Sustainability and the Environment
From innovative student ideas, to new courses and programs, to campus-wide initiatives, UMBC, as a growing research university, is practicing what it teaches by going green. The Princeton Review, in its new Guide to Green Colleges, recognized UMBC as one of 322 colleges and universities nationwide demonstrating a strong commitment to sustainability.
UMBC’s sustainability efforts are thriving, with many undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty actively engaged in promoting, leading and initiating sustainability efforts. This past year, a group of undergraduates organized and hosted a statewide student conference on clean water. In June, we held our first workshop for Sustainability across disciplines, with faculty discussing opportunities for creative interdisciplinary collaboration and teaching innovations. Our new Global Studies track in Development, Health and the Environment and our new Chemical Engineering track in Environmental Engineering and Sustainability expand our ability to inform and engage in sustainability in the classroom and beyond.
The environmental work of faculty contributes significantly to our development as a research university and our strengths in the geosciences, with faculty applying new knowledge about environmental science and policy to advance health, safety, and the economy. UMBC recently ranked 18th nationally among universities in federal research funding in the environmental sciences. Moreover, UMBC is the field headquarters for the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (a federally-funded urban ecology project), and our campus is home to both the U.S. Geological Survey’s regional water science center and the Maryland Clean Energy Incubator.
We are continually advancing environmentally sustainable practices on campus through our research, courses, service, policies and operations. Since I signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment in 2007, we have taken many steps to reduce our campus carbon emissions by conserving energy, purchasing renewable energy, and raising awareness. To date, UMBC has reduced net emissions by 13.3% since committing to reduce carbon pollution in 2007. This was accomplished even with a 15% increase in enrollment and campus construction that resulted in a 2% increase in square footage.
How was this accomplished? Sourcing 20% of our annual electricity from renewable energy sources has been one major factor in our reduced carbon footprint. Recycling rates increased from 28% in 2011 to 40% of total waste in 2012 as UMBC participated in the national Recyclemania competition for the 5th year, adopted a new composting program for food waste, offered e-cycling for electronics, and continued dual-stream recycling. We also advanced our sustainability goals by hiring, in 2012, our first full-time campus environmental sustainability coordinator, and we are continuing to reduce transportation-related emissions by optimizing transit and offering preferred parking to carpoolers. Our most recent construction includes the LEED Gold Certified addition to Patapsco Residence Hall, complete with our campus’s first green roof, and the LEED Silver Certified Performing Arts and Humanities Building (phase I).
Two more developments this summer have also improved our campus environment. In July, the campus went smoke-free. In August, the State of Maryland debuted the newly renovated Halethorpe MARC train station, increasing ease of use at one of the closest MARC stations to the UMBC campus. This renovation will help us continue reducing the size of our carbon footprint by allowing more students, faculty, and staff to easily commute to campus by rail. The university runs shuttles to the Halethorpe station and the BWI rail station as part of UMBC Transit.
