Green College Spotlight: University of New Hampshire

The University of New Hampshire is home to the oldest endowed sustainability program in higher education in the United States. Its sustainability efforts center around four key systems: the Biodiversity Education Initiative, the Climate Education Initiative, the Food & Society Initiative and the Culture & Sustainability Initiative. All four of these systems aim to unite the spirit of discovery with the challenge of sustainability.

UNH is a signatory of the Talloires Declaration, which commits the university to being world leaders in developing, creating, supporting and maintaining sustainability    . President Huddleston also signed the Presidents Climate Commitment. So far, UNH is going a great job lowering its carbon footprint – it fuels its cogeneration heat and power plant with landfill gas, significantly lowering energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Curious about all the different areas where sustainability has been implemented on campus? Check out UNH’s sustainability map, which is literally covered with little green dots indicating green projects and initiatives. You can click on each dot to learn more about each project, from transportation to the ‘Farm to School’ program. It really gives you an idea of just how serious the University of New Hampshire is about being green, helping to further the cause and spreading the message of sustainability to the community.

Some highlights of UNH’s sustainable efforts include its Climate Change Research Center, which studies the chemical and dynamic properties of the Earth’s atmosphere to better understand how our activities affect it as well as an Energy Task Force , made up of students, faculty and staff who guide UNH’s energy conservation and emissions reduction policies.

Students are heavily involved in sustainability at the University of New Hampshire. Among the student groups are ‘Ecological Advocates’, which promotes environmentally sustainable behaviors on campus. This group leads popular campaigns and competitions focused on waste reduction, recycling, food waste minimization, energy use, Earth Day and more.

The UNH campus is pedestrian- and bike-friendly, with a Cat Cycles bicycle program that allows students to sign out a bike and accessories for up to a week at a time. The campus itself is getting greener, too, having committed to seek LEED silver certification on all new construction projects.

Great job, UNH – we can’t wait to see all the new ways in which you continue to be a leader in college sustainability!

Link [UNH] + [Green College Report Card]

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