Connecting the Dots...By Trina Innes Here in Canada, we celebrated Thanksgiving on October 8. Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving a month and a half later, on November 26. For those of you who are not North American and unaware of this holiday, it’s filled with excess food, a dash of sports, and a stampede of sales which drive people to consume, consume, consume and then some.
Officially, Thanksgiving is a time for us to honor our history and the year’s harvest. Increasingly it is a time to reflect and simply give thanks. We all give thanks in our own way.
This issue of the AASHE Bulletin gives me an opportunity to reflect on our sustainability world and share a few things for which I’m personally thankful. Read more  | |
Education & Research
Curriculum
Co-Curricular Education & Student Organizing
Research
Campus Operations
Buildings
Energy
Transportation
Waste
Water
Planning, Administration & Engagement
Affordability & Access
Coordination & Planning
Diversity & Inclusion
Funding
Health & Wellness
New Resources
Opportunities
Jobs & Internships
Events
Campus Sustainability Discussion Forums Highlights
Education & Research
Curriculum
The university has established a certificate program to train engineers to recycle and reprocess medical devices to save on supply costs and divert medical waste from landfills. The program received contributions from third-party reprocessing companies, including Stryker Sustainability Solutions.
Co-Curricular Education & Student Organizing
The university’s Student Union Senate has passed a resolution calling for numerous campus businesses to replace plastic bags with paper ones. The resolution, drafted by a campus initiative called Another Step Towards Sustainability, encourages each distributor to eliminate their plastic bag distribution by the 2013 fall semester and replace them with eco-friendly paper bags.
Research
The college has announced plans to open a new Center for Urban Resilience and Environmental Sustainability this fall. The goal of the center is to help faculty that already have great strengths in sustainability research to collaborate in ways that will help find solutions to the environmental challenges of cities and their surrounding areas. The center will also support outreach to private and nonprofit organizations, while fostering the further integration of environmental education into the college’s undergraduate program.
Campus Operations
Buildings
The 336,800-square-foot biotechnology facility features an array of large-scale solar panels, energy-efficient freezer compressors and lab exhaust fume hoods, evaporative cooling and low-flow plumbing.
See also: AASHE Resource: Green Science Buildings (AASHE Member Resource)
The building features indoor gardens, a reclaimed water irrigation system, native landscaping and 20 percent of the construction material was manufactured locally.
See also: AASHE Resources on Campus Green Buildings
The $14.5 million expansion and renovation of the university’s Ebaugh Laboratories repurposed 800 tons of material from the demolition for the project and worked to bring in 20 percent of the new material from local companies ranging no more than 500 miles from campus. The facility also features drought tolerant native landscaping.
The newly renovated Thomas Hall features low-flow plumbing fixtures, native and adaptive plantings, and 20 percent of materials within the building contain recycled content. Many opportunities for alternative transportation exist as part of the renovation including public transportation access and access for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles.
Two professors have designed a portable classroom to be as affordable and more environmentally friendly than the portables used in schools. The new concept doubles the number of windows and includes features that improve ventilation, help better regulate temperature, and reduce heat lost. The university-designed classroom would cost around $75,000 while traditional portables cost $60,000.
Energy
The college has begun constructing a 1.6-megawatt wind turbine to be used as an educational tool for students in the wind energy program. Excess energy produced by the turbine will be sold to a local power company.
See also: AASHE Resource: Wind Turbine Installations on Campus (AASHE Member Resource)
The university has created an energy resource area that contains equipment and software that will track the amount of solar energy being used on campus as part of a new energy conservation project. The project also includes installing solar panels, building a cogeneration plant and energy-efficient lighting in various campus locations. The university expects the new project to reduce the campus’ carbon emissions by 6.4 million pounds per year.
With the assistance of Facilities Management, students have installed 132 solar panels on the roof of the student-owned Ackerman Union. The panels will supply 2.5 percent of the building’s electricity. The university’s Green Initiative Fund provided a $176,000 grant to cover costs.
See also: AASHE Resource: Campus Solar Photovoltaic Installations
See also: AASHE Resource: Student Fees for Sustainability
Transportation
The university has partnered with Enterprise Rent-A-Car to offer an on-campus car-sharing program for faculty, staff and students beginning this fall. Registered members will have access to two fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles.
