U Tasmania Building Achieves Green Star Certification
(Australia): Nearing completion, the university’s new medical science building has achieved a 5-Star Green Star Education Design v1 rating by the Green Building Council of Australia. In addition to sustainable measures in the design of the structure, energy efficient lighting and an 80,000-litre water tank will take reliance off of traditional power and water needs.
U West Indies Partnership to Create Renewable Energy Studies
(Barbados): The university and Sol, a Caribbean oil company, have signed a three-year agreement that will provide funding for engineering, social sciences and technology students. The partnership will focus on promoting renewable energy studies, funding biofuels research, and growing leadership in the region.
U Wisconsin Oshkosh Holds Community Building Contest
(U.S.): The university has awarded nearly $3,000 to four teams as part of its Creating a Stronger Community Contest. In its second year, the contest is designed to generate excitement and action around community-building projects. First place was awarded to Growing Oshkosh, a new organization created by an alumna that aims to raise awareness and educate citizens about the numerous benefits of local food.
U York, Korea Partner to Advance Green Chemistry Research
(U.K.): The university’s Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at York and the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology have signed an agreement to establish a basic framework for conducting cooperative activities aimed at enhancing their respective scientific and technical knowledge. The partnership will also include the exchange of researchers and collaborations in green chemical technology.
U York Participates in Tree Planting Initiative
(U.K.): The university has partnered with Woodland Trust to reforest a local area through two community tree plantings. The project is part of a nation-wide initiative to plant more trees.
Vanderbilt U Goes Solar with Electric Vehicle Charging Station
(U.S.): The university’s solar-powered electric vehicle charging station can accommodate 10 vehicles and joins five other stations scattered across the university campus and medical center. The Smart Modal Area Recharge Terminal station is a joint project of the university, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Electric Power Research Institute.
Vanderbilt U Releases Updated GHG Report
(U.S.): Despite an increase in square footage, students, and staff; the university’s overall greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 12 percent since 2008. These findings were released in recognition of Campus Sustainability Day by the university’s Sustainability and Environmental Management Office.
Washington U St. Louis Helps to Address Vacant City Properties
(U.S.): A joint program between the city and the university Office of Sustainability is seeking to turn vacant land into an opportunity that inspires innovative thinking. The Sustainable Land Lab is a public competition that will give teams the opportunity to demonstrate their ideas through tangible projects at the scale of a single vacant lot.
Clarkson U Student Center Receives LEED Silver
Sustainable features include water efficient landscaping, low-flow plumbing fixtures, bicycle storage and changing facilities, and preferred parking for fuel-efficient vehicles. Invented by a university professor, a new type of concrete masonry unit that contains 20 percent recycled industrial glass was also incorporated into the building.
College of Charleston Hosts Recycling Competition
The college increased recycling and reduced trash dumped in the landfill by 13 percent during a three-week competition that ran from late September to mid-October. The campus-wide “RecycleMania” was hosted and organized by the Office of Sustainability and was modeled after the national RecycleMania competition.
Concordia U Buildings Earn LEED Certification
The PERFORM Center and the John Molson School of Business building were awarded LEED Gold and Silver status, respectively. The center features low energy consumption, water use reduction and the use of local materials. The Molson building features a solar wall that generates energy that is consumed in the building.
Connecticut Colleges to Share Energy Efficiency Loan
Connecticut’s Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority has announced that it is lending $1 million for “Campus Efficiency Now”, a new program aimed at advancing energy efficiency and promoting cleaner energy for the state's independent colleges. The Campus Efficiency Now pilot program will enable the participating colleges to move forward with energy saving measures with no upfront funding by the college.
Florida State U Students to Create Campus Garden
The Tallahassee Sustainability Group has received approval from the student senate to build and maintain an on-campus garden. The garden will utilize the most efficient permaculture techniques possible to grow a variety of crops including satsuma trees and seasonal foods like tomatoes.
Franklin Pierce U Wins Localvore Cooking Challenge
The university’s dining services team won a competition in which higher education institutions competed to create the best entrée out of locally produced ingredients. Twelve other New England colleges and universities participated in the competition, including Keene State College, Southern New Hampshire University, Plymouth State University, Colby-Sawyer College, and Rivier University.
George Washington U Unveils Ecosystems Enhancement Strategy
The university has released its Ecosystems Enhancement Strategy, which describes how it will enhance the ecosystems on its campus, in the region, and around the globe. Some of the strategy’s areas of focus include: strengthening habitats, promoting healthy air and climate, fostering clean and abundant fresh water, and supporting sustainable food production systems. The Office of Sustainability is forming working groups to develop action plans to meet these goals.
Hagerstown CC Collaboration to Support Alternative Energy Program
The college has partnered with First Solar, Inc. to provide students and faculty educational opportunities that include internships, site visits to a 20-megawatt Maryland Solar facility, and access to an energy dashboard. Maryland Solar will also provide the college with solar panels, enabling the college to install and maintain a ground-mounted solar power plant as well as a roof-mounted photovoltaic system.
