SUNY-ESF Students Start Campus Bike Share Program
After conducting a campus parking analysis that found that alternative forms of transportation were needed, two senior environmental study students have developed a program that will enable students to borrow bikes for a small deposit. The program will start at the beginning of the fall semester.
U Buffalo Hosts Community Environmental Justice Forum
The university recently hosted "An Environmental Justice Forum for Buffalo Homes and Neighborhoods" to bring local activists, academics, community organizers and federal experts together to address aging and deteriorating housing stock, environmentally unhealthy conditions in many neighborhoods, and high poverty and unemployment rates. Students participating in the Law School practicum are providing legal support to the National Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, which has chosen Buffalo as one of 17 pilot cities for its work in promoting safer housing.
U Buffalo Opens Publicly Accessible Solar Array
The University at Buffalo celebrated Earth Day with the opening of its Solar Strand, believed to be the nation’s most publicly accessible photovoltaic array. The university and the Western New York Environmental Alliance introduced the public to the facility with a 90-minute event showcasing how environmental initiatives can redefine the economy and improve quality of life.
U Florida Students Create Kiosk to Promote Campus Sustainability
Architecture and building construction students have built a mobile kiosk for the university's Office of Sustainability to help promote its educational mission across campus. Designed to be pulled behind a bicycle, the kiosk is constructed with reused materials and features two 250-watt solar panels that power cell-phone charging stations and LED lights. Counters also fold down to provide areas for brochures, games and informal conversations.
York U Named Among Canada’s Greenest Employers
The distinction recognizes the university's creation of a President’s Sustainability Council, Green Office and Sustainability Ambassador programs, and student residence energy consumption reduction competition.
23 Colleges Join EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge
(U.S.): Twenty-three college and universities in New England have joined a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency effort to reduce food waste. The partnership aims to reduce the 1.64 million tons of food wasted each year in the six New England states. EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge encourages organizations to reduce, donate, and recycle as much of their excess food as possible, which saves money, feeds the needy, and supports the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainability.
3 Canadian Universities Partner for Global Education Initiative
(Canada): McGill University, the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto have partnered with the MasterCard Foundation to educate African students. Over the next 10 years, the foundation will provide the universities with $25 million each to pay for students’ tuition and living expenses, and create internship opportunities in Africa.
Auburn U Announces First Spirit of Sustainability Award Winners
(U.S.): This campus-wide awards program recognizes students, faculty, staff, and alumni that demonstrate accomplishments promoting sustainability on campus or in the community at large. The awards program was created in part to generate awareness of sustainability initiatives and to acknowledge those who are making significant contributions toward economic, social, and environmental well-being.
Carnegie Mellon U Installs Evive Water Station on Campus
(U.S.): The university has entered a contract with Evive Station to find an efficient and cost-effective way of reducing disposable water bottles on campus. Evive Station has installed a machine on campus that allows users to sanitize and refill their reusable bottles.
Chatham U Creates Executive Master in Sustainability Leadership
(U.S.): The university’s School of Sustainability and the Environment has launched a new 16-month Executive Master in Sustainability Leadership program for professionals looking to strengthen their ability to advance sustainability in a range of professional settings. This 30-credit program can be completed in under two years, is designed for those who want to advance their careers or transition to careers in sustainability, and combines online coursework with period visits to the university’s zero net energy Eden Hall Campus.
Clark U Signs Real Food Campus Commitment
(U.S.): The college pledges to purchase at least 20 percent “real food” by 2020, which will include food that is community based, ecologically sound, humanely produced, or fairly traded.
Dalhousie U College of Sustainability Receives $1.5M Gift
(Canada): In celebration of Earth Day, the Royal Bank of Canada announced that it will donate $1.5 million over 10 years to the university’s College of Sustainability to support the sustainability leadership certificate program. The program develops leaders in sustainability through workshops held on weekends during the school year.
Delta College Receives $40,000 Award for Rainwater Harvest System
(U.S.): Funded by Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network, the rainwater harvesting system is expected to save 169,000 gallons of water each year. The system will benefit the newly renovated Health Professions facility by conserving water, saving money, protecting the watershed, and feeding a hydroponic green wall.
Dublin City U Launches Community Garden
(Ireland): As part of the Green Campus initiative, the university launched the DCU Community Garden. The garden is an open, all-inclusive area that can be utilized by staff, students and the community for teaching, research, education, training, community engagement and recreation.
Duke U Approves Gender Confirmation Surgery Student Insurance
(U.S.): Administrators have signed a new contract with the university's health insurance provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, that will include up to $50,000 to cover gender confirmation surgery. All pivotal aspects of transgender health care such as counseling, hormone therapy and surgery will also be included in the coverage.
