Santa Monica College Opens Bike Parking Lot
The college has opened a $600,000 bike parking lot that holds up to 400 bicycles. The three-quarter acre parking lot also provides secure skateboard parking and DIY fix-it stations.
Sarah Lawrence College Introduces Car Sharing Program
The college has partnered with Zipcar to offer a car sharing service for students, faculty, staff and members of the community. Students now have the opportunity to participate in the Students With Drive grant program, which provides students with free Zipcar membership and driving credits to support campus student organizations.
Seattle U Launches Center for Environmental Justice
The primary goal for the newly launched Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability will be to promote scholarship by faculty and students and support them as they engage with others in the community on projects related to environmental justice. The center will adopt an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach, crossing boundaries of different colleges and schools.
Sterling College Divests from Fossil Fuel Companies
The college has announced that it will soon divest its endowment from the two hundred fossil fuel companies identified by 350.org in its effort to move higher education toward fossil free investment. The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to instruct the investment team to take this action and to move swiftly to divest.
U Arizona Ranked Top in Nation for Environmental Research
The university has been ranked as the top environmental university in the U.S. based on several measures of productivity for research publications in environmental science, according to a report published in the Journal Science of the Total Environment. The study was based on the Thomson Reuters Web of Science database to analyze research report indicators such as the number of top-cited articles published by an institution, scientific publications resulting from collaborations, and the lifespan and history of articles.
U California Santa Cruz Biomedical Building Earns LEED Gold
Sustainable features at the Biomedical Sciences Facility include daylighting, active chilled beams in the laboratories, reduced air change rates, and low-pressure-drop design of air handling systems. In addition, building information modeling was used throughout design and construction.
U District of Columbia Receives Grant to Create 4 Gardens
The university has received a $25,000 Verizon Foundation sustainability grant to create four “Gardens of the Senses” on campus. The gardens will serve as an educational tool on environmental literacy. There will be a garden of colors and sights; one of smells and scents; another of touch; and an additional garden dedicated to plant research.
U Florida Launches Sustainability Campaign
The Office of Sustainability has launched Under One Umbrella, a campaign that focuses on sustainability-related activities on campus and in the community to encourage students, faculty and Gainesville residents to learn how the various components of sustainability interact.
U Michigan Sustainable Workforce Expands to Health System
Sustainable Workplace, a certificate program that assists offices in creating greener workplaces, has expanded to the offices and units at the university’s Health System. The program focuses on behavioral changes to support waste prevention, energy reduction and increased awareness of sustainability.
Western Washington U Launches Sweater Days Campaign
The Office of Sustainability has launched Sweater Days, its first energy conservation awareness and action campaign. Sweater Days is a quarter-long series of events that promotes layering to stay warm instead of raising the thermostat.
2 Universities Join MUM’s Sustainability Consortium
In 2012, eight universities whose MBA programs feature courses in sustainable business formed a consortium under which their students can take summer courses on sustainability from the other members. Antioch University New England and the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater have joined the Consortium this year.
2 U Wisconsin La Crosse Buildings Earn LEED Gold
The university’s new residence hall and academic building have both received LEED Gold certification. Centennial Hall features a student-funded solar water heater. Both buildings’ sustainable features include rain gardens, passive solar design, white rooftops to reduce the heat island effect, and ample bicycle parking.
Boston U Debuts Sustainable Art Project
The university has created a new project titled Alternative Visions/Sustainable Futures, a collaboration between the College of Fine Arts and sustainability@bu. Throughout the semester, the cross-disciplinary project will explore the creative ways that artists, scholars, and members of the community might build a sustainable future.
Boston U Restaurants Certified Green
Each of the three eateries at the Center for Students Services has been named a Certified Green Restaurant by the Green Restaurant Association. Winning features included the restaurants’ use of cage-free eggs, local food sourcing, and abundance of vegetarian main dishes. The kitchens are outfitted with Energy Star appliances, water-efficient dishwashers and sink fixtures, and a food pulper that turns scraps into compost.
Bowie State U Partners with Toyota Green Initiative
The university has partnered with the Toyota Green Initiative, an environmental stewardship platform designed to empower Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) students and alumni on the benefits of adopting a sustainable lifestyle.
Cornell U Professor’s Sustainable Art Wins MoMA Competition
Using sustainable materials from an Ithaca skateboard company, a pavilion designed by Caroline O’Donnell, Assistant Professor of Architecture, was chosen from among five finalists in the Museum of Modern Art P.S.1's 14th annual Young Architects Program. The proposal was selected because of its identification and use of locally available resources to make an impactful and poetic architectural statement within MoMA P.S.1′s courtyard.
