City U London to Pay Living Wage
(U.K.): Soon all third-party university contractors, including those in cleaning and catering, will receive the London living wage in an effort to change the lives of those most in need.
Clarkson U Pilots Energy Usage Monitoring
(United States): In an effort to examine whether data-driven energy decisions can reduce expenses in living facilities across campus, real-time data monitoring and displays have been installed for electricity and water in select student apartments.
Cornell U Students Vote to Change Campus Printing System
(United States): Encouraging environmental benefits and saving students money, the new resolution calls for lowering the cost of printing on the back side of paper, procurement of 100 percent post-consumer waste paper, and changing the default settings on all printers to double-sided.
Five Universities Win $5,000 Sodexo Grant
(United States): The Sodexo Foundation's Campus Kitchen Project video competition awarded the five universities funding for a Campus Kitchen, a student-operated kitchen that recovers quality food going to waste to provide nutritious meals for those in the community that are struggling with food insecurity. The winning universities are Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, St. Peter's University, Georgia Tech and University of Wisconsin at Green Bay.
Georgetown U Distributes Recycling Bins in Dorms
(United States): As part of a marketing effort to increase student engagement, the Office of Sustainability has distributed recycling bins and educational fliers to all on-campus residents in dorms.
George Washington U Receives SITES Certification
(United States): A 0.77-acre tract of land located in the watershed of the Potomac River was recently designated by The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES™) as a sustainable area for features including biofiltration planters, native plant material, pervious pavers, cisterns, rain barrel, and sculptural fountain designed to reuse captured water. The SITES program was created to promote sustainable land development and management practices that can apply to sites with and without buildings.
Hampshire College Students Check Out Vegetable Seeds
(United States): Called a seed-lending library, students interested in learning more about sustainable gardening and seed saving can now check out seeds from the on-campus library. Once the plants produce fruit or flowers, students harvest and dry the seeds, and then return them to the library's catalog.
Lehigh U Greeks Adopt Diversity Policy
(United States): The new policy, which was developed in support of the university’s Principles of an Equitable Community, prohibits any Greek organization from sponsoring or endorsing an event or program that discriminates against anyone “based on color, disability, gender identification, genetic information, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socio-economics, veteran status, or any differences that have been excuses for misunderstanding, dissension or hatred.”
Memorial U Educates Public on Local Food Options
(Canada): The event, Food for Thought, in partnership with the corner grocery store, explored connections between the community and university by focusing on educating shoppers toward sustainable and local food and the university-community connection.
Northwestern U Offers New Class on Diversity
(United States): As a result of on-campus racist incidents since 2012, Diversity and Inequality at Northwestern University focuses on how issues can impact the university's present state, it will compare these issues to other universities, and it will examine these issues historically. The university is currently contemplating a social inequality and diversity requirement for all students.
PepsiCo Spring Recycling Challenge Announces Results
(United States): PepsiCo's Dream Machine Recycling Initiative encourages participating colleges and universities to increase recycling rates by using its kiosk to collect plastic and aluminum beverage bottles and cans. The top five schools collecting the highest average amount of containers per kiosk are Mountwest College, Joliet Junior College, Rider University, University of Pittsburgh and Florida International University.
San Francisco State U Plants Drought-Tolerant Landscaping
(United States): Due to the state's current drought situation, members of the university's Sustainable SF State and student center's sustainability program are working to educate the campus community about drought-tolerant food, landscaping, and tips for reducing personal consumption.
Stella Maris College Installs 50KW Solar System
(India): Aligned with the state government's solar policy, mandating colleges to construct renewable energy, the college's new 50-kilowatt, 200 panel system will provide six percent of the school's current energy use.
SUNY Fredonia Launches Carpool Program
(United States): Designed to assist students, faculty, and staff to find partners to car pool with, the carpool program can be used for daily or one-time occurrences.
SUNY Institute of Technology Offers EV Charging Station
(United States): Part of a state-wide public-private partnership aimed at improving environmental sustainability, increasing access to cleaner modes of transportation, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the new electric vehicle charging station is free and open to the public.
Tompkins Cortland CC to Devise Farm to Restaurant Program
(United States): As part of the community college's new Sustainable Farming and Food Systems degree program, the farm-to-bistro curriculum will combine food from an on-campus farm with educational opportunities for students and engage community through a downtown restaurant.
U Alberta Introduces Green Lab Certification
(Canada): As part of the university's Green Spaces certification, the newly developed process specifically tailored toward lab classes recently accredited 22 biology teaching labs, which recognizes best practices in areas such as waste reduction, energy efficiency, chemical handling and water use.
UC Santa Cruz Procures Local Aquaponics Produce
(United States): Increasing the amount of local and sustainably-grown food, the university's Dining Halls are now serving lettuce that was grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, but instead fertilized by fish waste in a practice known as aquaponics.
U Florida Student Spearheads Composting
(United States): A student in the university's College of Design, Construction and Planning has started a 10-bin collection system in an effort to promote the activities of the Student Compost Cooperative whose long-term goal is to establish compost collection bins across campus.
