U South Alabama Breaks Ground on Community Garden
Through a student initiative focused on recycling, the new community garden will help reduce the amount of food waste in the community, provide fresh, locally grown food, and raise community awareness about the values of sustainable living.
U Tennessee Spurs Plastic Water Bottle Reduction Initiative
The new Take Back the Tap campaign is part of a national initiative aimed at reducing the consumption of single-use plastic water bottles on college campuses. Food and Water Watch, an organization that primarily provides resources for campus coordinators as they work to debunk myths about tap and bottled water, is currently working with over 60 colleges across the United States to encourage students to make a habit of choosing tap water over bottled water.
Arizona State U Student Government Passes Diversity Act
In an effort to change the culture on the subject of diversity, the Tempe Undergraduate Student Government passed the Diversity On Campus Act, which calls for the formation of a volunteer committee that will try to expand the curriculum of university 101 classes to include the subject of diversity.
Carnegie Mellon U Students to Urge for Fossil Fuel Divestment
Inspired by the AASHE 2014 Conference & Expo, student attendees from the university's environmental organization Sustainable Earth are launching the divestment initiative, which will call for the university to freeze any investments into fossil fuel companies and to completely divest from the industry within five years.
Dickinson College Student Creates Solar Structure
Found in a warehouse with surplus desks and chairs by an environmental studies and economics double major, the four solar panels were constructed into a functioning solar array at one of the busiest thoroughfares on campus. Known as the Solar Outdoor Laboratory, the system, now an extension of the college's living laboratory, channels the electricity onto the grid.
EPA Announces Winning Environmental Problem Solving Teams
In October, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced up to $15,000 for each of 42 student teams to pursue projects that deliver sustainable, alternative approaches to address environmental challenges as part of EPA’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) program.
Harvard U Unveils Sustainability Plan
The university's new five-year, living Sustainability Plan details a strategy to build on existing greenhouse gas reduction goals and sets priorities in five core areas: energy and emissions, campus operations, nature and ecosystems, health and well-being, and culture and learning.
Indiana U Bloomington Installs Residential Rain Garden
Due to the increase of impervious surface area on campus causing 150 million more gallons of runoff, the university Office of Sustainability and the Campus Division recently partnered to construct the rain garden that was designed to mitigate stormwater runoff issues by incorporating 1,250 plants chosen for their capability to retain and filter water.
Miami U Raises Awareness for Fair Trade
After visiting coffee and chocolate plantations in Central America, students are beginning a campaign for fair trade certification beginning with securing speakers on the topic and procurement of fair trade-certified products.
Michigan Technological U Receives $100K for Student Activities
The General Motors Foundation recently awarded Michigan Technological University a $100,000 grant through its University/Organization Partner Program that will support the university's Advanced Hybrid Electric Vehicle and Advanced Motorsports Enterprises, Environmental Engineering senior design programs, student groups and diversity initiatives.
Northern Kentucky U Student Creates Chemical Recycling Machine
After realizing that the university's chemical plan only covered a portion of the chemicals used in labs, the 2014 graduate student created a machine that separates the different liquids present in the leftover solution with high rates of purity allowing them to be reused again.
Northwestern U Partners to Bring Bike Sharing to Campus
After discussing the idea of bike sharing for two years, the university's Office of Sustainability is partnering with Divvy, Chicago’s bike-sharing system, to offer discounts to members of the university community in early 2015.
Princeton U Seeks to Expand Socioeconomic Diversity
One of the university's two new initiatives is an expansion of its partnership with Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA), a national program dedicated to developing the academic and leadership potential of talented high school students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. The other program, Freshman Scholars Institute (FSI), helps admitted students from low-income families and less advantaged backgrounds make the transition to the rigor of Princeton education through a seven-week summer program.
Syracuse U Contest Promotes Sustainable Practices
In order to continue momentum from Campus Sustainability Day, the Sustainability Club invited all students, faculty and staff to take and upload photos showing themselves engaged in sustainable activities across campus and the winner will be chosen during November at a campus lecture.
Syracuse U Students Organize Diversity & Transparency Protest
The purpose of the recently held Diversity and Transparency Rally, organized by more than 50 student organizations, was to inform the campus community about issues such as a decrease of diversity and affordability resources, and the university's recent decision to decline divestiture from fossil fuel companies.
Transylvania U Joins Farm to Campus Program
The university joins eight other colleges and universities participating in the program that encourages universities to buy as much local food as possible and to sign contracts with multiple growers, reducing the miles traveled between farm and consumers and supporting the local economy.
U California Los Angeles Joins Billion Dollar Green Challenge
Joining the challenge created by Sustainable Endowments Institute and mitigating climate change through campus sustainability projects, the $15 million fund encourages changes and adaptations to the campus that replenish the initial loan amount through a return on the project investment.
U California Santa Barbara Connects 424kW Photovoltaic Array
Funded by students, who voted for the $3.4 million Student Affairs Renewable Energy Initiative to pass in 2011, the newly installed 424-kilowatt, solar electric system will help the university reach the University of California system-wide Carbon Neutrality Initiative, which seeks carbon neutrality by 2025.
U Maryland Student Coalesces Big Ten Sustainability Organization
Following the university's admission into the athletic conference in July, the director of the Student Government Association’s sustainability committee began contacting 160 different sustainability organizations at all 14 Big Ten schools, 11 of which have appointed representatives to participate. Several Big Ten university sustainability committees are proposing athletic program resolutions that include a carbon emission tax and zero waste athletic stadiums.
U Miami Starts Green Office Program
Officially launched this October, the program challenges offices around campus to become more ecologically conscious by following a voluntary checklist of recommendations for a greener workplace. The checklist gives green recommendations for sustainability in the areas of energy, transportation, outreach, water, waste and recycling, purchasing of office materials, and printing.
U Nebraska-Lincoln Claims Wastewater Heat for Energy
Called the Centralized Renewable Energy System, the university is engaged with the city's adjacent wastewater treatment plant to convert heat from the discharge into usable energy for heating and cooling buildings.
U North Carolina Chapel Hill Installs Solar Trash Compactors
University Grounds Services has initiated a pilot program of two solar-powered, compacting trash cans and recycling bins on campus aiming to increase trash collection efficiency. Grounds Services will evaluate the efficiency of the cans after six months to a year to determine if more should be installed throughout campus.
U South Alabama SGA Funds Waste Diversion Initiatives
The two projects selected by the university's Student Government Association for funding include an expansion of recycling from only plastic to plastic, aluminum and paper, and help to subside the start-up costs of a large-scale composting program.
U Southern California Student Inaugurates Campus CSA
After purchasing produce from the campus farmers market and wondering about the growing method and it's environmental and health impacts, the student struck a new deal with a local farmer to start a community-supported agriculture (CSA) buyers club at the university.
U Wisconsin Oshkosh Implements Single Stream Recycling
Joining the regional recycling system, the new recycling scenario includes blue bins across campus that accept paper, plastics and cans. The recyclables are sent to the county recycling facility where workers hand-sort the discarded material.
West Chester U Pennsylvania Retires Coal Boiler Plant
The recently decommissioned coal-fired boiler plant was replaced by an efficient geothermal system for providing heat for half of campus that includes 440 wells. Currently the other half of the campus is heated and cooled by high-efficiency natural gas boilers.
33 Schools Claim Bicycle Friendly University Status
On Campus Sustainability Day the League of American Bicyclists recognized 26 new and seven renewing Bicycle Friendly Universities (BFU) from 20 states. The BFU program is a tool for universities to make bicycling a real transportation and recreation option for all people.
Appalachian State U Holds Research Forum
The university's first Sustainability Research Forum, designed to encourage faculty to attend with their classes, highlighted graywater reclamation and remediation at a local haircare salon, coal challenges in Appalachia and Welch communities, and a case study on agroecotourism in Cuba.
Boston U Reaches 2020 Goal Six Years Early
In July 2014 the university reached its 2020 goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by three ways: a regional electrical grid fuel change from coal to natural gas, reducing heating oil use from 24 percent in 2006 to 3 percent, and energy efficiency improvements as indicated in the university's climate mitigation plan.
Cedar Valley College Commences Living Lab Initiative
Utilizing the sustainability learning opportunities available to students on campus, the new initiative, with four focus areas: buildings, energy, transportation and community, will give college students hands-on work skills complementing their academic and technical programs.
College of Charleston Launches New Diversity Major
The university's Office of Institutional Diversity helped manifest the new African American studies major, the goal of which is for students to gain not only understanding and knowledge of African American history and culture, but comprehend the African American experience in the context of American and Western history.
Georgia State U Strives to Minimize Food Waste
The university championed its first Hunger Awareness Month by educating students on excessive food waste associated with overloading plates with food. Volunteers in the dining hall weighed patrons food waste resulting in monthly posters declaring food waste totals.
Hampshire College to Open Living Building
Built to Living Building Challenge requirements, the college's new building, slated to open in November, will have a 100-kilowatt photovoltaic array, high-efficiency windows and a rainwater collection system. The Living Building Challenge, a program of the Living Future Institute, is a building certification program, advocacy tool and philosophy that defines advanced measures of sustainability in the built environment and acts to rapidly diminish the gap between current limits and end-game positive solutions.
Indiana State U Hosts Community Sustainability Poster Competition
In an effort to encourage sustainability within the community, the university recently announced the Terre Haute Sustainability Championship 2014 in which participating students from kindergarten through college will be given a question related to sustainability that they will have to answer using a poster.
McGill U Releases Sustainability Vision
Released in October, the university's Vision 2020 strategy focuses on a long-range vision and goals, with 14 concrete actions identified to push sustainability forward over the next two years, ranging in scope from a waste management plan to the creation of a network for collaborative sustainability research.
Occidental College Begins $3.5M Revolving Fund
In an effort to minimize its environmental impact, the college's board of trustees recently created a $3.5 million Green Revolving Fund, part of a permanent endowment, that will make loans available to energy and water efficiency upgrades, renewable energy and other projects that are capable of generating significant savings.
Onondaga CC Buildings Earn LEED Gold
The university's music hall was designed with natural daylighting, reduced energy consumption, water saving fixtures, and about 10 percent of the building materials came from less than 500 miles away. The second building, an arena and events center, features reduced water consumption, landscape design requiring zero irrigation, reduced energy consumption and 33 percent of the building materials are made from recycled content.
Six Schools Partner with Chevrolet for Carbon Reductions
Marking Campus Sustainability Day Portland State University, Spelman College, Boston University, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point and University of Illinois at Chicago announced their partnership with the Chevrolet Carbon Reduction Initiative, a new carbon methodology for campuses that measures and sells their greenhouse gas reductions to fund even deeper campus efficiency measures. These campuses join Ball State University, Valencia College, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Grand Valley State University and Southern Oregon University.
Sonoma State U Launches Inaugural Expo
Aiming to demonstrate to the campus community and beyond the university's commitment to sustainability, the first Sustainability Expo brings exhibits, art, short films, panel discussions, tours and classes on global sustainability, including over 30 student and faculty projects.
U Calgary Provides Resource Center
Besides serving as a central resource hub, the Sustainability Resource Center provides a space for the Office of Sustainability to run its engagement programs and for other campus sustainability leaders to use for running events or as a gathering place for collaborating on projects, with the overall goal of growing communities of practice in sustainability.
U Massachusetts Expands Edible Gardens Program
Hoping to improve the university's sustainability image, three new programs were added to the edible gardens initiative including a Edible Mushroom Cultivation Program, the installation of pollinator hotels to provide a nesting area for pollinator insects, and a solar charging station that provides a renewable energy source for cell phones and USB-powered electronics.