See also: AASHE Resource: Car Sharing on Campus (AASHE Member Resource)
See also: AASHE Resource: Campus Hybrid Vehicle Fleets (AASHE Member Resource)
Waste
The university has made an effort to collect and donate reusable items that might otherwise go to the landfill. Last spring, the university’s Student Cleanup, Recycle and Moveout program donated 30 boxes of books to Better World Books, an organization that raises funds for literacy by selling used books online. Earlier this year, UW Recycling donated 1,540 pounds of food to the University District Food Bank; over 8,000 pounds of clothing to Northwest Center; 2,000 pounds of electronics to InterConnection; and 980 pounds of toiletries and emergency kit backpacks to Real Change.
In an effort to change recycling behavior, Building Services have replaced “Trash” labels on disposal bins with “Landfill” labels. The university hopes the change in labels will encourage students to think more carefully about their consumption choices. Building Services, the Office of Sustainability and Green Leaders will be gauging the results of this program and its potential effects on disposal over the next few months.
The installation of three solar powered trash compactors will allow the college to remove 40 dumpsters. Instead of collecting waste every three to five days from traditional dumpsters, compacted waste can be hauled away every three to four weeks. Waste is weighed and recorded in the unit, allowing the college to explore further ways to reduce and eliminate waste.
In an effort to make campus recycling more convenient, the college has adopted a new co-mingling recycling program. The college has also hired six students to manage the pick-up of outdoor recycling bins and help educate the campus about recycling through improved signage and bin locations.
See also: AASHE Resource: Campus Recycling and Waste Minimization Policies (AASHE Member Resource)
The Athletic Department has partnered with the Office of Sustainability to create the Be the WE (Waste Eliminator) Program. The program uses student volunteers to serve as recycling ambassadors on football game days to help educate fans about recycling and assist the UW Facilities Department in its recycling efforts. Through the first three home games, the university has recycled 18,920 pounds of plastic and cardboard.
Water
After raising more than $125,000 for the project, School of Civil Engineering students have unveiled a new green roof laboratory to celebrate the school’s 125th anniversary. Featuring soil and plant media, sensors to measure energy, and a weather station, the roof will provide a lab space to work on sustainability and green initiatives. The School of Civil Engineering, industrial partners, alumni and sustainability funds covered the additional $900,000 cost.
A civil engineering professor and a team of students have installed monitoring equipment on a rooftop garden that will gather data and show how effective the 1.5-acre roof system is at stemming stormwater runoff. Once the equipment is established, real-time data will be available on a website designed to allow teachers to use the information in their classrooms.
Interns with the university’s Environment, Agriculture and Food Group, along with the City of Chicago, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and Loyola University’s Office of Sustainability, have developed the Chicago Campus Green Roofs Tool. The interactive mapping application features campus green roof locations, photos, performance data and information on public accessibility.
Planning, Administration & Engagement
Affordability & Access
Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation that will give undergraduates free access to online textbooks for 50 of the most common courses at California public colleges. The newly established California Open Education Resources Council, which has nine members drawn from the University of California, California State University, and community college systems, will create and oversee the book approval process, then solicit bids to produce the textbooks in time for the 2013-2014 school year. The council can also choose to use existing open source textbooks.
Beginning next year, the university has announced plans to freeze tuition for students after their sophomore year if they are on track to graduate in four years. Under the program, qualified students will receive an on-time completion award equal to any increase in tuition and fees that they would otherwise incur during their final two years.
Coordination & Planning
The university’s administrators and Associated Student Government have designated new positions to address diversity and sustainability issues on campus. The student senate also created the Sustainability Committee and the Diversity Committee that will meet with university officials throughout the year to discuss common objectives and goals. The Sustainability Committee will also serve as a source of funds and support for the environmental organizations on campus.
Diversity & Inclusion
The Métis Education Foundation has established a $750,000 endowment that will provide $60,000 in new scholarship opportunities annually to Métis students studying at the university. The endowment will create new entrance awards, continuing student undergraduate scholarships and graduate awards.