EPA Announces Campus RainWorks Challenge Winners
(U.S.): The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the four winners of the Campus RainWorks Challenge, a new design challenge created to inspire the next generation of landscape architects, planners and engineers to develop innovative green infrastructure systems that reduce stormwater pollution and support sustainable communities. Winners include the University of Florida Gainesville, University of Arizona, Illinois Institute of Technology, and the Missouri University of Science and Technology.
EPA Announces Green Power Challenge Athletic Conference Winners
(U.S.): The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership tracks the collegiate athletic conferences with the highest combined green power usage in the nation. In April, collective conferences and single institutions were recognized as 2012-13 EPA Green Power Challenge conference champions. At more than 310 million kilowatt-hours, the Big 10 conference topped the list with the largest total purchase among all conferences.
Georgetown U to Open Office of Sustainability
(U.S.): The university has announced plans to debut its Office of Sustainability this summer in an effort to centralize student and administration sustainability initiatives. The creation of the office was first recommended in 2012 by the Visions for a Sustainable Georgetown Initiative, a project led by small focus groups of undergraduate students and administrators that brainstormed ways the university could become more sustainable in both the immediate and long-term future.
Indiana U Purdue U Indianapolis Constructs Solar Array
(U.S.): A new $245,000 solar power installation atop the Business School of Public and Environmental Affairs generates 43 kilowatts of electricity a day. The project will provide research opportunities and is one of 18 Qualified Energy Savings Projects underway in several campus buildings.
Indiana U Purdue U Indianapolis Installs Hydration Stations
(U.S.): In an effort to reduce the number of plastic water bottles on campus, the university has installed 35 hydration stations in the past three years to refill reusable bottles. The hydration stations have been particularly well-received in the School of Dentistry.
Portland State U, Chinook Book Launch Sustainable Living App
(U.S.): The university and Celilo Group Media’s Chinook Book have launched a mobile app that is available for free to students, faculty and staff. The app includes money-saving coupons for sustainable products and services that students love as well as student resources for green campus living.
Rochester IT Sustainable Manufacturing Center Receives Funding
(U.S.): The institute’s Center of Excellence in Sustainable Manufacturing will receive $500,000 as part of the 2013-14 New York state budget agreement. The center, housed within the Golisano Institute for Sustainability, will enable expanded research and technology transfer activity between industry and the institute.
SUNY Cortland to Offer M.S. in Sustainable Energy Systems
(U.S.): The university has announced plans to offer a new Masters of Science in Sustainable Energy Systems beginning in fall 2013. The program will offer advanced training in the physics of renewable energy, courses geared to build professional skills in areas such as economics and communication, and a culminating internship. Two grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation totaling more than $15,000 helped fund curricular development and a market needs assessment.
Trinity College Dublin Achieves Environmental Award
(Ireland): The college has been awarded a green flag for the quality of its environment as part of An Taisce’s Green Campus program. Water consumption has been reduced by 25 percent due to the elimination of leaks, behavior changes and rainwater harvesting; while energy use has been stabilized despite a large building program and an increase in students. The Green Campus award is overseen internationally by the Copenhagen-based Foundation for Environmental Education.
U Alabama Creates Sustainable Investment Fund
(U.S.): The university has created a new fund that will provide $1 million over five years to develop environmentally friendly projects. The fund was created through collaborative efforts of the Coalition of Alabama Students for the Environment, the UA Environmental Council, and the UA Student Government Association. Project funding will be approved by a panel of mostly students.
U Canterbury Researchers Produce Findings for Green Roof Pilot
(New Zealand): Researchers have investigated the benefits of green planted-roofs for the New Zealand built-environment. Initial findings into a year-long ecological pilot study have found that storm water run-off is reduced by half on a planted roof in comparison to an unvegetated roof.
U Chicago Creates Sustainable Certification for Offices and Labs
(U.S.): The Office of Sustainability has created a certification process for sustainable offices, residence houses and laboratories. The certification will recognize those departments or houses that are reducing the environmental impact of their offices, homes or labs. Participants will be awarded a Silver, Gold or Platinum certification based upon the level of sustainability criteria they meet.
U Hong Kong Centennial Campus Earns LEED Platinum
(China): Sustainable features include the careful positioning of buildings to capture natural light, breezes and storm water; solar panels and wind turbines for electricity generation and demonstration purposes; green roofs and sky gardens; and greywater and stormwater treatment.
