Larry Lane credits Chancellor Philip Dubois with the campus-wide push to go green. He, with the chancellor's support, is gradually replacing gas guzzling maintenance and utility carts with electronic vehicles (EVs) and flex-drive vehicles which use E-85 fuel, partially made from corn.
Lane is UNCC's Automotive and Motor Fleet Supervisor in Facilities Management and 2007's Supervisor of the (4th) Quarter. He is responsible for researching and acquiring the vehicles. The conversion to electric and alternative fuel means of transportation began in 2005.
In the three years since, the campus has built a fleet of 56 EVs and 23 E-85 vehicles and boasts their own E-85 fueling station. The EVs, which run off of electricity, are plugged in when not in use to recharge.
When deciding which carts and trucks to replace, Lane determines which of the current stock of vehicles is using the most gasoline and oil and then submits his request for a more environmentally friendly replacement.
The University of North Carolina (northcarolina.edu) adopted policy 1300.3[R] into the system-wide policy manual in May 1997 in response to North Carolina's Environmental Policy Act. The text of that policy's purpose states, in part, "The goal is to ensure adequate protection to the environment while facilitating…many routine operations and small maintenance, repair, or construction projects at the constituent institutions."
Of the university system's 16 public schools, UNCC is ranked number one when it comes to environmental consciousness, according to Lane who said, "We are the leaders in this state and we will continue to be the leaders. It's the right thing to do on all fronts."
The EVs and E-85 vehicles, which will eventually replace all of the gas-powered automobiles used by facilities management, save the campus money on fuel, though Lane says it's hard to calculate an exact figure. He said, "It's much more than that, we are also reducing our dependency on foreign oil and the amount of greenhouse gases [we create]."
Lane also said that the university's employees have had a positive response. Joyce Clay, an administrative professional in Capital Projects said,"They [EVs] are much, much better. You don't have fumes and they are much quieter vehicles; the gas carts are like lawnmowers."
The Centralina Clean Fuels Coalition, whose mission is "to reduce petroleum dependence, improve air quality, and expand alternative fuel use and technology", recently awarded UNCC their 2008 Clean Cities Award for Lane's efforts. On the organization's Web site (4cleanfuels.com), they state, "Over the past few years, Facilities Management at UNCC has developed and implemented an ambitious strategy to have a cleaner and greener fleet."
The EVs and E-85 vehicles can be seen criss-crossing the campus for a variety of reasons, including: grounds keeping, maintenance, parking services ticketing and parking lot management, student services, housekeeping and construction. Students do not have access to the vehicles.
Lane is proud of UNCC's commitment to the environment saying, "At UNCC we are community leaders. It is part of our job to educate faculty, staff and students in our community and state." He also said our campus can teach the community through our actions, saying that a little bit of effort goes a long way; plus, we are saving money.
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