Ball State U to Shut Down Coal-Fired Boilers
The university is preparing for a March closure for four boilers to prevent costly upgrades mandated by the Clean Air Act. The university is in process of installing a large geothermal system, what the U.S. Department of Energy is calling the "nation's largest geothermal heating and cooling system, and continues to operate three natural-gas-fired boilers.
Davidson College Diverts Waste from Athletic Games
After noticing how much waste from athletic events is compostable or recyclable, students launched two athletic recycling and composting campaigns: one at a football game and one at a basketball game.
Dickinson College Joins The Eco League
The college recently accepted an invitation to join The Eco League, a consortium of six universities and colleges that focus on experiential education through semester exchange programs to allow students access to varying ecosystems.
Gonzaga U Releases First Climate Action Plan
The university's first plan calls for at least a 20 percent reduction of greenhouse gases by 2020 and 50 percent by 2035 from 2009 levels with the goal of climate neutrality by 2050.
Harvard U Debuts Thermal Biomass System
Using sustainably-harvested wood from its 3,700-acre Harvard Forest, the new, high-efficiency boilers provide heat to five nearby buildings. University researchers are studying the greenhouse gas emission impacts of using the sustainably-harvested wood from their managed forest, expecting carbon emissions to go down.
Harvard U Earns Green Restaurant Rating
All 13 undergraduate dining halls have earned either two or three-star recognition from the Green Restaurant Association. Sustainable features of the university's Dining Services include energy-efficient HVAC, lighting, refrigeration, and exhaust; organic, sustainable, cage-free, and vegetarian or vegan menu options; low-flow water management devices; recycling, composting and reusables for waste management; and compostable or recycled material disposables.
Middlesex CC to Host Statewide Sustainability Conference
Designed for staff and students of the state's public and private colleges and universities, the event, featuring workshops and discussion panels, will focus on campus and community engagement, curriculum, teaching and research, and campus planning and facilities management.
North Carolina State U Begins Collection of Used Oil
A recent partnership between University Housing and the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling resulted in Cease the Grease, an effort to collect used cooking oil from two residential areas, which will then be converted into biodiesel fuel.
Oregon State U Creates Trash Sculpture
Attempting to raise awareness of how much is thrown away, a campus recycling group collected and sorted residence hall waste to create a monster, and labeled the visual display with how much waste an average person produces over a certain amount of time.
St. Thomas Aquinas College Signs ACUPCC
Citing sustainability and climate change as reasons for recently signing the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment, the college will offer forums to students and employees about the causes and moral dimensions of climate change, and the assess college's impact.
SUNY Purchase Cuts Ribbon on Composting System
The new large-scale system composts food waste from the food court and the on-campus coffee shop with plans to collect additional waste from other dining facilities as the operation gets underway.
U Hawai'i Regents Adopt Sustainability Policy
In the wake of the inaugural Hawai‘i Sustainability in Higher Education conference last spring, the new policy was added to the system's mission and purpose and incorporates seven goals in the areas of social, cultural, environmental and economic sustainability in operations; education, research and service; planning, administration and engagement; and cultural and community connections.
U Idaho Awards Nearly $14K Toward Engagement
The university's Sustainability Center and the Office of Community Partnerships have awarded $13,900 to initiatives that facilitate student and community engagement in building sustainability through areas including on-campus transportation and climate, and community outreach and native landscaping.
U Kentucky to Open New Residential Learning College
Available to students in fall 2014, the university's Greenhouse Residential College is a living and learning community for those interested in learning different aspects of their local environment through the lens of sustainability.
Energy Dept Hosts Geothermal Case Study Challenge
Over the course of the spring 2014 semester, student groups at participating universities will produce a series of well-researched case studies detailing the exploration, development, and geologic history of selected U.S. geothermal resource areas. Case studies produced by each student group will be added to the existing collection of data currently available on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Open Energy Information (OpenEI) platform. The top 5 highest quality case studies will be awarded paid travel to present their work in a poster session at the 2014 Geothermal Resources Council Annual Meeting in Portland Oregon, Sept. 28 – Oct. 1.
