Carbon Pricing Models--Panel Discussion
Learn about what models other colleges are using to inform your own carbon pricing design and implementation strategy! At our panel discussion, we will discuss the systems that Vassar, Swarthmore and Yale are using to price carbon, covering Vassar’s shadow price for construction projects, Swarthmore’s charge on departmental emissions, and Yale’s multiple experimental models. We will discuss the process that each of us went through to develop a proposal, create buy-in, and ultimately get approval to establish our carbon pricing systems.
Alistair Hall is the Sustainability Coordinator for Vassar College, where they are in the process of incorporating life cycle cost analysis and the social cost of carbon into capital project decisions. Alistair is a Vassar alum and currently pursuing his MBA in sustainability at Bard College.Casey Pickett is the Director of the Carbon Charge at Yale University. Yale has completed its pilot Carbon Charge which included four different trial groups to experimentally determine which elements in an internal carbon price are most effective. This year, Yale is moving forward with two additional trials. Casey holds an MBA and a Master’s of Environmental Management from Yale, and a B.A from Oberlin. He served as Director of Innovation for Connecticut’s Economic Development department, worked as Sustainability Engineer for Turner Construction Company, organized for Dean for America, and co-founded a sustainability think-and-do tank.
Aurora Winslade is the Director of Sustainability at Swarthmore College, which is in its pilot year for its carbon price, which charges departments for their emissions and uses the revenue for sustainability projects. Aurora holds a B.A. in Agriculture, Ecology, and Political Economy from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), and an MBA from Duke University. She founded UCSC’s Sustainability Office in 2007 and launched the sustainability program for the 10-campus University of Hawaii system in 2012.