I wanted to pass on the following tip from Emily Norton who works as an ENERGY STAR Technical Support Contractor helping promote the US EPA ENERGY STAR Program.

"For those campuses looking for an additional energy saving initiative to implement, the US EPA ENERGY STAR program offers free software and free technical assistance to help college and university network administrators activate power management features.

Computer Power Management (CPM) simply means placing monitors and computers into a low-power "sleep mode" after a period of inactivity. Moving the mouse or tapping the keyboard "wakes" the computer and monitor in seconds. While CPM features are built into almost every modern operating system, they must be activated.

Activating power management on computers and monitors saves up to $75 per year per machine, which when multiplied by hundreds or thousands of computers can mean serious savings".

In addition, colleges and universities that pledge to activate power management features and to purchase ENERGY STAR computers can be listed as participants in the ENERGY STAR Low Carbon IT Campaign. Over 40 colleges and universities are currently signed up.

For more information, please visit www.energystar.gov/lowcarbonit or contact Emily Norton.

As with all blogs, new campus sustainability blogs are popping up and old ones are falling into disuse all the time. If you know of a blog that should be included or think one of the blogs we have is defunct, please let us know by sending an e-mail to webmaster@aashe.org. Blogs are listed in alphabetical order.

As campuses work on developing climate action plans and long term sustainability projects, a challenge that many face is how to balance the need (or desire) to grow in a way that won’t detract from the determined path toward sustainability.

Simply put, how does a campus adequately serve growing populations of students, increase the campus footprint, and add more facilities while also reducing their emissions and ensuring that the growth is sustainable? Who defines what “sustainable growth” even looks like on a campus? What are some of the unique challenges facing different types of institutions? How do goals of expansion differ at urban schools versus rural?

Keith H. Hirokawa, Assistant Professor of Law, and Patricia E. Salkin, Professor and Associate Dean of Law, at Albany Law School, sought to answer those questions and more in their recent publication, “Can Urban University Expansion and Sustainable Development Co-Exist?: A Case Study in Progress on Columbia University”(click title to download the full paper).

Keith and Patricia were kind enough to send me a brief overview of the paper (which is free to download here):

“A growing emphasis on sustainability has concerned university expansion over the last several years. Reaching consensus on a precise definition of "sustainability" in this context has proved somewhat elusive, as the word conjures different meanings to various stakeholder interests. The planned expansion of Columbia University offers an excellent case study for examining the diverse interpretations of sustainability and the exploring the efforts of the University to identify and implement a sustainable plan. In addition to planning and community outreach efforts, the University decided to proceed with a controversial eminent domain proceeding that resulted in protracted litigation. This article discusses various approaches to evaluating sustainability in higher education, with a focus on the experience of urban university expansion through an examination of Columbia University’s recent expansion project. “

I found the Columbia University case to be special in many ways, partly due to the sheer size of the expansion plans for an urban campus. Scheduled to occur in two phases, the plans include the addition of 6.8 million square feet for classrooms, research facilities, housing, and parking through the redevelopment of seventeen acres in a neighborhood called Manhattanville.

The paper thoroughly examines the competing definitions of what is classified as “sustainable” or “unsustainable” by different stakeholders, and discusses the different sustainability roles that higher education institutions play in their communities.

I am interested to hear from sustainability practitioners on campus – are you facing similar challenges on your campus? How are you balancing the need to grow with the sustainability goals of your campus?
 

Food is a basic necessity of life and so it should come as no surprise that a large number of colleges and universities across North America have begun to recognize food as an important component in campus sustainability as well. More than 100 higher education institutions have established community gardens on campus. With names ranging from SLUG (Student Led Unity Garden at The University of Portland) and VEGI (Vanderbilt Educational Garden Initiative, Vanderbilt University) to "The Burning Kumquat" at the Washington University in St. Louis and "The Forge Garden" at Santa Clara University, these gardens invite many and varied participants, and develop communities that cultivate knowledge of place, along with numerous bushels of tomatoes, snap peas, corn, beets, carrots and other delectable veggies.

Students at the University of New Hampshire harvest fresh salad greens at the UNH Organic Garden.

Often run by active student organizations like the UNH Organic Garden Club, community gardens oftentimes incorporate blogs and social networking systems into their operation, and sometimes hire qualified individuals to lead the initiatives. This ‘growing’ trend may help to lay the groundwork for a future where a network of farmers’ markets, food co-operatives, CSA (community supported agriculture) farms and community gardens will greatly reduce average food miles, and help us transition to a more sustainable food system.

Recognizing the connections between gardening and sustainability, AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) includes a “tier two” credit for campuses that have an on-campus garden in the co-curricular education section of the rating system.

To see a list of campuses with community gardens please visit this new (AASHE members-only) resource: Campus Community Gardens.

