Montgomery County CC Launches Green Office Initiative
The college has selected six offices to participate in a new Green Office pilot program. The four-tier, goal driven system requires that a minimum of 50% of an office’s staff must sign the registration to participate. Each participating office will have an internal office mentor who reports to the Green Office Committee and also serve as a conduit for goals and news from the Climate Council.
N Carolina Central U Organizes Farmers’ Market College Day
The university’s Green Team organized a College Day at the Durham Farmers’ Market to promote healthy eating, local farming and supporting local businesses. Students using public transportation received a five-dollar coupon for the market, and farmers offered a 10 percent discount to students with a college ID. In collaboration with the farmers market, the Green Team has also organized a student internship program where students next fall will work alongside farmers and the market manager to learn about sustainable agriculture, marketing and local economic development.
North Carolina State U Creates Steward Program
The Steward program will attempt to consider the challenges facing the environment more holistically, and integrate economic and social aspects into their advocacy. As ambassadors for environmental advocates, the Stewards hope to collaborate with other environmental groups by holding workshops, presentations and campus events.
Portland State U Teams with Wells Fargo on Cleantech Challenge
The university has partnered with Wells Fargo to present a new competition for students and faculty with innovative ideas on how to improve the way communities operate in a resource-constrained environment. The PSU-Wells Fargo Cleantech Challenge will offer $50,000 in cash to help innovation teams bring their ideas to market.
Students Compete in DOE-Sponsored Cleantech Challenge
The U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored CU Cleantech New Venture Challenge has recognized five student groups from the University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Denver, Iowa State University, University of Utah and Brigham Young University to compete in the regional semifinals. Student projects include a cooling system for data centers, a rooftop system that captures carbon dioxide, and a brewery byproduct that is converted to an algae-based nutraceutical. The first-place team will receive $100,000 and will go on to the national competition, June 11-12, in Washington, D.C.
U British Columbia Deploys New Smart Grid Energy System
The university has unveiled a new $5.1 million energy storage system, created in partnership with Alpha Technologies Ltd. and Corvus Energy. The smart grid technology will allow the storage of clean power when it is generated and its use in times of peak demand.
U Cincinnati Creates Environmental Literacy Certificate Program
The Sustainability Office has begun a non-credit Environmental Literacy Certificate of Achievement program this academic year with members of the housekeeping staff. In the fall semester, a new group of staff members will participate in the program, and a parallel program targeting students will begin. Participants will attend 20 events, including lectures, film discussions and sustainability supper discussions.
U Colorado Boulder Debuts One Million Acts of Green
The university has announced the launch of One Million Acts of Green, a campus-wide sustainability-based social networking tool that will enable users to visualize the impact of their efforts to live green. For each of the first 1,000 people to sign up for One Million Act of Green, the Office of Campus Sustainability will put $10 toward campus sustainability projects.
U Iowa Renovation of Stuit Hall Earns LEED Gold
The building incorporates passive solar design, a rain garden to capture storm water from the roof, occupancy sensors to control electric lights, new insulation and windows, low-VOC and formaldehyde-free products, energy-efficient mechanicals, and recycling storage and collection centers on every floor.
U Maryland Apiary to Add 8 Hives with New Grant Money
The beekeeping club has received a $9,600 grant from the Sustainability Fund to expand the university’s apiary with eight more hives. Members hope to develop a “Terps Bees” brand of honey products and beeswax candles to sell at the Maryland Food Co-op, farmers markets and the university’s convenience shops.
U Michigan Diversity Resolution Passes Assembly
The Senate Assembly voted to approve a resolution that would increase efforts to promote inclusivity. The goals of the four-part resolution include reassessment of the strategies used to increase diversity, adoption of active, intentional, creative and ongoing efforts to improve diversity, assurance that diversity efforts are woven into the university’s fabric, and publicly asserting the goal of improving diversity on all three university campuses.
U Vermont’s Eco-Reps Launch Follow the Leaf Campaign
The university’s Eco-Reps have launched a Follow the Leaf campaign in an effort to make it easier for students to make sustainable choices. As part of the launch, the Eco-Reps held an even that included green leaf eco-pledges and their own Eco-Option label.
Warren Wilson College Signs Real Food Challenge Commitment
The college and Sodexo Dining Services have signed the Real Food Challenge Commitment. The agreement, augmenting previous sustainability commitments by the college, states that Warren Wilson will procure 40 percent “real food” annually by the year 2020. The College’s local foods crew is charged with monitoring the food purchasing.
Washington U St. Louis Announces Land Lab Winners
The Sustainable Land Lab is a joint program between the city and the university’s Office of Sustainability to turn vacant land into innovate public competition that will give teams the opportunity to demonstrate their ideas through tangible projects at the scale of a single vacant lot. Winners of the inaugural competition include a franchise-model urban farm, a bistro built out of re-used shipping containers, and a sunflower lab piloting efficiency of plant-based soil remediation.