Cornell U Water Filtration System Wins Katerva Award
Designed by university researchers, the AguaClara water filtration system has won the Katerva Award in the Urban Design category. The system uses gravity to purify water without the use of electricity, and is currently providing clean drinking water to over 30,000 people in Honduras. AguaClara prides itself on being an open source technology, meaning all of its designs are scaleable and available online.
Edmonds CC Receives Grant for Sustainable Agriculture Education
The college has been awarded a $900,000, three-year grant from the National Science Foundation for the Sustainable Agriculture Education Collaborative (SAgE). In partnership with Skagit Valley College, Seattle Central Community College, and Washington State University, the college will lead the SAgE Collaborative in preparing students for emerging green careers in sustainable agriculture and related environmental fields.
Harvard U Creates Lab Reuse List
The newly launched Harvard Labs Reuse List, intended as a university-wide resource, encourages and enables trade, reuse, and sharing of working laboratory equipment and supplies.
SUNY Cortland Introduces Single Stream Recycling
The university has launched a single-stream system in an effort to increase recycling rates and save money. A cost reduction of about $2,000 per year will result from the reduced carbon footprint of having fewer trucks needed to collect waste and recycling.
U British Columbia Gives Raises to All Female Professors
The university has given all female, tenure-track faculty members a two percent raise following a series of studies that found female professors earning less than their male counterparts. Some of that gap is explained by factors that were not deemed to constitute gender bias. The raises are an attempt to remedy the portion of the salary gap that cannot be explained by legitimate factors.
U Illinois Chicago to Switch to Cage-Free Eggs
The university has announced it will begin serving only cage-free eggs. This change comes after speaking with The Human League and receiving positive feedback from the campus community.
U Illinois Springfield to Offer Environmental Studies Degree
Starting in Fall 2013, the new Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies will equip students with the analytical tools for understanding and engaging in concerns related to the natural and social world. The program will offer multi-disciplinary curriculum with interdisciplinary learning goals, incorporating the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities; to ensure that graduates will gain a holistic understanding of complex environmental concerns and their natural, social, and ethical implications.
U Maryland Debuts New Diversity Campaign
The university has launched Rise Above, a new diversity campaign to encourage the campus community to rise above prejudices, intolerance and discrimination. The campaign will award grants of up to $750 for campus initiatives that promote on-campus diversity and cultural acceptance through communication. The campaign’s mission will be publicized through buttons, tabling and fliers. The cost for the campaign is estimated at $10,000 over the 2013-2014 school year, and officials have set aside $20,000 for grants.
U North Carolina Earns ‘Best Workplaces for Commuters’ Honor
The university has been named “Best Workplaces for Commuters” by the National Center for Transit Research for its commitment to innovative sustainable transportation. Alternative transportation initiatives include on-campus car and bicycle sharing services and fare-free public transportation have led to an 8 percent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from commuter vehicles since 2008.
U Rochester Named Tree Campus USA
The university has been certified as a Tree Campus USA institution by the Arbor Day foundation. There are 61 trees, 12 conifers, and six gardens on campus.
York U Launches Initiative to Provide Higher Ed to Refugees
The university has received more than $4.5 million from the Canadian International Development Agency to lead the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees project in Dadaab, Kenya. The initiative aims to provide higher education to primary and secondary school teachers in six refugee camps on the Kenya-Somalia border.
23 Florida Colleges Accept $10,000 Degree Challenge
Twenty-three Florida public colleges and universities have accepted Governor Rick Scott’s “$10,000 Degree Challenge,” as part of a higher education affordability agenda. Participating schools will offer at least one degree at a total cost of $10,000.
4 Tennessee Institutions Join Campus Energy Efficiency Program
The University of Tennessee Knoxville, Cleveland State Community College, East Tennessee State University and Maryville College have been selected to work with the Tennessee Valley Authority and local power companies to promote and implement a new energy efficiency program for campuses. The campuses will receive funding for projects and staff, consulting support from Willdan Energy Solutions, energy audit training, and a web-based energy-tracking tool to help measure and document energy savings resulting from projects.
American U Food Workers to Receive Sustainable Food Training
Food service workers have ratified a contract that will provide paid training on sustainable food prep and cooking practices, and a watchdog committee for employer accountability. Unite Here Local 23 had run an eight-month “Real Food, Real Jobs” campaign targeting Bon Appétit Management Co. to bring a sustainable food system to campuses.