Funding
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded the university’s Office of Sustainability and the Community Farmers Market (CMU) more than $82,000 in grant funds to help promote the "Local Food for Everyone" program. The two organizations will collaborate on a project that serves as a tool for educating regional farmers and consumers about the variety of locally grown foods.
Health & Wellness
The university senate has passed a measure to ban on-campus smoking. Effective Aug. 1, 2013, tobacco use will be prohibited on university property, facilities, grounds, parking structures, university-owned vehicles and structures owned or leased by the university.
See also: Arizona State University's Tobacco Free Website
“The Role of Institutional Diversity” explores how the diversity of STARS institutions has changed over time and how participation in STARS according to institution type compares to U.S. demographics. Findings in this review suggest that the institutional characteristics that make higher education institutions distinct also play a role in how campuses are advancing sustainability. With six institutions highlighted, this issue covers data from reports submitted through Sept. 1, 2012.
Renewable Choice Energy has unveiled the data import feature for its web-based Mosaic carbon accounting software. The program provides users with an automated carbon accounting process, complete with an interface and decision-making dashboard. The software supports campuses with effective, transparent, and ongoing management of energy and carbon emission data, allowing schools to integrate the information and activities required to easily analyze, optimize, and mitigate their energy consumption and carbon emissions across facilities
AASHE is offering a discount on STARS registration in celebration of the AASHE 2012 conference. Starting today through October 21, institutions that register as first-time STARS Participants will receive a $250 discount on STARS registration. Registration will be discounted to $650 for AASHE member institutions and to $1,150 for non-members. This offer applies to new registrants only. Please use the coupon code "MYSTARS" upon registration to receive the discount.
This year AASHE is introducing a new approach to differentiating its curriculum workshops. There are now three levels of workshops based upon the participant experience and role in higher education. AASHE's Sustainability Across the Curriculum Leadership Workshop is a level II workshop in the series and is designed for faculty leaders and program directors. The Advanced Level III workshop, Sustaining Leadership for Curriculum Transformation, is a pilot offering focused on the transformation of higher education broadly and will develop strategies for transforming the curriculum, sustaining and strengthening vision and leadership skills, and shaping the structures within each school and across schools that can reach deeper levels and national arenas. The next workshops are slated for Jan. 7-8, 2013 at Emory University (Georgia) and Jan. 14-15, 2013 at San Diego State University (California). The deadline to apply for both is October 29.
The program offers the chance to credential sustainability work through single seminars or a six-seminar sustainability leadership certificate. All work is completed online. Participants will learn to assess their organization's green policies and practices, communicate sustainability initiatives and evaluate best practices. New online seminars begin 11 times each year. Next two session start dates: November 1 and 29. Discounts are available to AASHE members. Upcoming seminars include "Integrating Sustainability into Training and Curriculum" and "Tools and Techniques for Planning and Managing Sustainability Projects." Most Ithaca sustainability seminars are now GBCI (Green Building Certification Institute) approved.
Feb. 11-13, 2013 ; Muncie, IN
Building on a November of 2011 geothermal gathering and capitalizing on the availability of a newly-operational geothermal district heating and cooling system, Ball State University is launching the first in a series of annual Geothermal Conclaves. These events are designed to bring together researchers, practitioners and students interested in the design, installation and operation of large-scale geothermal heating and cooling systems.
Nov. 27 – 30, 2012; Dana Point, CA
Co-produced by members of the Council for Higher Education Management Associations
Nov. 14-16, 2012; San Francisco, CA
AASHE is a sector partner for the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Greenbuild 2012 International Conference and Expo. This year's event will feature three days of speakers, networking opportunities, industry showcases, LEED workshops and tours of the host city's green buildings. USGBC Center for Green Schools and AASHE will present the Innovation in Green Building Award, recognizing a leading college or university that is transforming the built environment and creating living laboratories for sustainability.
| Campus Sustainability Discussion Forums Highlights |
Click on the titles below to view the full discussion thread.
I am researching ways to make the commence ceremony more sustainable at my institution. Would anyone be able to share resources about initiatives schools have taken in this vein? All information is welcome!
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