was something we thought was very worthwhile. GUSA and the Corp have done a lot of work and we want to be supportive of their efforts,” O’Neil said. “From the athletics department we want to be supportive of student initiatives.”
The audit was conducted by Eco-Action member Mike Durante (MSB `10) who emphasized the high profile nature of Midnight Madness.
“It provides exposure to the whole university and not just to the people who are interested in the environment,” Durante said.
