Commitments and Goals

Climate Commitments

Divested in 2018

Students advocating for fossil fuel divestments hold painted signs on campus

In May 2018, the university announced it had divested its holdings in the Carbon 200 (fossil fuel) companies and added investments in solar and renewable energy companies. This followed a vigorous campaign by students and faculty and a 2016 Board of Trustees vote to move the university toward full divestment from companies in the Carbon Underground 200 list. In 2019, Salem State University received $57,000 as the only institution from 30 participating schools in the Multi-School Fossil-Free Divestment Fund (MSFFDF) to fully divest from fossil fuels by the December 2018 deadline.

Carbon Neutral Goal and Net Zero Goals 

Salem State signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment in 2007, pledging the university to carbon neutrality by 2050. Salem State is also guided by the state’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, adopted in 2021.

Land Acknowledgement

The land occupied by Salem State University is part of Naumkeag, a traditional and ancestral homeland of the Pawtucket band of the Massachusett. We recognize the ongoing colonization and dispossession of indigenous homelands and respect and honor the Massachusett tribe and the many Indigenous Peoples who continue to care for the land upon which we gather. Please see the full Salem State University Land Acknowledgement . Thank you. 

Greenhouse Gas Goals and Progress

  • Net Zero

    reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions levels by 2050

  • 47

    %
    Decrease in Greenhouse Gas Emission from 2004-2022

  • 42

    %
    reduction in Energy Use Intensity from 2004–2022

Commonwealth Commitment

New emphasis on addressing building heating and cooling

The new Massachusetts Executive Order 594 changes the way the state tracks climate action progress away from a focus on overall greenhouse gas emission reductions. Recognizing that the electricity grid is progressing toward a fully renewable portfolio, Massachusetts’ focus is now on tracking vehicle and building heating and cooling emissions. SSU still considers it important to track overall GHG emissions.

Salem State Greenhouse Gas Emissions % Change from FY04-FY22
Onsite Fossil Fuel Emissions:

state target is 35% reduction by FY30		 -31%
Grid Electricity Emissions -59%
Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions -47%

Campus Decarbonization

North Campus Decarbonization Project Underway

To meet the state goals to reduce fossil fuel emissions from building heating and cooling, Salem State developed a high-level plan to transition North Campus to clean energy by 2050. The state is now providing $53 million for FY24-28 to put part of this plan into place by relying on strategies such as geothermal energy, a shared heating and cooling energy loop, and technologies such as air source heat exchange. The fortuitous timing will complement Project Bold, SSU’s plan to renovate Horace Mann and build laboratory additions to Meier Hall, allowing those buildings to access the new fossil-free energy loop for heating and cooling when they open in 2026. Phase I of the decarbonization project is being developed by MA DCAMM as a state agency demonstration project.

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