U Maryland Distributes Indoor Plants for Air Quality
(United States): Representatives from the university's Green Office program recently received plants grown by students in the Institute of Applied Agriculture for their offices to help create a healthier workplace.
U Washington Students Present on Affordability to State House
(United States): In a recent presentation to the state's House Higher Education Committee, the university's Student Debt Reduction Working Group discussed findings of roughly 50 percent of students graduate with debt and the average amount is over $21,000. The presentation is part of an effort to increase the dialogue on college affordability between students and lawmakers.
Davidson College Unveils Sports-Centered Sustainability Programs
The college's The Next Play program will use the influence of sports to encourage sustainability through the creation of a Student-Athlete Sustainability Coalition, two zero waste athletic events and a speakers series. The initiative will also coordinate two national events: a sustainability-in-sports venture pitch tournament and a virtual discussion on sustainability and sports.
Arizona State U Building Achieves LEED Platinum
The university's Health Services Building renovation features solar electric panels, recycled materials and sustainable design and construction in both interior spaces and exterior landscaping.
Arizona State U Hosts Emirati Engineers for Solar Program
In an effort to help Dubai meet their 2030 energy strategy, the university will host 15 engineers for a 15-day workshop focused on enhancing their solar energy skills. Three engineers will be shortlisted to attend a six-month academic intensive.
Cornell U Strengthens Sustainable Purchasing Commitment
The university's Presidents' Sustainable Campus Committee Purchasing Team has introduced new resources and targeted campaigns resulting in an online list of sustainable products, a letter-writing campaign to departments purchasing paper from virgin sources encouraging procurement of recycled-content paper, and a new section in the Buying Manual that defines green certified, recycled, and Energy Star standards and promotes energy-efficient purchasing decisions.
Earlham College Opens Free Store
Attempting to divert waste throughout the year from the landfill, a permanent collection bin holds the unwanted items until they are taken to the store where the campus community can pick things up for free.
EPA Releases Quarterly List of Top 30 Green Power Partners
The latest quarterly report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency highlights the top 20 colleges and universities using power from renewable energy. They are University of Pennsylvania, University of Oklahoma, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University, Oklahoma State University, Drexel University, Northwestern University, University of Utah, University of Phoenix, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, University at Buffalo, University of Wisconsin, The City University of New York, American University, University of Missouri, Texas A&M System, The Catholic University of America, Western Washington University, Quinnipiac University, University of St. Thomas, Santa Clara University, University of Central Oklahoma, Bentley University, Syracuse University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Adelphi University, Union College and Columbia College at Chicago.
Humboldt State U to Eliminate Plastic Bags
Beginning this spring, the university will not use any single-use plastic bags, and the bookstore, eateries and marketplaces will begin charging ten cents per paper bag.
New Mexico State U Approves Performance Contract
Legislation that phases out T12 fluorescent lamps was the impetus for the newly signed contract, which allows the university to improve 46 buildings through interior and exterior lighting and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
Stanford U to Install Multi-Megawatt Solar Energy Project
Spearheaded by the university's Office of Sustainability, the recently approved project calls for solar panels on a parking structure and 12 other campus buildings, which will increase the percentage of photovoltaic-derived energy from one to 10 percent and enable student participation and experiential learning and research.
U Buffalo Announces Launch of New Institute
Emerging from the university's UB 2020 strategic plan, the new Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water (RENEW) is a university-wide interdisciplinary research center focused on the intersection of environmental, societal and economic issues.
U California Berkeley to Offer Food Systems Minor
In an effort to bring more attention to sustainability issues and experiential learning in food systems education, the Berkeley Food Institute has begun to form a committee to develop plans for a minor in food systems and sustainability.
U Maryland Boosts Safety for Cyclists
The university's Department of Transportation Services recently finished painting white chevron-shaped signs on roadways around campus to signal to motorists aware of cyclists on the road, provide a safer commute, and indicate the smoothest roads for cyclists.
U Michigan Students Pass Diversity Resolution
The university's Central Student Government listened to and adopted a recent resolution that addresses minority student enrollment, the creation of a scholarship for undocumented students, and official student government support of student activism directed toward increased diversity on campus.
U New Hampshire to House Clean Air-Cool Planet Programs
In 2014 Clean Air-Cool Planet will dissolve and the organization's two programs, Climate Fellows Program and the Campus Carbon Calculator (CCC), will be housed at the university's Sustainability Institute, where the CCC was developed in 2000.
U South Sewanee Launches Green Revolving Fund
Now accepting applications from the campus community, which includes the surrounding community, the revolving fund will finance energy and water efficiency and renewable energy projects that cut operating costs and reduce environmental impact.
U Utah Exhibits Environmental Art Installation
The soon-to-begin living art gallery about air pollution will feature three artists from Beijing, China who will install the pieces over a three week period encouraging visitors to engage in dialogue and contribute to the art stations.
Western Illinois U Creates Sustainability Fund Grant
The university's Campus Sustainability Committee has newly formed the Student Sustainability Fund Award designed to support student research, campus projects and professional presentations in the area of sustainability up to $500.