Baylor U to Expand Water Refilling Station Pilot Program
The university has announced plans to install more water bottle filling stations across campus following the launch of a successful pilot program last summer. Two water bottle filling stations were installed that have since been used a combined 22,000 times in place of disposable water bottles.
Davidson College Appoints First Director of Sustainability
With funding from The Duke Endowment, the college has appointed Jeff Mittelstadt as the college’s first Director of Sustainability. Mittelstadt has worked on sustainability issues at the Environmental Protection Agency, Bank of America, the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing, his own non-profit and as a consultant. The director will lead the effort to integrate sustainability into both operational and academic functions of the college.
Davidson College Receives Grant for Sub-Metering Project
The college has been awarded a $150,000 grant from the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund to install water and electricity sub-meters in the campus’s main twelve residence halls. The grant allows the college to engage students in reducing their energy and water consumption and will provide baseline energy data for future energy efficiency projects.
Duke U Releases Higher Ed Recycling Survey Results
The university recently released results from a summer 2012 higher education recycling survey. The survey evaluated solid waste and recycling reporting methods and efficiency of recycling collection programs on campus. A feasibility study of single-stream recycling for the university was also initiated.
East Tennessee State U Sustainability Fee Funds New Projects
Nine projects have been approved to receive $150,000 in funding from the Campus Sustainability Fee. Project winners include self-powered treadmills and photovoltaic panels for the Center for Physical Activity, a bike repair station, hydration station, and a sustainable bus shelter.
Franklin & Marshall College Approves Sustainability Master Plan
The Board of Trustees has approved a Sustainability Master Plan created by a task force consisting of students, faculty and staff. In addition to sustainability efforts directly affecting the campus, there are also plans to reach out to the community that will include workshops for elementary and middle school students to learn about biodiversity and composting, as well as offering seasonal cooking workshops to encourage healthy eating and use of locally-grown foods.
Harvard U Dining Services Focuses on Sustainable Seafood
Dining Services has launched a sustainable seafood program and is working to develop guidelines that can be shared with other institutions. After months of planning, students are now seeing new species such as “swai,” as well as familiar offerings from more sustainable sources, such as Prince Edward Island mussels and shrimp caught in Maine waters.
Kentucky Higher Ed Institutions Compete in Conservation Contest
Berea College, the universities of Louisville and Kentucky, and Western Kentucky University will participate in Bluegrass Unplugged, a competition aimed at reducing electricity and water use. The three-week competition is part of the 2013 Campus Conservation Nationals campaign.
Minnesota State U Debuts Student Recycling Program
The Office of Campus Sustainability has launched a student-run recycling program. Each student will be assigned to a different building and will be responsible for collecting the recycling in that building each week. The students will receive a weekly stipend of $15 and have the opportunity to earn prizes, including an end-of-semester trip.
Ohio State U Signs 20 Year Agreement to Purchase Wind Power
The university will purchase 50 megawatts of energy annually from Blue Creek Wind Farm, a commercial wind farm with 152 turbines. The school expects to save about $1 million in energy costs for each of the next two years. University researchers will also have access to the farm for market data research.
U Alaska Fairbanks Fire Department Installs Solar Panels
The university’s fire department has completed the installation of solar panels that are expected to produce 25 percent of the station’s electricity needs. The RISE student sustainability board contributed $7,000 for the project collected through student fees.
U Arizona Creates Bicycling and Pedestrian Committee
Following the recommendations of a Parking and Transportation Services study, the university has created the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee to improve the bicycle and pedestrian conditions for students, faculty, staff and visitors.
U Arkansas Little Rock Funds Garden Irrigation, Concrete Projects
The Sustainability Committee has awarded micro-grants for two university projects that incorporate sustainability into academics: A rooftop rainwater catchment and irrigation system would provide water and on-site storage for the campus garden. Research for the creation of smog-eating concrete involves the use of nano-particles that enable concrete to absorb and break down smog and air pollutants.
U Iowa Turns Invasive Species-Infested Trees into Biofuel
The university will use 24 acres of dead and dying invasive species-infested pine trees as biomass fuel for its power plant. Once the pines and spruces are cleared and the invasive plants subdued, the land will be returned to the vegetative communities prevalent before European settlement.
U Kentucky Launches Sustainability Studies Major
The College of Arts and Sciences will debut a new major in environmental and sustainability studies beginning in fall 2013. The degree is designed to provide students with a foundation in the natural and physical sciences, providing a holistic understanding of the economic, environmental and social components of sustainability.
