The Stanford Carbon Offsets to Reduce Emissions (SCORE) initiative, a collaborative effort among Students for a Sustainable Stanford (SSS), Stanford Students Environmental Consulting, and Cardinal Council, enabled all of Stanford’s varsity athletes to fly carbon neutral in 2015 by purchasing carbon credits for the entire season. These offset the 2,600 metric tons of carbon dioxide that were emitted during the 14,000 flights taken by Stanford athletes.

With financial support from the university, SSS, Stanford Athletics, TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation, and the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, SCORE purchased $3,062 worth of credits from the Billings Landfill Gas Destruction Project in Montana from the provider 3degrees. Stringent criteria were used for choosing the offsets, including the need for them to be in the United States and have community benefits.

SCORE also worked to raise campus awareness about travel emissions and carbon offsets through newspaper articles, tabling events, and a successful petition drive in support of continuing the program. The organization hopes to expand upon its efforts in the coming year by educating students at other universities and encouraging similar action.