UH receives $200,000 grant to support statewide energy and sustainability education efforts

Building on its efforts to grow new leaders in sustainability, Johnson Controls Foundation has donated $200,000 to the University of Hawaiʻi to support statewide sustainability education efforts.

This grant will fund:

• Salaries for UH students to work on research projects addressing heating, ventilation, air conditioning, energy, water and security related issues.

• The Johnson Controls Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (RAC) Technology scholarship for students in the RAC Technology program at Honolulu CC.

Vice President for Community Colleges John Morton said, “This new award from Johnson Controls grows an impressive history of support for sustainability related initiatives at UH.” Morton continued, “The key to nurturing future leaders in sustainability is the ability to offer hands-on learning opportunities for students to develop solutions that can save energy and water.  We are most grateful to Johnson Controls for their multi-faceted support and partnership.”

In 2015, Hawaiʻi became the first state in the country to make an unprecedented commitment to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. Concurrently, UH and the Hawaiʻi State Legislature established a collective goal for the university system to be “net-zero” by January 1, 2035, meaning the system would produce as much renewable energy as it consumes across its campuses. Partners, including Johnson Controls, are supporting UH’s sustainability initiatives.

UH Maui College is on track to make the campus among the first in the nation to generate 100 percent of its energy from on-site solar photovoltaic systems coupled with battery storage. This ambitious project is part of a partnership with Johnson Controls and Pacific Current that will also allow the four UH community college campuses on Oʻahu to significantly reduce their fossil fuel consumption.

Johnson Controls is a global diversified technology and multi industrial leader serving a wide range of customers in more than 150 countries. Its commitment to sustainability dates back to 1885, with the invention of the first electric room thermostat.

“At Johnson Controls sustainability is an integral part of our vision and values. Through philanthropic grants in support of sustainability education initiatives at the University of Hawai’i, we improve and strengthen the communities we call home. The future is being built today. It is our hope that this sustainability grant will contribute towards making that future more productive, more secure and more sustainable,” said Grady L. Crosby, VP Public Affairs & Chief Diversity Officer, President Johnson Controls Foundation

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The University of Hawai‘i Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawai‘i System. The mission of the University of Hawai‘i Foundation is to unite donors’ passions with the University of Hawai‘i’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawai‘i and our future generations. www.uhfoundation.org