EPA Awards $5M for Clean Water Projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the five universities to evaluate innovative green infrastructure practices in urban areas, using Philadelphia, Pa. as the pilot area. These grants stem from a cooperative partnership between EPA and Philadelphia’s Green City, Clean Waters program that represents a broad, long-term investment in implementing green infrastructure stormwater management practices. The awardees include universities are Villanova University, Swarthmore College, Temple University, University of New Hampshire and University of Pennsylvania.
Four Virginia Colleges Announce 100% Renewable Electricity
Coordinated by the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia, Hollins University, Emory & Henry College, Lynchburg College, Randolph College and Sweet Briar College have entered into agreements to provide the schools with electricity produced from landfill gas.
U Albany Awarded Two Grants for Campus Sustainability
One grant in the amount of $607,000 will go to support the environmental initiatives of a planned expansion of the university's Campus Center, while the other grant is intended to initiate a campus-wide composting project.
U Georgia Students Receive $28K to Promote Sustainability
The university's Office of Sustainability recently announced $28,000 to be used by nine student groups' projects that aim to promote a culture of campus sustainability. While biking was the most popularly submitted proposal, others included an on-campus garden and water quality testing.
U North Carolina Charlotte Receives BBI Green Globes
The university's Belk Hall recently achieved the two-globe rating from the Green Building Initiative's Green Globes for New Construction program, a program used to certify a building's environmental performance. The building's features include a reflective roof, energy efficient windows, occupancy sensors, and regionally-appropriate landscaping to reduce water use.
U Washington Awards $279K to Campus Sustainability Projects
The university's Green Seed Fund has selected five winning proposals submitted by faculty, students and staff that advance sustainable research, contribute to campus sustainability goals, and will contribute to greenhouse gas reductions.
U Washington Creates Waste Display
The new visual display aims to simplify waste disposal on campus and encourage greater composting and recycling by showing the items for compost, recycling and landfill.
HKUST Announces Grant Recipients
(Hong Kong): After recently receiving external funding that was matched, the university awarded 23 masters students with funding for research around environmental sustainability and conservation engineering, with a focus on green motoring and transportation.
U Reading Wins Engage Award from Public Sector Travel
(U.K.): Winning the accolade of Sustainability Program of the Year, the honor is on behalf of its car sharing initiative, giving the campus community round-the-clock access to low emission vehicles at a cost-effective price, which helps to reduce the university's carbon footprint.
Emory U Buildings Receive LEED Certification
(U.S.): One university research center received Gold certification and two other buildings received Silver certification, one of which is a historic building constructed in 1874.
Lehigh U Transitions to 100% Recycled Paper
(U.S.): An initiative by the university's Purchasing Sustainability group, the transition to 100 percent recycled paper at all public computing sites comes after a request by the student community.
Oxford College Acquires Land for Organic Farm
(U.S.): After an alumni recently donated land, the college will now offer an organic farm to model sustainable farming techniques and for integration into the school's curriculum.
Sabah U Malaysia Opens Recycling Center
(Malaysia): In a strategic effort to make its campus more sustainable, the university's Environmental Management System will be trained to implement the recycling initiative, conduct an environmental audit, and organize the first regional conference on sustainability.
Second Nature Announces Climate Leader Finalists
(U.S.): Second Nature and the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) have announced the finalists of the Fifth Annual Climate Leadership Awards, presented to ACUPCC signatory schools that demonstrate "unparalleled campus innovation and climate leadership that helps transition society to a clean, just and sustainable future." Second Nature is partnering with Planet Forward in a public voting competition featuring the finalists' climate leadership and campus innovations during Earth Month.
U Massachusetts Amherst Receives $485K to Bolster Food System
(U.S.): Seeking to transform the food landscape to a more sustainable one, the Kendall Foundation has recently awarded the university $485,000 over two years with an initial focus of cultivating new suppliers of environmentally sound produce and offering more free-range poultry and animal products in its newly remodeled dining hall.
U Southern Queensland to Construct Green Building
(Australia): When completed the new building will contain electric car charging stations, a 40-bicycle facility with covered and secure storage, showers and lockers, rainwater collection and grey water system, and a management system for the lighting and electrical systems.
Antioch U New England Launches Terracycle Partnership
Beginning in January 2014, the university's Social Justice and Sustainability team is collecting a variety of packaging materials that are currently not recycled, such as chip bags and toothpaste tubes, in an effort to increase its waste diversion.