American Public U System Explores New Wellness Efforts
The university system has increased sustainability and wellness efforts that focus primarily on employees. Recent initiatives include a carpooling program and hosting walking clubs during lunchtime. The university also plans to host a wellness day that will feature information on composting, wellness clinics, vendors and yoga.
California State U Fresno to Offer Water Mgmt Masters Program
The university has created a professional science masters degree in water resource management. Some of the courses to be offered include geospatial technologies, climatology, water economics, hydrological systems and natural and agriculture uses of water. The new degree requires students to have a Geographic Information Systems certificate or the equivalent work experience.
Cuesta College to Open Sustainability Resource Center
The college has announced plans to open a Sustainability Resource Center that will focus on alternative energies in the San Luis Obispo County school systems and the local community. The center will provide resources and training for teachers at all grade levels and delivery of sustainability learning modules to students both at Cuesta College and local schools. MidAmerican Solar, SunPower and NRG Energy provided financing for the project.
Drake U Campaign Leads to Restriction of Bottled Water Sales
The university has announced plans to restrict sales of plastic single-serving water bottles next fall. A student-led campaign worked for months to raise support for the initiative. To ease the transition, every new student will receive a reusable bottle that can be filled at hydration stations.
Georgetown U Dedicates Solar Street Project
The student-spearheaded initiative, Solar Street, has installed 75 solar panels across rooftops of six university-owned historic townhouses. The project is expected to offset an average of approximately 40 percent of the electricity used in each townhouse, and provide up to $43,000 in savings to the student body government over the 20-year life of the power purchase agreement.
Indiana U Bloomington Sustainability Fund Announces First Project
The Student Sustainability Council has announced plans to install motion-sensing, energy-efficient lighting as its first capital project. The project will be funded by the student-supported and student-directed sustainability fund, which was established via an 11,000-signature student petition in fall 2010.
Kennebec Valley CC Receives Grant for Sustainable Ag Program
The college will receive a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration to create an agriculture-oriented education hub. A two-year associate degree in sustainable agriculture will be one of the first programs to make its debut in the fall. The program will provide students with the technical and small business skills needed to manage or develop a small farm or agricultural business.
Kentucky Dept. of Agriculture to Launch Farm to Campus Program
Under the Farm to Campus program, the state agriculture department will partner with Eastern Kentucky University and other state colleges to assist with buy-local efforts. Over the next two years, the department will target college campuses to increase Kentucky Proud products in their bookstores, gift shops, cafeterias and food service systems.
North Central College Earns Earth Flag for Campuses Award
The college has earned an Earth Flag for its sustainability efforts. A green audit was performed to identify energy efficiency opportunities and potential environmental hazards. Following the audit, the college adopted several recommendations, including establishing a recycling program and other initiatives to reduce waste and energy consumption.
Obama’s Proposed Budget Aims to Increase College Affordability
President Obama’s proposed budget for the 2014 fiscal year includes several measures to increase student financial aid and college affordability. The budget calls for market-based student loan rates that would stay fixed for the loan's lifetime. The plan also includes a “Pay as You Go” measure, allowing students to pay no more than 10 percent of their discretionary income. Moreover, any outstanding debt after 20 years of payment would be forgiven.
Ohio State U Wins Environmental March Madness Championship
The university won the second annual Environmental March Madness Tournament, defeating other schools in the “Sustainable 16”. Organized by Enviance, an environmental software company, institutions competed against one another based on environmental curriculum and campus sustainability efforts. The university will be awarded $5,000 for its Environment, Economy, Development and Sustainability (EEDS) program.
RISD Pilots Nature-Culture-Sustainability Studies
The Rhode Island School of Design has created a pilot program in Nature-Culture-Sustainability Studies (NCSS). This two-year program aims to ascertain levels of student interest in NCSS and create a pathway of study which would allow students to compliment and add focus to work explored in their major areas of study.
Rochester IT Debuts Green Education and Research Hub
The institute has opened its new Sustainability Institute Hall, a living lab that represents RIT’s commitment to the environment. The 84,000-square-foot facility was designed to exceed LEED Platinum standards and features solar panels, vertical wind turbines, and specialized research areas that include the Staples Sustainable Innovation Lab, Eco-IT test bed and a fuel cell test bed.
San Francisco State U Students Monitor Recycling Bins
The Cesar Chavez Student Center has launched a new program that aims to educate students on waste diversion. Ten student volunteers will monitor recycling bins to ensure items are discarded properly. The university’s goal is to reach 100 percent waste diversion by 2020.
Southern Oregon U to Offset 100 Percent of its Water Use
In partnership with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), the university announced that it will offset 100 percent of its water use through a five-year commitment to BEF’s Water Restoration Certificate program. Funded through a student-led green fund, the university will restore approximately 80 million gallons of water per year to the Klamath River Basin.
