U Washington Divests from Coal Companies
The university's Board of Regents recently voted to prohibit direct investment of endowment funds in publicly traded companies whose principal business is the mining of coal for use in energy generation.
Maharishi U Management Plans Sustainable Graduation
All graduation-related activities this year are being assessed to see how they can be made more environmentally friendly including online commencement programs and printed on paper from sustainable paper. Heading up the green graduation initiative are the five Green Iowa AmeriCorps volunteers who have been making the campus more sustainable the past eight months.
Roosevelt U Student Develops Phone App to Encourage Recycling
As part of a sustainability studies program course, honors student Dusan Koleno created the Google Play app, Recycle Tracker, to enable users at home and office to keep track of what and how much they are recycling with comparisons, including pie and bar charts, that can be viewed by weekly, monthly or annual usage.
Syracuse U Earns Recognition from EPA
The university was recently recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a 2014-15 Individual Conference Champion of the College & University Green Power Challenge for using the highest amount of clean energy and ranked in the top 30 of Green Power Partnership schools for using 23 percent clean energy, with 35 percent from wind power.
Johns Hopkins U Publishes Five Year Sustainability Review Report
As the Johns Hopkins community celebrated Earth Week, the university released a report showing a 35 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions over five years, among other strong results for its sustainability efforts. Those results represent a significant step toward the university's goal to reduce emissions by 51 percent between 2008 and 2025.
Morehead State U to Hold Charity Donation Event
In an effort to reduce end-of-year waste, Chuck it for Charity is a campus move out donation campaign where Goodwill of Kentucky provides donation bins in several locations on campus so that students can donate gently used clothing, shoes, small appliances, decor, books and school supplies, and miscellaneous household goods.
U St. Thomas Creates Sustainability Committee
Protection of creation and the poor have long been pillars of Catholic social teachings, leading the university to create its first sustainability committee. A task force working to develop and implement sustainable practices, its vision is to fulfill God’s call to be good stewards of creation by fostering a campus that exhibits sustainability through education, discussion and action.
Indiana State U Releases Master Sustainability Plan
In unveiling a five-year master action plan recently, university leaders showed what it called a commitment to being a sustainable campus that reduces waste and increases efficiency to improve the environment and quality of living.
Eastern Washington U Hosts Water & Energy Conservation Competition
The university's Housing and Residential Life Department recently completed its successful three-week Water and Energy Conservation Competition among all eight residence halls. Designed as an awareness and educational program for reducing water and energy use within the residence halls, its message was that conservation helps to make the world a better place.
Northwestern U Becomes EPA Green Power Purchaser
Through a partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the university substantially increased its commitment to renewables, now purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs) equivalent to 50 percent of total electricity usage totaling 122,000-megawatt hours.
MIT Announces Earth Day 2015 Grant Recipients
Eleven projects and events were chosen to receive Earth Day 2015 grants for promoting campus sustainability and they include furniture rehabilitation, water learning laboratory, waste initiatives, and an environmental film festival.
Rice U Earns Tree Campus USA Honor
Arbor Day Foundation recently granted the university Tree Campus USA designation for its commitment to managing campus trees, developing connectivity with the community beyond campus borders to foster healthy, urban forests, and striving to engage their students and community in forestry efforts.
U California Santa Cruz Hosts 14th Annual Earth Summit
The first woman of color to hold the Chancellor's Undergraduate Intern for the Student Environmental Movement prompted the annual summit to bring more focus on environmental justice by bringing awareness to the connection between climate change, exploitation, racism and anti-immigration.
Energy Department Announces 2015 Race to Zero Finalists
The 2015 Race to Zero Student Design Competition had 33 teams from 27 U.S. and Canadian universities competing to design cost-effective, zero energy homes for mainstream builders. The competition encourages students to work with builders, developers, and community leaders to meet stringent design requirements and create marketable, affordable concepts. The grand winner was University of Minnesota.
U Illinois Chicago Team Wins EPA Environmental Challenge
In the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Rainworks Challenge, a team of urban planning, civil engineering and environmental sciences students submitted a planning process that demonstrates an incremental, scalable and adaptive approach to implementing green infrastructure in a highly urbanized context, using the east side of the campus as a model.
U Northern Iowa Discusses Ethics of Energy Production
With the understanding that energy production effects everyone, and ethical issues arise through the process, the recently held gathering of students and the public addressed concerns about how the U.S. will meet future energy needs, economic effects, environmental impacts, legal aspects, agricultural viewpoints, and employment prospects.
U Illinois Chicago Promotes Transboundary Water Sharing
The university's Institute for the Humanities & Institute for Environmental Science & Policy sponsored Water after Borders: Global Stakes, Local Politics, a summit that brought humanities scholars into dialogue with international policy to explore the political, ethical, cultural, economic and environmental dimensions of water management. The focus was on transboundary waters.
U Central Florida Announces Sustainability Initiatives Vice President
Earlier this year, The University of Central Florida in Orlando set a state of Florida precedence in announcing the appointment of an assistant vice president of sustainability initiatives. Mr. David Norvell is tasked with implementing and driving the university sustainability strategy, and hopes to make the campus' sustainability projects academically accessible to students.
U Maryland Team Wins EPA Campus RainWorks Challenge
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a University of Maryland team as a winner of its third annual Campus RainWorks Challenge, a design competition created to engage college and university students in reinventing water infrastructure. Student teams across the country proposed innovative green infrastructure designs to reduce stormwater pollution and develop sustainable communities.
The George Washington U Announces Winners of Eco-Equity Challenge
On Earth Day, the university celebrated the Power of Partnerships by announcing the winners of the new Eco-Equity Challenge initiative, funded by Siemens, that provides up to $15,000 in grants for students to partner with community organizations and pursue original environmental and social justice projects during the 2015-16 academic year.
Oregon State U Partners for Renewable Energy Research
The university's Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, U.S. Navy and Department of Energy, students and faculty work via the Ocean Sentinel to facilitate the development of marine energy technology, inform regulatory and policy decisions, and to close key gaps in scientific understanding with a focus on student growth and development.
Eastern Washington U Celebrates Earth Day with Recycling Center Ribbon Cutting
The new 6,964 square foot facility supports the university's ongoing commitment to sustainability and was designed to efficiently process the 331 tons of material handled each year. A new materials compactor/baler and electronic truck scale was installed. The center is also the new home for EWU Surplus Sales, which promotes the re-use of items no longer needed by the university.
Skidmore College Cuts Ribbon at Historical Micro-Hydro Facility
The college's most recent renewable energy project is a historical micro-hydro facility built in the early 1800s along an existing fault line at Chittenden Falls, NY. This facility produces bout 18 percent of the college's electricity needs, and will serve as an academic classroom. Photo Credit: Patrick Cashin
Morehead State U Receives $18K Grant for Bicycle Safety
The university recently received an $18,921 grant from the Kentucky Bicycle and Bikeway Commission to inform and educate citizens of Morehead and the campus community about bicycle and pedestrian safety through the development of educational programs. The grant activities include the establishment of bike lanes. Editorial Photo Credit: Lilyana Vynogradova / Shutterstock.com
Morehead State U Earns Tree Campus USA Designation
The university was recently honored with 2014 Tree Campus USA recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management. The dedication celebration included a tree walk, tree planting, and a chalk it up event where students wrote and created art about what benefits trees provide.
Morehead State U Hosts Community Earth Day Festival
The university's Sustainability Committee hosted a Community Earth Day Festival at the city park that included local food and craft vendors. The purpose of the festival was to bring awareness to the community of environmental & sustainability issues in the community. Information on local watershed protection programs, bicycle safety, local food, and energy conservation were provided.
NY Recycling Association Announces College Grant Recipients
Three New York colleges will be receiving grants to fund innovative environmental projects as part of the recently completed spring round of the College Council Grant Program conducted by the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling (NYSAR3). The schools receiving grants are the University at Albany, Sullivan Community College, and Stony Brook University.
U California Irvine Student Uses Art to Inspire Climate Activism
In art student Kathleen Deck's "Conservation Through Creation” art installation, a section of lawn won’t be watered for a month. The idea is to return an artificial environment to its natural state, and start a discussion about how the changing climate can affect water use and the fragile environment that people have created. Deck is one of 37 UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative Fellows.
Indiana U Campuses Work to Achieve Sustainability Goals
For the past six years, the university has worked to make sustainability a priority, launching a number of initiatives and setting it as a core value in its Bicentennial Strategic Plan. With more than 240 paid interns to date, the Sustainability Office has been the hub for a number of initiatives on the Bloomington campus.
