Carbon Commitment Committee

As part of our commitment to achieve carbon neutrality on our Pittsburgh campus by 2037, the University of Pittsburgh’s Carbon Commitment Committee began meeting in April 2020.  A subcommittee of the Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Sustainability, the Carbon Commitment Committee’s goals are to:

  • Hone, design, and manage the University’s plan to achieve its carbon neutrality goal by 2037.
  • Develop a Pitt Climate Action Plan to achieve carbon neutrality and update it every 5 years.
  • Annually evaluate progress towards carbon neutral goal, submit progress evaluations, and sharing progress .
  • Develop inclusive and equitable operational, curricular, research, and community engagement strategies related to GHG emissions reduction & carbon neutrality.
  • Celebrate accomplishments and performance.
  • (Re)focus on existing and emerging areas of GHG emissions reduction opportunity.

Curious how we’re doing on achieving this goal? Visit our dashboards to see our progress!

Committee Members

  • CHAIR: Dr. Aurora Sharrard, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Sustainability
  • Dr. Joshua Ash, Director, Environmental Law & Policy Clinic; Clinical Assistant Professor, Law
  • Jennifer Barnes, Supplier Diversity & Sustainability Manager, Strategic Sourcing
  • Dr. Melissa Bilec, Co-Director, Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation; Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering
  • Gina Bleck, Vice Chancellor, Planning, Design, & Construction
  • Federica Geremicca, PhD Candidate, Civil & Environmental Engineering
  • Dustin Gray, Deputy Athletic Director for Administration, Athletics
  • Dr. Michael Holland, Vice Chancellor for Science Policy and Research Strategies, Office the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research
  • Alexandre Massip, Undergraduate Student, Environmental Science ‘27
    Rebecca Roadman, Chief of Staff, Finance & Operations
  • Priya Vishnoi, Undergraduate Student, Chemistry & Math ’27
  • Laura Zullo, Vice Chancellor, Facilities Management

Past Committee Members

  • Scott Bernotas, Vice Chancellor, Facilities Management
  • Dr. Max Harleman, Doctoral Graduate, School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA ‘21)
  • Dr. Katrina Kelly-Pitou, Former Assistant Research Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering
  • Christy Kim, Undergraduate Student, Environmental Science, ‘24
  • Mary Beth McGrew, Former Vice Chancellor, Planning, Design, & Real Estate
  • Annie Ryan, Undergraduate Student, Environmental Science, ‘23
  • Ellen Oordt, Undergraduate Student, Ecology and Evolution, ‘22