I had the honor to serve as a judge once again in this year’s Best Practice Awards for the 2010 California Higher Education Sustainability Conference organized by the sustainability office in the University of California's Office of the President. With deadlines approaching for AASHE’s own awards program I neglected to help publicize the California winners, who are all deserving of recognition.

These best practices awards are intended to highlight the achievements that the California State University, University of California, and California Community College campuses have made through innovative and effective energy efficiency projects and sustainable operations. It is the goal that these projects will serve as showcases to other campuses and will assist campus staff with resources and ideas that they may be able transfer to their own campus.

The 2010 Best Practice Award Winners included many different categories. I have include the winners along with links to brief descriptions of their projects. More information is available on the Best Practice Awards website.

Overall Sustainable Design

• DeAnza College; Mediated Learning Center
• CSU Sacramento; American River Courtyard
• UC Irvine; Medical Education Building

HVAC Design/Retrofit

• Los Angeles Pierce College; Near Net-Zero Maintenance and Operations Complex
• Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; Student Recreation Expansion and Remodel
• UC Irvine; Exhaust Stack Discharge Velocity Reduction

 Lighting Design/Retrofit

• Copper Mountain College; Energy Savings Project
• San Jose State University; King Library Lighting Retrofit
• UC San Diego; Sustainability Resource Center

Monitoring-Based Commissioning

• UC Berkeley; Le Conte Hall
  Additional award winner to be determined

Student Energy Efficiency

• West LA Community College; Green Campus Program
• Cal Poly Pomona; Green Campus Program
• UC Santa Cruz; Green Campus Program

Student Sustainability Program

• Santa Rosa Junior College; Students for Sustainable Communities
• Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; Green Campus Program
• UC Santa Barbara; (PACES)

Water Efficiency & Site Water Quality

• San Diego Community College District; Standardization of Calsense Irrigation Control System
• CSU Northridge; Weather Based Irrigation Control System & Waterless Urinal Replacement
• UC San Diego; Clean Water Utility Initiative
• UC Santa Barbara; San Clemente Ecological Restoration & Storm water Management Project

Innovative Waste Reduction

• UC San Diego; Toby's Spot Re-Use Program

Sustainable Foods Service

• Humboldt State University; Dining Services
• UC Santa Barbara; Residential Dining Sustainability Plan

2010 Honorable Mentions:
Overall Sustainable Design

• West LA Community College; Athletics & Allied Health Complex
• CSU San Bernardino; College of Education
• UC San Diego; Health Sciences Biomedical Research Facility 2

Lighting Design/Retrofit

• Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; Student Recreation Expansion and Remodel

Washington State University is working to research the viability and impacts of growing, refining, transporting and using plant based aircraft fuel in the Pacific Northwest through a new partnership called the "Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest" project. The six-month project is intended to address issues related to commercial viability and the full environmental impacts involved with using biomass sources indigenous to the Pacific Northwest. Joining WSU in the project is Alaska Airlines, Boeing, Portland International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and Spokane International Airport.

In a similar announcement, The University of Queensland in Australia is also working with Boeing and other companies to develop a major aviation biofuel project in Brisbane. The project is also called the “Sustainable Aviation Fuel Initiative” and includes over 2 million in funding.

Do you think this research will lead to breakthroughs that will help reduce those elusive scope 3 emissions from air travel or, will it only lessen the ultimate impacts of flying marginally? Will this help to strengthen local communities and agriculture? I am interested to hear what you think! Do you know of any other relevant initiatives and research happening in this area? Post up!

Additional resources:
US research:
Northwest aviation leaders aim to develop a regional biofuel industry (Oregon Live.com)
Transportation And Aviation Leaders Launch Sustainable Biofuels Initiative (Alaska Airways press release)
WSU’s website on Clean Technologies has more information regarding the research.
Also of interest may be this brief audio news report available from KPLU in Seattle.

Australia:
Biofuels research looks to the future of flying (University of Queensland press release)
Australian Biofuels research looks to the future of flying (Nanotechnology News)

AASHE is preparing to publish the third edition of its semi-annual Global Edition. From harvesting rainwater in India to the development of a sustainability office in Switzerland, the AASHE Bulletin: Global Edition covers the continued strides made by college and university campuses around the globe toward sustainability. Institutions from more than 15 countries were represented in the February 2010 issue and AASHE would like to hear what your institution has been up to since then.

We invite press releases and news article suggestions for inclusion in the upcoming issue, slated for a mid-August release. Topics include green buildings, climate and energy initiatives, new educational programs, waste reduction efforts and more. To submit an item for consideration, email a hyperlink to the news story or press release that is posted online to bulletin@aashe.org with the subject line, “global edition.” The deadline for submissions isAugust 1, 2010.

Please review the Global Edition Submission Guidelines before sending articles.
 

This week’s interview is with Maggie Souder who works as the Sustainability Coordinator at the University of California, San Diego. Continue reading to learn more about Maggie's work promoting sustainability at UCSD, the advice she has for others in her position who are just getting started, and the different ways she is incorporating the social dimensions of sustainability into her work.

