The University of Maryland is among the many colleges and universities that have really ramped up their sustainability efforts in the past year, earning a full letter grade higher on The College Sustainability Report Card in 2009 than they did in 2008. UM gives students the chance to address environmental challenges through coursework, research and community involvement – and they’re cleaning up their own campus, too.
President Mote signed the Presidents Climate Commitment in 2007, and UM has established a University Strategic Plan that has woven sustainability into the mission of the University. UM is striving to become a “national model for a Green university”, and they’re doing it by identifying areas where they can improve and taking swift action.
UM’s heat and power are provided by an Energy Star cogeneration plant, and the university has also made a number of efficiency upgrades. A thermal energy system cools water at night and stores it for daytime cooling of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Stamp Student Union and Riggs Alumni Center. Carbon dioxide monitors have been installed to ventilate buildings only when necessary.
The University of Maryland is pushing forward on green building, promising to meet at least LEED silver certification for all new construction projects and major renovations. The Camille Kendall Academic Center, built in 2007, was the first University System of Maryland building to achieve LEED gold and the UM campus itself will soon get its own LEED-rated building, Knight Hall.
In the dining hall, locally grown food is in and non-biodegradable disposables are out. Polystyrene foam containers have been replaced with products that will break down, and bottled water is no longer sold – students can refill reusable containers at triple-filtered water stations. All pre- and post-consumer waste is composted, and the recycling program diverts more than 50 percent of the waste stream.
When it comes to getting around campus, individual vehicles are largely unnecessary as UM provides biodiesel-fueled shuttle buses. The ZipCar program also allows students, faculty and staff without parking permits to borrow vehicles for free when they need to run errands and other tasks. For those who must bring their own cars, the Department of Transportation Services offers “Green Permits” at a 20 percent discount to people who commute to campus in cars that meet EPA’s Green Vehicle Standard.
One of the University of Maryland’s strongest points is student involvement in green programs and initiatives. UM students overwhelmingly voted in favor of increasing student fees by $12 per year in order to fund the purchase of clean energy in 2007. PowerShift 2007 hosted over 6,000 student participants here, and Student Sustainability Advisors have begun presenting lessons to sections of the freshman seminar class.
With so many colleges and universities putting an emphasis on sustainability, competition to be among the greenest colleges in the U.S. is definitely intensifying. It’s gonna get tougher and that means everybody’s gonna have to work harder at being the greenest – great news for the planet and the future of environmental activism!
Link [University of Maryland] + [Green College Report Card]
