George Mason University in Fairfax County, Virginia has committed itself to integrating sustainability to as many aspects of campus operations as possible, and they’ve come a long way in the past five years. While the university doesn’t have many formal sustainability policies in place, they’ve shown quite a bit of initiative, particularly in the area of student involvement.
President Merten signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, committing George Mason University to working toward becoming carbon neutral. George Mason feels that, as one of the largest organizations in Northern Virginia, they have a responsibility to promote their own sustainable practices – not only for the benefit of their own university, but for surrounding communities, the region, the country and the world.
From President Merten’s statement on sustainability:
In pursuit of climate neutrality and organizational sustainability, Mason has appointed a Sustainability Coordinator who is responsible for assisting the university with defining and meeting its climate commitment and sustainability goals. Through a cross-functional Sustainability Council and Working Groups, we will work with all university constituents – students, faculty, and staff – and community members to promote and enable actions to reduce our impact on our local and global communities and ecosystems.
At Mason, we are committed to meeting the challenge of local and global stewardship. We see a sustainable and fruitful future for Mason as a climate-neutral and low-ecological-impact organization, but the entire community must commit.
The University is is saving more than $1 million every year in utility costs with the help of an energy-efficiency contract with Siemens Building Technologies initiated in 2004. A climate action plan is currently underway, and the campus community is deeply involved in identifying the ways in which George Mason can further reduce their emissions.
George Mason currently requires all new buildings to be designed and built to meet a minimum of LEED Silver standard, and all new office and industrial equipment purchased must be Energy Star rated, where available. Staff and faculty commuters receive commuter benefits for taking public transportation, all local bus service is free to Mason ID holders and a number of electronic courses are available so students can reduce fuel consumption and pollution.
By far, the most impressive aspect of George Mason’s sustainability efforts thus far is its student, faculty and staff participation in green efforts. Several hundred members of the George Mason community have volunteered to assist in university sustainability efforts by educating others about how they can reduce their own energy use and greenhouse gas emissions as part of the ‘Climate Champions’ program.
George Mason is also currently in the lead in the America’s Greenest Campus competition, having gathered nearly 800 participants and reduced their overall CO2 footprint by 2.77%. Other colleges and universities have a long way to go to catch up with them.
George Mason University may still be in the midst of making the kinds of changes other colleges and universities across the country have made in the name of the earth, but we’re willing to bet that they’ll soon be among the greenest of the green.
Link [George Mason Sustainability]