If you are interested in participating in the AASHE Interview Series or wish to nominate someone to participate please email me (niles@aashe.org). To read past interviews, click here.

**What campus sustainability initiatives are you working on at the moment?
**One of our key projects is the update of our 2008 Climate Action Plan (CAP). We are working to determine campus progress on the goals identified in the original plan. To this end, we are using the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s (AASHE) Sustainable Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS). The results of STARS will one of the tools provided to our CAP Stakeholder Focus Groups to determine next steps, new goals, and funding opportunities. Our new “UC San Diego Sustainable Food Services Plan” has just been completed and now we are setting up to develop a new comprehensive solid waste contract to help us move toward our “zero waste to landfill by 2020” goal. These are just a few of our many projects. More information about our various initiatives is available at our sustainability 2.0 website.

How did you get started in campus sustainability?
I spent much of my early career working at UC Riverside in fields related to protecting and cleaning up the environment (hazardous waste management, hazardous materials safety and compliance, environmental remediation, etc.). When I was first introduced to the field of sustainability, I was quite taken with the idea that as a society, we can and should develop and share ways to protect and preserve the environment now, as opposed to trying to repair what we have already compromised. I began working on sustainability at UC Riverside while still the environmental compliance and hazardous materials manager, and eventually accepted a position in which sustainability was my sole role.

What campus sustainability success are you most proud of?
I am very proud of the creation of the UC San Diego Sustainability Resource Center (the SRC is located in the Price Center at the heart of the UC San Diego campus and opened in fall 2009). I especially like working on projects in which the teamwork and passion of talented people make the “unlikely” a reality. In this particular case, we accomplished a beautiful, showcase facility on a bare-bones budget by finding community partners. It was really hard work, but with an amazing result.

What advice would you give to others in your position who are just getting started?
Networking is very important. Get as much experience as you can – even if it means volunteering. When you have opportunities to learn from people who are already in the field, ask questions and respect what they have to say. You won’t always agree with everyone about everything, but by combining the diversity and breadth of what you learn you will develop a broad framework for your own successful strategies.

In what area(s) do you see the biggest room for growth in the campus sustainability field?
This is a tough question because it has so many possible answers. It is likely that some of the technical and operational advances will have the greatest financial impact. However, one of the greatest challenges we face is engaging the community at large in order to achieve widespread behavioral change. I see a huge need to develop easy to use tools for the everyday person and then successfully educate, inform, and engage every target audience to become sustainability participants.

How are you incorporating the social dimensions of sustainability into your work?
Two examples are the new campus Fair Trade policy and our new campus Sustainable Food services Plan, both of which I believe will have significant social impacts. We work closely with our students, who are super champions for social change. It is important enough that the Student Sustainability Collective (SSC) has created a position for a student director in charge of civil and human rights.

How are you tracking your progress toward sustainability?
At the moment we are working to complete the STARS survey. We also have a campus group called the Sustainable Operations and Environmental Work Group comprised of program stakeholders, mostly at the operational level. This group reports to the Climate Solutions Work Group (CSWG), which consists of vice chancellors, deans, and directors. The CSWG also has graduate and undergraduate student representation.

Is there a particular insight (learning experience or “ah-ha” moment) you have had working on campus sustainability?
Probably the most important lesson I have learned is to present a large variety of methods and tools for individuals (or departments) to use to create their sustainability solutions. This allows people to become involved at their own pace, which builds ownership. It has been my experience that once a person has one or more small successes, they are much more willing to get increasingly involved and ultimately become sustainability champions.

How are your sustainability efforts funded?
Our permanent funding comes from the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Auxiliary & Plant Services, a unit of Resource Management and Planning. We also apply for and receive grant and partnership funds for many of our projects.

In what ways are students involved in your work?
Students contribute ideas, passion, drive, and so much more. We have over 60 student organizations on campus that do sustainability-related work. Of these, over 13 focus primarily on sustainability. In addition to providing the drive and ideas necessary to keep sustainability moving forward and creating rapid change, many students also intern on research and operations projects. We work to find the internships that best match the student. Our students contribute so much to the success of campus programs. For example, students help us certify our LEED EBOM and CI projects and are helping us complete the STARS survey.

How are you approaching the issues around carbon offsets and or renewable energy credits (RECs)?
UC San Diego is a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange and so is uniquely positioned to learn the ins and outs of carbon trading. Ideally, UC San Diego will avoid the need to purchase offset or RECs by maximizing campus energy efficiencies and on-site renewable energy generation.

How do you like to spend your free time?
I love the beach and spend as much time as possible in the water. I also rock climb, slackline, ride my horse and work in my small, organic garden. I volunteer regularly for beach cleanups and spend time giving dressage (riding) lessons to adults with challenging horses.

UC San Diego's new Sustainability Resource Center

umbcsustainability posted a photo:

umbcsustainability posted a photo: