Manchester U Commits to Living Wage
(U.K.): The university student's union has confirmed that all of its workers will be paid at least the living wage of 7.85 pounds ($12.27) per hour.
Monash U Fellow Receives United Nations Award
(Australia): Sir Bob Watson, the university's Monash Sustainability Institute Sir Louis Matheson Fellow, has received a United Nations Champions of the Earth award for his services to science and innovation by promoting the science behind ozone depletion, global warming and the impacts of biodiversity loss. The award, which is the United Nations highest environmental accolade, is awarded to those whose service to the environment is saving lives, improving livelihoods and bettering environmental governance and conservation.
Paul Smith's College to Install Wood Pellet Boiler System
(U.S.): Contributing to the college's renewable energy and climate change goals, displacing 28,000 gallons per year of heating oil, the high-efficiency and low-emission wood pellet boiler heating system will supply heat to multiple buildings and use thermal storage to increase efficiency of the system.
Pennsylvania State U Captures Hydroelectric Energy
(U.S.): The low-impact plant, built using existing infrastructure, now supplies the university with eight percent of its energy by harnessing the available energy from the Mahoning Creek Dam and includes new educational opportunities for students through the university's hydro class.
Pomona College & Cornell U Partner on Diversity Research in STEM
(U.S.): The newly published research in Nature Climate Change describes some of the hidden and complicated social barriers to participation in sustainability-related science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by underrepresented groups and recommends a course to action.
Thompson Rivers U Releases Strategic Sustainability Plan
(U.S.): The new five-year university roadmap indicates plans to reduce the amount of garbage going to the landfill, create on-campus gardens, have agreements with beverage and food companies closer to the university and with greener certification, reduce vehicles on campus through improved transit and car sharing, reduce water usage through better metering and monitoring, collect and use more renewable energy like solar and wind, and protect environmentally sensitive areas and species on campus land.
U Arizona Students Redistribute Campus Fruit Tree Produce
(U.S.): A campus with nearly 8,000 trees including citrus, olive, fig and pomegranate, members of the university's LEAF organization, Linking Edible Arizona Forests, have recently begun collecting and distributing edible fruit growing on campus that otherwise would go to waste.
U California Students Receive Food Fellowships
(U.S.): The university system recently announced 54 students have been awarded with the Global Food Initiative fellowships. The $2,500 fellowships to undergraduate and graduate students, selected by the system's 10 campuses, will fund student-generated research, related projects or internships that focus on food issues.
U Georgia Students Initiate Off Campus Recycling
(U.S.): After being challenged to find and solve a sustainability challenge in the local community, a team of students from the university communication class spoke with apartment tenants about finding solutions to overcome barriers to recycling and were successful in persuading the complexes to make collection sites available.
Binghamton U Pledges to Improve Campus Nutrition
The university has recently teamed up with the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) to promote changes on campus that encourage healthy lifestyle practices for students. The university has agreed to 23 changes by joining the initiative including implementing a local food procurement program, offering at least five fruits and five vegetable choices in dining halls, and every platform serving meat must also offer a plant-based alternative.
Cosumnes River College Building Earns LEED Platinum
The buildings' features include solar panels, skylights, a water-efficient irrigation system, drought-resistant plant species, on-site rainwater harvesting, radiant floor heating and cooling, and lighting occupancy sensors.
Five Institutions Receive Ray C. Anderson Foundation Grant
Agnes Scott College, AASHE, EARTH University Foundation, Furman University and Georgia State University Foundation were five of 23 awardees to receive funding for projects that consist of employees and volunteers providing environmental education, conservation and remediation.
Five Schools Partner for Energy and Water Reduction [VIDEO]
Organized by students, the University of Texas at Austin, University of Toledo, Bowling Green University, University of Kansas and Pennsylvania State University will be competing together for the first time to measure the highest reduction of energy and water use on campus.
Northwestern U to Install Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
In an effort to encourage the campus community to make more sustainable transportation decisions and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the university is installing four charging stations to be used for free by commuters and visitors that drive electric vehicles (EVs).
U Alberta Commences New Sustainability Certificate
The newly offered Certificate in Sustainability is a new student credential for undergraduates that aims to transfer historical literacy, educate about the systemic nature of sustainability challenges, and enable application of sustainability literacy at a personal, academic and professional level. Students are required to take 15 hours of courses from specified areas.
U Alberta Offers Carbon Offsets to Resident Guests
The university's Hospitality Services has recently partnered with a third-party organization that allows overnight guests in its university-owned hotel to add an optional $2 fee used to support emissions-reducing projects and environmental improvements. The university expects to use the savings garnered from the optional program to fund low-flow bathroom fixtures, water bottle refill stations and an energy audit.
U Kentucky Awards $100K for Food and Transportation
The inaugural Sustainability Challenge Grants were dispensed by the President's Sustainability Advisory Committee to seven projects that will attempt to build sustainable food systems and bus stops on campus, plant trees, and revive a community garden.
