We, the undersigned, eagerly support the UW-Madison’s goal of designing its West Campus District (see map) so that it significantly reduces the threat of climate change in both the immediate and longer-term future. We are confident that this sustainability-focused “innovation district” plan will attract climate-conscious tenants, students, and the public, thereby generating revenue needed to help this great university thrive. To that end, we ask leaders in the State Building Commission, UW System and UW-Madison to ensure that all new West Campus District infrastructure achieves or exceeds the UW-Madison's goal of "procuring 100% renewable electricity on campus by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2048 or sooner." Specific reasons for this request are listed below.

Green buildings attract tenants and generate revenue.

• The value of assets for building owners increases with implementation of sustainable infrastructure.
• Slightly higher initial building cost will rapidly be offset by lower building operation costs for decades to come.
• Tenants prefer sustainably designed buildings across the country; these buildings already are providing low operating costs (see p. 44), improvement of health, and increased productivity (see “Conclusion and Discussion”).
• Many major industries and other institutions are enhancing their reputations by going carbon neutral, even carbon negative.

A sustainability-focused WCDP (e.g., with net-zero buildings) will help boost UW-Madison's mixed reputation for leadership in sustainable campus infrastructure.

• A CapTimes article (08/22) that compared UW-Madison to 19 of its peer institutions found that it “ranked dead last,“ as defined by the university’s own STARS reporting.
• A UW System presentation, given 4/7/2022, points to UW System’s weak reputation for sustainability compared to midwestern peers and how it impacts competitiveness.
• Per an Inside Higher Education survey of international students, 85% of undergraduates consider sustainability a high priority in their college enrollment decisions.

Leadership in sustainability helps preserve a livable future for all.

In light of incontrovertible scientific findings about catastrophic climate change, provided in part by UW-Madison’s own researchers, we believe that UW System and UW-Madison have the moral and ethical responsibility, and the capacity, to ensure that the West Campus District will:

• Only construct buildings that meet “net-zero energy” standards;
• Establish transportation strategies that reduce single-occupancy vehicle emissions; and
• Restore the seriously degraded West Campus Lake Mendota shoreline.

We strongly support a “yes and” approach that synergizes financial success and climate mitigation for UW-Madison West Campus District Plan.