U Pennsylvania Dedicates Sustainable Green Commons
(U.S.): Shoemaker Green, a new green commons area, will serve as a pilot site for the Sustainable Sites initiative, which will measure the performance of the landscape and serve as a test case for other campus landscape projects. The site incorporates 100 percent native plants, reused building materials and has decreased the amount of impervious surface by 50 percent.
U Vermont Installs Solar Panels on Campus Farm
(U.S.): Funded by its Clean Energy Fund, the university’s 134 solar panels will produce an average of 100 kilowatt hours of electricity per day, enough to supply 8.5 percent of the research farm’s electricity needs. An important aspect of the demonstration project is that farmers will have the opportunity to visit, see how the system was installed, understand its economics and the incentives that are available, and determine if the technology is feasible at their own farms.
Wellesley College Introduces Bike Share Program
(U.S.): The college will provide 15 bikes for checkout over a 24-hour period to the campus community as part of a new bike share program. A grant from the Class of 1957 Green Fund kick-started the program and will also provide resources to students who already own bikes.
Benedictine College to Conduct Energy Audit
The college has announced plans for a three-month in-depth analysis of all campus facilities to identify opportunities for energy savings and infrastructure improvements. The evaluations will cover 24 buildings and more than 660,000 square feet of space
Champlain College Summer Program Focuses on Underserved Students
The college has hosted 25 high school students for Imagine College, a pilot outreach program created to fulfill the college’s 2020 Diversity and Inclusion goals. The six-day summer immersion program was designed to help students make college a part of their reality and give them tools to navigate the college process. Students will explore various areas of study, career options and the college admissions process.
Chatham U Students Win Design Competition for City’s Green Hub
Two teams of five interior architecture students have won a competition to turn a City-County building lobby into Green Central, a hub of information about the City of Pittsburgh’s sustainability action-plan projects and resources to help residents develop their own. The winning designs include custom-made recycling bins that evoke the roots of a tree. The mayor’s Green Trust Fund will pay for the project.
DOE Announces University-led Solar Power Projects
As part of its SunShot Initiative, which aims to drive solar energy to be cost-competitive with other energy sources by 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy has announced new investments totaling $10 million over five years for two university-led projects to advance solar power system technologies. The University of California, Los Angeles will lead a team of researchers from Yale University and the University of California, Berkley to investigate liquid metals as potential heat transfer fluids. The University of Arizona will partner with researchers from Arizona State University and Georgia Tech to develop and demonstrate new, molten salt-based fluids as possible alternatives to traditional heat transfer fluids.
Humboldt State U Conducts Electric Vehicle Study
The university’s Schatz Energy Research Center will conduct a plug-in electric vehicle planning study as part of the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. The multi-year study is funded through the California Energy Commission and will prepare Humboldt County for the broad scale adoption of electric vehicles.
Lincoln Memorial U Introduces Bike Share Program
A fleet of 20 bicycles, 10 mountain bikes and 10 cruisers are available to the campus community as part of a recently launched bike checkout program. The university will also further its bicycle-friendly efforts by designating cycling-specific lanes on campus roadways, installing improved bicycle parking at all residence halls and posting bicycle safety signs.
Loyola U Chicago Signs 4 Commitments to Sustainability
The university has recently become a signatory of the Illinois Campus Sustainability Compact, the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change’s St. Francis Pledge, American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and the Talloires Declaration. These agreements outline the university’s pledge to work toward expanding its sustainability program, engaging the campus community, greening its operations and monitoring its performance.
Queen’s U Bans Bottled Water
Bottled water will no longer be available in vending machines, retail outlets or at catered events in an effort to reduce 98,000 plastic bottles that go through the university’s waste and recycling system each year. The university has installed nearly 60 water bottle refilling stations to encourage the campus community to use refillable bottles.
Rutgers U Installs 32-Acre Solar Canopy
Consisting of more than 40,000 solar panels, the $40.8 million project will generate 8 megawatts of power to satisfy 63 percent of the electrical demand on campus.
Salt Lake CC Debuts Solar Training Yard
Funded by $2.1 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, the college’s new solar photovoltaic training yard will provide a space for hands-on training to industry professionals and prospective technicians.
U Calgary Names First Chief Sustainability Officer
As the university’s first chief sustainability officer, Joanne Perdue will work with the senior leadership team and academic coordinator for sustainability to integrate the values and aims of the university’s Academic Plan and Institutional Sustainability Plan into teaching, co-curricular student activities, research, service learning and operations across campus.
