Green College Spotlight: University of Maryland

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]

Green College Spotlight: Wellesley College

Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts is a great example of a college that has recently dedicated itself to sustainability and is working hard to make up for lost time in every way it can. The esteemed women’s liberal arts college established sustainability priorities in early 2007, including goals related to landscape, water conservation, waste and energy use-reduction.  In addition to improving their own campus, Wellesley hopes to instill the values of sustainability into its undergraduates and the community at large.

President H. Kim Bottomly remarked,

“It is no longer possible for any reasonable person to doubt that we have a serious problem.  Colleges and universities around the world must and will play a crucial role, not just because of the research and education that happens there, and not just because they will lead the way with recycling and other efforts, but also because of the intellectual communities that exist there…. I hope we continue to pursue local efforts, but I also hope that along with our quite practical focus, we expand our focus to embrace discussions of the incredible complexity of this problem.”

The beautiful New England landscape that is the setting of Wellesley College is protected and maintained for future generations to enjoy. Significant portions of the campus have been transformed to make it more walkable, and many gravel and asphalt lots have been removed to restore the natural meadows and wetlands. Wellesley has a car-sharing program, zip cars are in use on campus and mass transit is available to students, faculty and staff.

Waste management and dining services are two areas in which Wellesley has excelled at ‘greening’. They’ve reduced their waste output and dramatically increased recycling efforts, and yard waste is composted. In the Dining Hall, you’ll find local, seasonal and organic food, fair trade coffee, biodegradable plasticware and corn-based cups.. Wellesley participates in the Real Food Challenge, and has started an organic garden to provide food for campus meals.

Wellesley has reduced energy consumption through campus upgrades, aggressive energy management and conservation measures. The college’s cogeneration plant runs at 85% efficiency and generates all of the electricity needed for the campus. And, despite a campus that has grown larger with increasing energy demand, energy consumption has been reduced by nearly 12% since 2003.

The dedication of Wellesley students has also received praise on their College Sustainability Report Card. Wellesley promotes student involvement through green competitions like ‘Recyclemania’ and weekly energy challenges. A student-run group called Energy and Environmental Defense has led many green efforts on campus including lightbulb exchanges.

Though no buildings on the Wellesley campus are currently LEED certified, the college has dedicated itself to meeting LEED standards for all future projects and has also put many sustainable measures in place in existing buildings. Green roofs have been installed at the campus center, a parking facility, the water treatment facility and other structures. Energy-efficient windows have been installed in a few buildings, and the Wang Campus Center makes extensive use of natural light and also boasts bamboo floors.

Congratulations to Wellesley for all their achievements, and we hope to see even more progress in 2009!

Link [Wellesley College]

New Green College Ratings Website: GreenReportCard.org

Just a few years ago, finding information about sustainability at colleges across the U.S. and Canada was practically impossible.  Now, not only do we get green college rankings from sources like Forbes, Sierra Magazine, Grist and The Daily Green, we can also rely on The Princeton Review with their ‘Green Honor Roll’ as well as a new website, GreenReportCard.org.  Today’s college students have information at their fingertips that tells them how hard colleges and universities are working to be green.

The interactive College Sustainability Report Card at GreenReportCard.org is the first independent sustainability evaluation of campus operations and endowment investments, gathering information through research and surveys.  More than 300 schools have been rated.  Each is given a letter grade for overall ecological sustainability as well as letter grades in categories like ‘climate change and energy’, ‘green building’, ‘transportation’ and ‘investment priorities’.

When you type in the name of a participating university, you’ll see not just those letter grades but also an explanation for each.  For example, the University of Florida – Gainesville received an ‘A’ for food and recycling, and GreenReportCard.org explains:

UF purchases local dairy products and sources produce through two suppliers who, together, buy from 70 Florida farms. Organic, shade-grown coffee is purchased from a local roaster and dining services offers cage-free eggs and a variety of organic produce. Both dining halls use reusable china, and to-go containers are made from 100 percent sugarcane. UF initiated the Tail-gator recycling program for home game days in 2006.

Even better, you can compare schools to see how their efforts stack up.  It really puts power into students’ hands, and beyond that it helps motivate schools to work harder at being green.  The website is free and easy to use, and it even has a ‘get involved’ page where students can learn about how they can help their schools improve their green score.  Pretty awesome!

Link [GreenReportCard.org] via [ReadWriteWeb]