U Buffalo Davis Hall Achieves LEED Gold
Among the hall’s eco-friendly features are an outdoor plaza that includes water-efficient landscaping and methods to capture stormwater, a small green roof, bicycle racks, the use of recycled building materials, and energy-efficient heating, cooling and ventilation systems.
U Buffalo Debuts Bike Share Program
The university’s office of Sustainability has partnered with the office of Parking and Transportation Services, Buffalo BikeShare and a New York-based company to launch a beta test of a new bicycle-sharing program. BikeShare harnesses GPS technology, allowing users to track and rent a bicycle with the convenience of a mobile device or computer during the beta test phase. Bicycles can also be rented from the keypad interface on the bicycle.
UC San Diego Receives Alternative Transportation Award
The university has received a SANDAG iCommute Diamond Award in recognition of the university’s contributions to alleviating the region’s traffic congestion and greenhouse gases with alternative transportation options.
U Maine Machias New Green Fee Funds Sustainability Projects
The university’s new Green Fund Committee has selected its first set of campus sustainability projects to receive funding. Projects selected include installation of new recycling stations and water filling stations, distribution of reusable water bottles and new bins for electronic waste collection.
U Maine Machias Releases Carbon Emissions Report
The university has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions from heating and electricity by 44 percent between 2006 and 2012. Campus-wide oil consumption was reduced by 48 percent over the seven-year period. Electricity use dropped by 11 percent, resulting in fewer upstream emissions from utility production, and the campus saw a 26 percent reduction in water use.
U Minnesota Expands Resilient Communities Project
The university’s Resilient Communities Project (RCP) has selected North St. Paul as its partner community for the 2013-2014 academic year. Each year, RCP chooses a city partner, helps identify potential projects, and matches the city’s project needs with University of Minnesota courses. The partnership will bring the expertise of hundreds of graduate students and the university to sustainability-related projects identified by North St. Paul.
U Minnesota Launches Virtual Warehouse
The university has launched a new online exchange to facilitate reuse and waste reduction. Similar to Craigslist or Freecycle, the virtual warehouse allows users to exchange university property without visiting the ReUse warehouse or moving items to a building's dock for pickup.
U New Hampshire Receives Grant to Expand Sustainability Institute
The university’s Sustainability Institute has received a $50,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to expand its Sustainability Learning Collaborative initiative. The project will link university faculty with regional high school teachers and community college faculty to help develop sustainability curricula for classrooms.
U New Hampshire Releases Updated GHG Report
The university has lowered its greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 26 percent compared to a 2001 baseline. Emissions are expected to continue their downward trajectory in coming years as more efficiency projects on campus are completed, new policies and practices are considered, and the university’s transportation demand management and outreach and behavioral programs continue to expand.
U Oregon Sports Arena Earns LEED Gold
The 400,000-square-foot Matthew Knight Arena features bike-friendly enhancements, recycled and regional building materials, and water efficiency measures that include a 50 percent reduction in water used for landscaping and a 30 percent reduction in building water use.
Arizona State U Polytechnic Campus Dedicates Solar Array
The university and SunPower Corp. have dedicated a one-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant on campus. Technology used in the plant concentrates the sun's power seven times to achieve one of the lowest levelized costs of electricity for solar power plants available today. According to estimates provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the system will offset the production of 1,277 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Brown U Advisory Committee Votes to Recommend Coal Divestment
The Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies (ACCRIP) has endorsed university divestment from 15 coal companies. The committee will send the recommendation and proposed guidelines for investment screening to the university’s president. The Corporation is expected to discuss coal divestment in May and will present ACCRIP’s recommendations.
Central Michigan U Students Create Renewable Energy Device
Engineering and technology students are building an energy-harvesting device that will be used to power a temperature display in front of the Engineering and Technology Building. The device, which contains a material that generates energy when pressed, will produce electricity from the vibrations created by pedestrian’s footsteps as they walk in and out of the building.
Colby College Reduces GHG Emissions, Declares Carbon Neutrality
The college met its climate neutrality goal in the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, becoming the largest institution to reach that goal to date. Climate neutrality was achieved through several initiatives including a switch to 100-percent renewable electricity, use of sustainably harvested wood biomass as its primary fuel for heat and hot water, increasing energy efficiency, lowering temperatures in buildings and waste management initiatives.
Ecotech Institute Announces New Facility Management Program
This associate degree program will prepare students for careers in the field of facility management, focusing on the operation, maintenance, analysis, auditing and cost of energy management systems. The program was developed in coordination with the International Facilities Management Association and is designed to train students for facility management jobs that emphasize sustainability.
Georgetown U Joins EPA’s Green Power Leadership Club
The university has been added to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Leadership Club. The university purchased Green-e Energy certified renewable energy certificates equal to 109 percent of electricity use on the main, medical and east campuses.
