Energy, Climate and Transportation
Goal: Strive for carbon neutrality at Tri-C by increasing energy efficiency, exploring renewable energy options, and reducing the College’s transportation footprint.
Progress to date:
- Tri-C provides a free RTA U-Pass to registered and paid credit students to encourage the use of mass transit.
- Tri-C encourages employees to bike because it can benefit health and wellness, and to commute by bike if possible to reduce pollution. Most of Tri-C’s campuses have bike racks – select the campus link of your choice to see a map which includes bike rack locations: Metro, Western, Eastern, Westshore, Corporate College West, and the District Office




Significant energy efficiency improvements have allowed total energy use to decrease while Tri-C’s total square footage of buildings has increased over 25% and student population has increased over 60%.
- 29% energy use reduction in existing buildings since 2000 (per square foot and adjusted for student population and weather). Energy efficiency projects completed to date include:
- LED and high-efficiency fluorescent lighting retrofits
- Boiler and chiller replacements
- Building air conditioning system optimizations
- Swimming pool cover installations
- Tri-C’s greenhouse gas inventory helps assess the impacts of operations and identify opportunities for improvement.