U Illinois Chicago Expands Recycling Efforts
(U.S.) The university will install 60 recycling bins around campus and in residence halls. The bins were made possible by a grant from the Alcoa Foundation, in partnership with Keep America Beautiful.
U Massachusetts Amherst Libraries Win Award for Sustainability
(U.S.): The university’s Libraries have won the Gale Cengage Learning Financial Development award for their new Library Sustainability Fund. The fund has increased access to sustainability-related resources; provides opportunities to host presentations, exhibits and film screenings; and provides faculty development through a series of workshops.
U Minnesota Earthducation Program Goes to the Arctic
(U.S.): The university’s Earthducation is a series of seven expeditions to every continent designed to create a world narrative of the dynamic intersections between education and sustainability. A small team of researchers has begun Expedition 5. During the two-week, 100-mile expedition, the team will visit schools, teachers, and classrooms in the Canadian Arctic to learn about their educational needs and discover how global climate change affects these communities.
U Missouri Receives $2M Gift for Sustainability
(U.S.): The university will create a sustainability endowment from a gift of $2 million from Enterprise Holdings. The endowment will seed transformational research, education, and applications that sustain health, culture, economic vitality, and quality of life in a volatile global environment.
U Toledo to Create Green Office Certification Program
(U.S.): A new Green Office Survey will be used to determine which campus offices are conserving energy, recycling and reducing waste. Results from the survey will be used to create tiers for the Green Office Certification program, which will offer incentives to become eco-friendly.
Vanderbilt U to Switch From Coal Power to Natural Gas
U.S.): The university has announced it will replace its coal-fired co-generation facility, converting it to burn natural gas. Construction of the new natural gas facility will include the installation of two natural gas-fired boilers and one natural gas-combustion turbine, which will co-generate steam and electricity. The university hopes the switch will contribute to the reduction of its carbon footprint.
Wake Tech CC Debuts App to Reward Sustainable Behavior
(U.S.): The college has launched a new partnership with JouleBug, a free mobile app that gives users incentives and rewards for making sustainable choices. A custom JouleBug badge guides users toward actions connected to the college’s Climate Action Plan, like carpooling or taking public transportation, recycling on campus, and saving energy by shutting down computer equipment. Users can share activities and achievements with friends on Facebook and Twitter. The college hopes to use JouleBug to run student competitions and offer rewards.
Yale U Introduces New Bike Share Program
(U.S.): The university has launched a six-month pilot with the bike-sharing company Zagster. The company has provided Yale with 50 bicycles and an online reservation system that is available to current students, faculty and staff. Zagster requires an online registration and a $20 annual membership fee — which will be fully reimbursed for registrants who subsequently complete a Bike Safety class offered by Yale Environmental Health and Safety.
Agnes Scott College Installs Energy Efficient Lamps
The college has replaced fluorescent lamps across campus with more energy-efficient bulbs. The lamps are part of the college’s first green revolving fund project and are expected to save about $11,000 annually in electricity bills.
Bowdoin College Athletes Implement Shoe Reuse Program
Bowdoin Green Athletes (BGA) looks to continue its campaign to ingrain sustainability into the athletic culture through a team-by-team strategy and a shoe reuse initiative. As part of the Rerun Shoes initiative, BGA has installed two boxes for students to donate their old, unwanted sneakers. About 200 pounds of shoes have been collected so far.
Food Recovery Network, Bon Appétit Partner to Fight Food Waste
Bon Appétit Management Company has partnered with the Food Recovery Network (FRN), a student-operated nonprofit working on college campuses to curb food waste and end hunger. Bon Appétit and FRN will work together to recover surplus food from campus dining halls and deliver it to local shelters to combat hunger in the surrounding communities.
Georgetown U Mobile App Allows Users to Track Buses
The university has debuted a new GPS-tracking feature for campus shuttles. NextGUTS maps the location of the next available Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle (GUTS) in real time, allowing anyone with a mobile device to access estimated times of arrival for the next available shuttles.
Long Island U Uses Blender Bike to Make Smoothies and Raise Money
A graduate assistant has partnered with Dining Services to convert a bicycle into a food blender in an effort to raise awareness about energy conservation. The blender bike will be used to create smoothies made from local and organic ingredients that will be sold to the campus community with the intention of showcasing how sustainability can be fun and profitable. The money raised will go toward future sustainability initiatives.
Loyola Marymount U Commits to Sustainable Seafood
The university has earned the Marine Stewardship Council’s Chain of Custody certification. The certificate attests that the fish stock used on campus comes from sustainable fisheries that are concerned with the marine ecosystem; and is supplied by processors and distributors through sustainable sourcing practices.