U California System Achieves 100 LEED Certifications
With the recent LEED Gold certification of the University of California, Los Angeles’ Clinical and Translational Research Center, the University of California system has hit a milestone of 100 LEED-certified facilities. The UC system policy requires that all new buildings and major retrofits meet LEED standards, See also: AASHE Resources on Campus Green Buildings
U Maryland to Launch Rain Barrel Program
Interns at the university’s Extension program have partnered with Prince George’s County to place rain barrels across the County in an effort to reduce erosion and bring the County closer to refining its stormwater management program. Once the university is able to secure more funds, organizers hope to include rebates for rain gardens, green roofs and impermeable pavers.
U Southern California Launches Green Tailgating Programs
The Office of Sustainability, Facilities Management Services and USC Athletics have partnered to minimize the waste created by tailgaters at football games. About 75 student volunteers from campus organizations will spread out at each home game to educate tailgaters about recycling and strategies for minimizing waste. Volunteers will also be stationed at new recycling and compost bins.
West Virginia U to Research Global Green Energy Development
The university has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to research clean energy development in West Virginia and the Shanxi Province of China. A team of four experts and faculty will conduct research for approximately three years and will focus on links among energy consumption, the economy, the environment and technology.
Arizona State U to Receives $3 M for Alternative Energy Program
The National Science Foundation grant will go toward the development of a doctoral program in energy and establishing the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Solar Utilization Network (SUN) program. Focusing on biological conversion, photovoltaics, solar thermal and sustainable policy, the program will provide the groundwork for the Global Institute of Sustainability's planned doctoral program by 2016.
Bellevue College Awarded $815K for Campus Energy Makeover
The Washington State Department of Commerce grant will go toward campus-wide lighting retrofits, low-flow water fixtures and HVAC improvements. The project will also include a solar array and an energy-monitoring dashboard, both funded in partnership with the student environmental sustainability fund.
Elon U Community Garden Certified as a Wildlife Habitat
Five years after its inception, the Elon Community Garden has been designated by the National Wildlife Federation as a certified wildlife habitat. The small vegetable garden is a space where local wildlife can find food, water, shelter and a place to raise their young. A camera that can be moved around the quarter-acre property has spotted raccoons, coyotes, foxes, woodchucks, squirrels and rabbits.
Florida International U Opens Campus Bike Shop
The FIU Bike Shop, now open at the Modesto Maidique Campus, provides tune-ups, tire installations, safety checks, part replacements and other adjustments. The shop is open to both students and the public, with students receiving discounted prices for all services. In 2013, the Bike Shop plans to hold bike repair workshops for students.
Gonzaga U Partners with Socially Responsible Apparel Company
The university has announced that its bookstore will sell a brand of clothing that has committed to higher standards of social responsibility. Alta Gracia manufactures collegiate apparel in overseas factories that provide all employees with benefits and a living wage sufficient to cover monthly costs for a family of four.
Harvard U Student Victory Helps Renewable Energy Contractors
Harvard Law students have prevailed in a two-year battle to lift restrictions on the installation of solar power in Massachusetts. For more than two years, the university’s Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic has represented a group of general contractors who specialize in renewable energy projects but were being blocked from installing solar power by a state licensing board.
Linfield College Receives LEED Gold for Green Restoration
The historic classroom building features 85 solar panels, recycled construction materials and an educational LCD screen that monitors energy consumption, water use, heating use, solar energy production and weather data. Additional features include a "cool roof" that deflects heat and a digital control system that heats or cools the building based on classroom schedules and current temperatures.
Lone Star College Installs Solar, Wind Energy Systems
The college has installed two solar panels, two solar tracking arrays and three wind generators to provide energy to the electrical system. The systems will also be used as teaching tools in advanced technology courses. Funding for the installations was provided by a $400,000 grant from the State Energy Conservation Office.
Mid-South CC Dedicates Renewable Energy Center
Designed to meet LEED certifications, the building features a geothermal system that will generate as much energy as is consumed on-site. In partnership with Arkansas State University, Montana State University-Northern and the University of Memphis, the center will support entrepreneurs, workforce training and applied research in the use of renewable agricultural outputs.
Montgomery County CC Opens Parking Lot for Energy-Efficient Cars
The college has opened a new parking lot designated for students, faculty and staff who carpool or drive energy-efficient vehicles. The lot also includes charging stations for electric vehicles, LED lighting, subsurface infiltration system, rain gardens and vegetated swales with check dams to slow the rate of run-off conveyance.