Indiana U Participates in Campus Kitchen Project
In January 2014, students and staff at IUPUI participated in the Campus Kitchen Project's first-ever video competition and won $5,000 to start a food recovery and redistribution operation. Since then, they've coordinated with dining services, created partnerships with other community organizations, and recruited excited volunteers.
U Virginia Earns Green Ribbon for Sustainability Efforts
U.S. Department of Education recently awarded the university with the department’s Green Ribbon Schools Postsecondary Sustainability Award. The award recognizes institutions that reduce environmental impact and costs, improve the health and wellness of schools, students, and staff, and provide environmental education.
20+ Sustainability Networks Make Progress Toward Creating a Global Alliance
The overarching aim of the Global Alliance is to connect sustainability networks in the tertiary education sector and provide a collective voice to contribute to global developments such as the Paris COP21 taking place in December 2015. AASHE and others represented attendance from global and regional organizations from Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe and North America.
U Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Honors Certified Green Office Program Winners
On Earth Day, April 22, 2015, the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) announced award winners for its 2014-15 Certified Green Office Program on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. Twenty-four participating offices collected hardware for making commitments toward and achieving energy and resource reductions during the school year.
Emory U Program Creates Local Food Accessibility
The university's new Emory Local Roots program launched in 2014 is a student-run initiative that elevates the university community's awareness of the benefits of consuming locally produced foods and making such products easily available to students. Beginning fall semester, students will be able to purchase a range of local produce on campus.
Rice U Prepares for Seventh Year of Farm to Fork Dinner
The upcoming spring 2015’s Farm to Fork Dinner has an expected attendance of over 80 students and discussion leaders now in its seventh year. The university’s Real Food Revolution, an organization which seeks to increase awareness in regards to local foods, is hosting the dinner on April 25.
Central Carolina CC New Farm Manager Driven by Sustainability Goals
As a certified permaculture designer, James Fry has a passion for deliberate ecological design, which integrates human needs with natural systems and cycles. He uses permaculture planning for long-term productivity and functionality with relatively little human intervention, helping reduce dependence on purchased products and making basic human needs more readily available.
Arizona State University Students “Ditch the Dumpster” on Earth Day
Ditch the Dumpster targets diversion and donations to local non-profits. Students can clean out their residence halls and deliver most items to Big Brothers Big Sisters collection boxes. Larger, unwanted items are brought to locations across all four university campuses.
Maharishi U Management Environmental Law Class To Be Taught By Leading Experts
"Making Peace with the Earth," a course on global environmental law and food policy will feature top experts, including Ved Nanda, JD, the director of International Legal Studies at the University of Denver and a leading international law scholar and global activist. Guests include Bill Goldstein, A. Thimmaiah, Vandana Shiva, John Ikerd, John Fagan and more.
U Kentucky Adopts New Sustainability Policy for Campus Landscapes
The university will use the principles and resources developed by the Sustainable SITES Initiative™ as guidelines for integrating the institution’s commitment to sustainability with projects that impact campus landscapes. Contribution to air quality, water filtration and management, wildlife habitats, energy, and human health all define sustainable landscapes through the SITES program.
Maharishi U Management Students Recycle Abandoned Bikes
Over 50 abandoned bikes were recently gathered up by students, with plans to fix them and make them available to students for a very low cost. Leading the repair initiative is work/study student Flo Bannout. If no one reported a missing bike, then Ms. Bannout began fixing it for eventual redistribution to students who need bikes.
Delta College Health Professions Building Earns LEED Gold Certification
Sustainable design and construction strategies that contributed to the project's LEED Gold Certification included recycling 95 percent of the demolition materials, using low-emitting materials and certified wood, ensuring that more than 20 percent of the materials were harvested and manufactured within 500 miles, and incorporating stepped dimming lighting into all the classrooms.
Harvard U Releases University-Wide Sustainability Report
The Harvard Sustainability Report updates the community progress in meeting the goals and priorities that were laid out in the earlier Harvard Sustainability Plan (released in 2014), including acting on climate change, green buildings, sustainable transportation, and human health and well-being.
Emory U Program Partners with Farmworkers to Give Healthcare
A service-learning project that includes more than 200 students, faculty members, and community volunteers, the annual South Georgia Farmworker Health Project clinics use teams of students and faculty from different Emory School of Medicine programs to treat people who have never seen a doctor before, women in labor, and workers with acute illnesses and chronic conditions.
