September Climate Leader: Andrea Trimble
Meet our September Climate Leader: Andrea Ruedy Trimble. She’s the Sustainability Director at UVA and has been a leader in higher education sustainability initiatives for over fourteen years. Andrea has a passion for sustainability at universities because of the interconnectedness of operations, curriculum, research, and engagement, and the potential to accelerate change through replicable models. Prior to joining UVA in November 2014, Andrea managed Harvard University’s sustainable building program, taught university courses in design and sustainability, and worked in architecture, historic preservation, and sustainability consulting. Andrea now leads a team of UVA Office for Sustainability staff focused on pan-university strategic planning, engagement, communication, analysis, sustainable building, and additional programs across sustainability impact areas aligned with UVA’s sustainability goals.
Andrea is a member of the Better Buildings Alliance Higher Education Sector Group Steering Committee, Ivy Plus/Listening Post Sustainability Working Groups, Albemarle County Climate Action Plan Steering Team, the Board of Directors of Cultivate Charlottesville, and coaches youth soccer. In her free time she enjoys long distance running and art endeavors, and is the co-founder of Draw Charlottesville. Andrea holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech, a Master of Liberal Arts in sustainability and environmental management from the Harvard Extension School, and Master of Science in historic preservation from Columbia University.
We asked her for her perspective on UVA’s role as a local and higher education leader in climate action.
1. Tell me how you got involved in sustainability leadership and climate action?
When I was in college there weren’t as many academic or career opportunities in sustainability but growing up I loved art and projects focused on ‘Saving the Earth.’ I pursued degrees in architecture and historic preservation as a way of seeking to design meaningful, sustainable spaces and advocating for the importance of a sense of place through urban planning. After some time as an architect, I took a position with Harvard’s Office for Sustainability, focused on green buildings. There I saw the sustainability and climate leadership impact that colleges and universities can have, because of their position in advancing climate solutions in a pan-university way across teaching, research, and operations. Transitioning to the position as Director of UVA’s Office for Sustainability was an opportunity to engage in a range of topic areas, in different ways, from raising awareness about individual actions to strategic planning.
2. What is UVA doing to advance climate solutions?
UVA’s sustainability framework seeks to connect the ideas of Engage, Steward, and Discovery - advancing climate solutions both locally and globally through curriculum, research, engagement, and operations/stewardship of resources. UVA has faculty engaged in ground-breaking global and local research and many opportunities for students to get involved through classes, on-Grounds implementation, organizations, and career development. In terms of stewardship, UVA has set goals to be carbon neutral by 2030 and fossil fuel free by 2050. Last year we met our original climate goal six years early with a 27% reduction below 2009 emissions levels, implementing strategies such as utility-scale solar, district energy improvements and energy efficiency initiatives in buildings. We have partnered with William & Mary on the 2030 carbon neutrality goal and are working with the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County on regional action. Check out the UVA Sustainability website for details, including FAQs, annual reports, and more.
3. What are you hopeful about right now?
The past several months have shown us that urgent situations can inspire people to rise up and collaborate on solutions, leading to rapid innovation. I’m hopeful that we will recognize how fast change can occur, will all pay attention to what’s happening around us and work for change on a transformative, systems level.
4. What is a climate action personally or professionally that you are proud of?
When I was 17 years old I read some books on the environmental impacts of industrial meat production. I came home from high school one day and promptly declared myself a vegetarian…and I’ve stuck with it ever since.
5. What is one thing we could do as a community to build a more equitable climate movement
One thing we could do is to make both local voices and existing data more readily visible, to help make the connections between social and environmental issues more readily apparent – such as health disparities and environmental justice issues. If we can engage more people in these connections, hopefully we can further promote systems thinking in decision-making. We’re looking forward to collaborating with the UVA Equity Center, the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and others to better incorporate climate justice into strategic planning this fall.
7. This is challenging work. What is your favorite way to recharge and rejuvenate?
I enjoy exploring Charlottesville and other towns and cities in two different ways – urban sketching with pen + watercolor and running long distances!