U Utah Hires Wellness Officer
Robin Marcus, now the university's first chief wellness officer, is tasked with coming up with a broad vision for health and wellness on campus. Some of Marcus' first goals include linking, promoting and supporting various wellness initiatives already under way. Marcus has been an associate professor of Physical Therapy at the university for over 30 years.
Wesleyan U Adopts New Energy Conservation Policy
The newly established policy aims to minimize the university’s energy consumption, and direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions while defining standards for reasonably comfortable indoor environments within each building.
Black Hills State U Requires Projects for Scholarships
A recent $1 million gift will enable the university's Make a Difference Initiative, which requires scholarship recipients, in exchange for scholarship funding, to lead sustainable community projects designed to make a difference in the lives of others.
Cornell U Hosts Inaugural Energy Reduction Competition
The university's College of Human Ecology kicked off its first Energy Smackdown Competition in which buildings compete against each other in an effort to reduce their electrical consumption for a 45-day time period.
EPA Recognizes Oklahoma State U for Clean Power
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Leadership Award honored the university for leadership, overall strategy and impact on the green power market. The university's Stillwater campus uses wind energy, behavior-based energy conservation programs, geothermal technology, and its bus fleet runs on natural gas.
Massachusetts Awards $873K for Zero Net Energy Building
Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) recently awarded $873,000 in Pathways to Zero Grant Program grants to construct or complete zero net energy buildings, which are optimally efficient, and over the course of a year, generate energy onsite using clean renewable resources in a quantity equal to or greater than the total amount of energy consumed onsite. Awardees include Endicott College, Massasoit Community College, Bristol Community College, Holyoke Community College, Cape Cod Community College and Clark University.
NSF Awards $810K for Collaborative Energy & Agriculture Research
Agricultural students at the University of Massachusetts, Hampshire College and Holyoke Community College will benefit from an $810,000 National Science Foundation grant to create collaborative programs combining clean energy studies with sustainable agriculture. The grant will also purchase new clean energy and agriculture equipment, a solar-powered, moveable greenhouse and a small wind turbine.
Seattle U Earns Fair Trade University Status
After a campus announcement unveiling a new Nicaraguan Fair Trade coffee, the university announced its commitment to support and advance economic systems that help international farmers and artisans to lift themselves out of poverty while protecting the environment.
Southwestern College Installs 3.2MW Photovoltaic Array
Offsetting the cost of energy, the newly installed, $13 million 3.2-megawatt solar electric system was funded by a bond passed by voters in 2008 and is projected to offset 2,600 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
SUNY Oneonta Opens Thrift Shop
At the new secondhand store items include clothing, shoes, accessories and books, and has a pay what you will policy with $3 as the suggested price for most items.
SUNY Oswego Honors Diversity with Food Celebrations
The university's Diversity and Inclusion Committee now hosts monthly heritage events where foods from different cultures are presented to students to promote diversity and ethnic awareness across campus.
Swarthmore College Completes Green Building
The college's new 21,000-square foot fitness, wellness and theater space was finished and appointed with many of the old materials from the original structure and college-owned stone that had been piled in nearby woods. Other features include stormwater runoff remediation, green spaces, and heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and lighting controls that work with the time of day and occupancy.
U California Santa Cruz Students Engage in Water Conservation
The City of Santa Cruz implemented a 25 percent water restriction to which the university's Sustainability Office responded with a creation of a student Drought Response Team that has audited water fixtures in 64 of 104 buildings resulting in 91 repaired leaks. The team has also created a signage campaign to educate the campus about the importance of water conservation.
U Cincinnati to Sell Green Bonds
In December 2014, the university will enter the market to sell approximately $29 million in green bonds to fund a portion of the estimated $35 million renovation of one of its campus buildings, which is expected to earn a LEED designation.
U Hawai'i Research Center Adds Renewable Energy Focus
A new contract modification between the U.S. Navy and the university allows for basic and applied research and engineering, modeling and simulation, and test and evaluation of technologies for the efficient and cost-effective development, use and integration of renewable energy resources to address National Security needs and issues.
U Maryland to Implement Composting in Residence Halls
After the Student Government Association and the Residence Hall Association passed resolutions in support, starting in the spring, students in some dorms will be able to use composting bins as part of an pilot initiative to decrease the university’s environmental impact.
U Pennsylvania Commits to LEED Construction
In keeping with the guidelines established under the university's Climate Action Plan 2.0, the university announced that all of the school’s new buildings will seek LEED Silver certification.
U South Carolina to Begin Greek Life Sustainability Program
A fourth-year international business student is spearheading an effort to educate the Greek community about sustainability and hopes integrate more environmentally friendly practices into every day life through the creation of an official Panhellenic Sustainability Committee.