New School Design Students Help Build University Center
Four students and alumni have teamed with a construction company to help build the new University Center. Each intern has a focus project including work on the interior LED lighting design, implementation of an eco-friendly wastewater system, and work in the field office. The building will feature an ice storage cooling system that complements the air conditioning system and internal electricity generator to relieve pressure on the public grid.
Northland College Works to Increase Local Foods on Campus
Working with several area farms and food/producer co-ops, the college aims to increase consumption of local foods on campus to 20 percent during the 2012-2013 school year. The move will represent an investment of about $100,000 to grow the presence of local foods on campus while supporting a local foods economy, farmers and their families.
RIT Announces Bottled Water Reduction Policy
Departments and campus groups will no longer be allowed to use university funds to purchase single-serving bottles of water. In addition, hydration stations will be installed in all future construction and major renovation projects. The institute's National Technical Institute for the Deaf has recently installed two stations.
St. Olaf College Launches 'SustainAbilities' Program
The college's new "SustainAbilities: Practical Steps to a Sustainable Society" program, encompassing all four years of the undergraduate experience, includes sustainability representatives for each residence hall to help students develop skills to design and build a more sustainable society, on campus and off. The newly launched SustainAbilities website offers students live newsfeeds, a blog with local stories, a calendar of events, a resource guide and green room certification guidelines.
SUNY New Paltz Reduces Campus Parking Spots
In an effort to encourage students, faculty and staff to walk more and use public transit, the university has announced plans to reduce the number of parking spaces on campus. As part of the effort, the university will add about a dozen additional bikes racks throughout campus this year.
Temple U Installs Solar Powered Tables
The university has installed three solar-powered charging stations on campus. In addition to the renewable power source they offer, the Solar Dok patio tables are constructed of plastic materials made from 1,200 recycled plastic milk jugs.
UC Santa Cruz Receives USDA Grant for Organic Farming Curriculum
A grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be used to teach organic farming techniques to students enrolled in the university’s Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems apprenticeship program. The grant will also allow the Ecological Farming Association, Community Alliance with Family Farmers, and the California Certified Organic Farmers to collaborate on the apprenticeship project.
U Iowa Dining Services Installs Food Pulper, Saves Water
The university’s Hillcrest Marketplace has installed a $58,000 food pulper that is expected to save $8,000 in water costs. The device grinds leftover food into mush. Water is pressed out of the mush, filtered and used to wash dishes. The leftover compost is taken to a local landfill to be made into fertilizer.
U Maryland Student Team Wins Appliance Design Competition
A University of Maryland student team has won the U.S. Department of Energy’s first Max Tech and Beyond Appliance Design Competition. The students simplified the design of a standard wall-mounted air conditioner by separating the systems that remove humidity and provide cooling. After the students tested a fully functional prototype, they found that the design reduced energy use by 30 percent compared with typical wall-mounted air conditioners already on the market.
U New Hampshire to Offer Corporate Sustainability Certificate
The university is holding a three-day institute this fall that will explore corporate social responsibility and sustainability. Students who attend the institute and complete a capstone project in their workplace will receive the certificate. The certificate is being offered by the university’s School of Business and Economics and Sustainability Academy in partnership with New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility.
Unity Adopts Sustainability Science as Framework for Curriculum
President Stephen Mulkey recently announced that the college's faculty and Board of Trustees have endorsed sustainability science as the overarching framework for all academic programming with an emphasis on upper division courses. With this endorsement, the college has dedicated significant financial and human resources to strengthen academic offerings through this lens, and to further develop campus infrastructure to support sustainability science on the ground.
U Oregon Installs Bike Repair Stations
The university’s Outdoor Program is installing bike "Fixit" stations across campus that include tools for performing basic bicycle maintenance and repair. Funded primarily through the Student Sustainability Fund, six stations will be completed by the end of fall term
U Oregon Joins Smoke and Tobacco Free Campus Movement
The university is the latest campus to declare a smoke- and tobacco-free campus, joining a movement that is on the rise in the U.S. with 126 schools that have moved forward with smoke-free policies that apply to all areas of campus this year. Between January 2011 and January 2012, the number of U.S. colleges and universities with total smoking bans rose from 466 to 648, reports the Christian Science Monitor.