Indiana U Pennsylvania Debuts Campus Energy Channel
The university has begun broadcasting a channel in the lobbies of residential buildings that displays energy use on campus. The goal of the project is to increase students’ awareness of their energy impact, while reducing energy consumption in the residence halls and promoting a lasting awareness among students of energy conservation and sustainability.
North Carolina State U Launches Sustainable Dining Program
The recently launched program, “My Roots are at NC State,” connects dining services with North Carolina growers, manufacturers, processors and producers to increase the purchase of local food products. The program also highlights alumni efforts to provide the best food possible for students, faculty, and staff.
OneEnergy Renewables Announces 2013 Energy Scholars Class
OneEnergy Renewables, a developer of large-scale clean energy projects, has announced its 2013 OneEnergy Scholars class. The award recipients include six graduate students that demonstrated outstanding leadership and vision in the field of renewable energy from Cornell University, George Washington University, MIT, the University of Washington, Washington University in St. Louis, and Yale University.
Reed College Signs Energy Efficiency Contract
The college has signed a $5.4 million energy savings performance contract with Ameresco Quantum Inc. The company will provide efficiency upgrades to eight buildings and will lead campus-wide energy efficiency lighting and water conservations efforts. The improvements are expected to save the college more than $2.7 million in energy costs over 10 years and reduce its annual carbon dioxide emissions by 2.65 million pounds.
Spelman College Eliminates Athletics to Focus on Campus Wellness
In an effort to create a community of women who are concerned about health and wellness, the historically black liberal arts college has announced plans to eliminate intercollegiate athletics to dedicate its resources to a campus-wide fitness and wellness initiative. The college will redesign its curriculum to focus more on fitness and activities career women are likely to continue with as adults.
UC Berkeley Partners with Community to Eliminate Toxic Chemicals
University researchers have teamed up with a local organization to plant thousands of ferns in an effort to extricate toxic chemicals from city lots. The project, spearheaded by the campus department of environmental science and Berkeley Partners for Parks, will experiment with a specialized fern known to extract arsenic from soil. If successful, the city will transform the area into a greenway lined with bicycle paths and trees. The project is funded by a $40,000 campus grant, though further fundraising is still necessary.
U Central Florida Partners with Aramark to Divert Food Waste
The Student Government Association has begun working with Aramark to decrease the university’s carbon footprint and give back to the community by donating leftover food from on-campus eateries. The program is modeled after a national Aramark project, which promotes the donation of food to Second Harvest Food Bank.
U Maryland Housekeeping Achieves Green Seal Certification
The Housekeeping Services Unit of the university’s Facilities Management organization has achieved Green Seal certification. Among the measures that were implemented were the replacement of floor burnishers that did not meet emissions and noise limits, the replacement of disposable materials with reusable alternatives, and the installation of additional matting at building entrances to keep dirt outside.
U Michigan Installs Bike Pump and Service Stations
In celebration of bike week, the university has installed two bicycle tire pumps and a repair stand on campus. Officials and student bike ambassadors explained how to use the repair and pump stations during Bike Fest, the university’s first bicycle resource fair.
Unity College Board of Trustees Votes to Divest from Fossil Fuels
The Board of Trustees has voted to divest the college endowment from fossil fuels. President Mulkey said in a statement, “the Trustees have looked at the college’s finances in the context of our ethical obligation to our students, and they have chosen to make a stand.”
U North Carolina Releases Strategic Energy and Water Plan
The university has released its 2012 Strategic Energy and Water Plan. Highlights in the report include the decline of energy consumption by 31 percent since 2003, and the decline of potable water consumption per square foot by 43 percent. Upgrades to central energy and lighting infrastructure and retro-commissioning efforts account for much of the energy savings, while an integrated non-potable water system helped reduce water consumption.
U Toledo Debuts Friday Night Lights Program
Two student organizations, Engineers Without Borders and the Society for Environmental Education, have teamed up to create the Friday Night Lights Program. In an effort to reduce energy consumption, student participants will turn off lights in campus buildings that would otherwise be left on over the weekend. Energy savings will be monitored and recorded at the end of the semester.
Western Technical College to Create Urban Agriculture Center
The college has partnered with the Hillview Urban Agriculture Center and Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare to create the Urban Landscape and Agriculture Center. The proposed $1.6 million greenhouse will promote community awareness through seminars, courses, and certificates related to various aspects in sustainability.
Western Washington U Embraces Office Energy Reduction Program
The Western Sustainability Office Certification, a program that recognizes campus offices' environmentally friendly choices, was made available to all administration offices on campus. Five administration offices participated in the pilot program over the summer and seven more are currently participating in the certification process.
Appalachian State U Tests New Paving Material
The university has surfaced an area outside a residence hall with Flexi-Pave, a material that is made from recycled tires. The material is porous, allowing water and snow melt to seep back into the ground instead of producing puddles or runoff.
Chatham U Breaks Ground on Sustainable Campus
The university has begun building a carbon- and water-neutral, net-zero energy integrated facility that will ultimately serve more than 1,000 students. The $40 million initial phase of construction consists of the development of field labs, classrooms, a café, an amphitheater, a mosaic garden, and infrastructure development. The university also announced the receipt of a $7.5 million gift from the Richard King Mellon Foundation for the facility.
Clemson U Academic Facility Earns LEED Gold
The $31.6 million restoration and new construction project features geothermal heating and cooling, passive solar design, and mechanical windows that open and shut automatically when temperature and humidity reach threshold levels. An energy dashboard installed in the building provides real-time data on temperature and humidity levels, as well as energy and water use.
Emory U Public Health Building Earns LEED Silver
The facility’s sustainable features include CO2 monitors to verify that enough outside air is supplied where needed, low-flow plumbing fixtures, occupancy sensors, and an enthalpy wheel that is used to minimize energy use in laboratories. The project diverted over 80 percent of construction waste from landfills.
Franklin & Marshall College Launches Student Loan Relief Program
To help families confront the challenges of college affordability and rising student loan debt, the college has launched a two-year pilot program in financial aid packaging. For qualifying, entering middle-income students, the Student Loan Relief program will cap federal loans at $10,000. The college will replace previously packaged loan amounts above the cap with college grants that do not have to be repaid.
Humboldt State U Connects to Hydrogen Highway
A newly completed upgrade to the university’s hydrogen fueling station has connected the campus to California’s Hydrogen Highway. A new compressor allows hydrogen-fueled vehicles to travel up to 400 miles nonstop, linking them to other hydrogen fueling stations in the region. The state-funded station upgrade is one of several initiatives aimed at creating the fueling infrastructure necessary to support the broad-scale adoption of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.
Kennesaw U Building Achieves LEED Gold
Sustainable features include low-flow plumbing, motion-detected lighting, a shower for cyclists and a system to recapture rainwater for irrigation. Recyclable wood and locally produced bricks were used in the construction.
League of American Bicyclists Names Bike-Friendly Universities
The League of American Bicyclists has designated nine new schools to its "Bicycle Friendly Universities" list, bringing the total to 44 institutions in 25 states. The newly recognized institutions include Eastern Mennonite University, Pennsylvania State University, Princeton University, Rochester Institute of Technology, State University of New York at Buffalo, University of Denver, University of Kentucky, University of Utah, and Yale University.
Michigan State U to Install Renewable Energy Biogas Plant
The university has partnered with Anaergia Inc. to develop and install a campus-based anaerobic digestion system. When completed, the facility will convert 16,800 tons per year of campus food waste, manure from the university's dairy farm, and food processing waste from the local community into 460 kilowatts of renewable energy. The renewable electricity will be used on campus while the natural fertilizer created through the process will be used on agricultural land.
Parkland College Purchases Hybrid Car, Installs Charging Station
The college has purchased a hybrid car for its Department of Public Safety and has begun installing an electric vehicle charging station that will be available for public use. The college’s Sustainable Campus Committee spearheaded the charging station project.
San Jose State U Launches New Campus Sustainability Website
The university launched a new website to promote and inform students about the sustainability efforts made on campus and ways in which they can reduce their ecological footprints. The website provides links for visitors that highlight campus accomplishments and list current and future projects.
SUNY ESF Launches Sustainable Energy Management Major
The college has introduced a new Sustainable Energy Management undergraduate degree program that focuses on energy markets, management and resources. The program is designed to give students an understanding of responsible energy resource use and insight into how these resources impact the natural world.
The New School Launches Campus Climate Assessment
The institution will participate in the Campus Climate Assessment to evaluate the extent to which aspects of the university are equitable and socially just. The assessment will be facilitated by EdChange, an organization dedicated to developing more equitable educational communities.
U California Berkeley Students Win Dow Sustainability Award
In recognition for research addressing significant global concerns, three graduate students have received a total of $12,500 from the Dow Sustainability Innovation Student Challenge Award program. The students’ research included developing a method of harvesting biofuel from algae using fiber optics, and a study on the decontamination of waterborne pathogens and arsenic from water.
U California System to Assess Campus Experience
The 10 campuses of the University of California system will survey all faculty, staff, students and trainees about their experiences with campus climate relating to respect, diversity and inclusion. Survey results will provide a view of each location as well as an overview of the system, and will help focus campuses on what is going well and where improvement is needed. The project is funded by the UC President’s Initiative Fund.
U Colorado Boulder Creates Sustainability Visioning Committee
A new committee will consider future opportunities for synergies and collaboration between the university environment and its sustainability research and academic programs. The committee will conduct an inventory of environmental and sustainability research and teaching programs identify emerging issues and provide an assessment of new opportunities that might be realized through collaborations or investment in new programs.
U Michigan Begins Solar Energy Installation
The university has partnered with DTE Energy’s SolarCurrents program to construct a ground-mounted solar array that is capable of producing up to 430 kilowatts. The energy produced by the utility-owned panels will be fed into the electric grid.
