Sustainability in Colleges and Universities Across America

The growth of sustainable schools continues across America. This trend encompasses schools from Kindergarten to University. Students are increasingly interested in sustainability as indicated by the Princeton Review's Green Guide which showed that 68 percent of likely college applicants say a college or universities’ commitment to sustainability would affect their decision to attend.

As reviewed in an ED article published in early 2013, there have been exemplary efforts of K-12 schools to reduce environmental impact and costs; improve health and wellness; and teach effective environmental and sustainability education.

Event - Developing a Campus Sustainability Living Lab

Developing a Campus Sustainability Living Lab will take place on June 7-9, 2013 at Portland State University, OR. This workshop will introduce systematic efforts to break through the current curricular and operational paradigms and form a new model for both education and sustainability action—the campus living lab. Participants will leave with: a plan and a set of actions/strategies for implementing a living lab at their campus; a deep understanding about the underlying theory and value proposition in implementing a sustainability living lab on campus; clear typology and definition for a living lab program and courses that increase sustainability education; a network of peers; and more.

Event - Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference

The Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference will take place on April 15-16, 2013 in Bethesda, MD. Colleges and universities are incubators of innovation, tackling the biggest challenges of society through creative means. The 2013 Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference provides the setting to learn, share and explore how campuses are using their passion for innovation to develop technologies, infrastructure, programs and curricula that address the world's most pressing environmental and sustainability challenges.

The New School's Sustainability Initiatives (Video)

The New School is committed to becoming a more sustainable university - The New School is a university in New York City offering distinguished degree, certificate, and continuing education programs in art and design, liberal arts, management and policy, and the performing arts. (for more information click here) In order to reduce the institution's environmental footprint and carbon emissions, the university has established the following goals:

International Society of Sustainability Professionals Educational Programs

The International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) offers courses and programs. Their flexible structure allows you to shape your learning experience to suit your needs. Live webinars and workshops can be taken individually and credited towards the ISSP Sustainability Professionals Certificate. Self-study options are also available (although not for credit). These study options are ideal for those with multiple areas of expertise and are doing sustainability auditing and/or planning. The courses are designed to provide a broad spectrum approach that enables participants to put together disparate skill sets.

Second Nature's Financing Sustainability on Campus Book

The book Financing Sustainability on Campus, provides higher education leaders with a comprehensive handbook to financing sustainability with real world examples, creative strategies, and clear explanations of a wide variety of financial tools and programs. This book offers a first-of-its-kind look at how colleges and universities are responding to the challenges of financing sustainability efforts. How can institutions blend financing options? How can a campus utilize a tax-exempt lease purchase contract? What tax incentives are available? When is bond financing your best option? What new liabilities will institutions need to recognize on their balance sheets? Geared to both newcomers and experienced practitioners, this guide walks you through the process—from identifying and analyzing the economics of proposed projects to execution—with examples from numerous individual campuses.

Second Nature's Advancing Green Building in Higher Education Program

Second Nature is advancing green building in higher education, by focusing on some of the challenges faced by under-resourced colleges and universities to ‘build green’ on their campuses. With a $1,242,000 three-year grant from the Kresge Foundation, Second Nature is helping under-resourced schools learn about and use the financial and technical resources available to construct and renovate campus buildings in ways that save money, reduce environmental and health impacts, serve as educational tools, and increase student enrollment.

Second Nature's Education for Sustainability Innovation Program

The "Education for Sustainability" (EFS) innovation program works with minority-serving institutions to advance the goal of creating a sustainable society. The program was launched by Second Nature in 2011 with the generous support of The Kresge Foundation. This multi-year program promotes innovation and leadership among financially strained and minority-serving colleges and universities.

Early History of Sustainability at Queens College

Queens College began many of their sustainability initiatives during the three years between 2004 through 2007. They began participation in the peak load management program with Con Ed. They decreased their power use on certain summer days of peak demand of electricity and reduced energy load on our buildings. They have purchased only Energy Star rated air conditioners. They began replacing inefficient window units with split air conditioning systems. In the 1990s, they had installed light sensors in all of our offices and classrooms. We continued to maintain those sensors and they are operational. Beginning in 2005, we purchased electric utility vehicles for use on campus. By 2007, they had purchased 10 electric vehicles.

Queens College Sustainability Plan

Queens College Sustainability Plan sets goals in each of the seven pillars of sustainability and the steps to be taken to achieve those goals. These seven pillars are comprised of Energy, Water, Transportation, Recycling/Source Reduction, Procurement, Sustainable Nutrition, Education and Outreach.

1. Energy: A sustainable student residence and an addition to Remsen that incorporated energy efficiency measures. They are currently engaged in several studies of their buildings that will provide recommendations for energy efficient retrofits for building upgrades. They are working towards to have a solar project and a green roof. They are also working on a menu of energy savings projects in their energy audit of their facilities and they plan to implement any that are financially feasible. New equipment is evaluated in terms of its energy-efficiency. With adequate funding, their goal is to replace all of their outdoor lighting with either LED or induction lighting.

Queens College Sustainability Mission

As reviewed in Queens College Mission statement, the school is serious about being green. Their campus is steeped in the culture of sustainability making them a model for the community. The school follows the well accepted approach outlined in the 1987 Brundtland Report (“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.) They have a Sustainability Council that oversees the execution their Strategic Plan to be carbon neutral.

Queens College is committed to energy reduction through efficiency. Their construction and renovation projects are environmentally sound and they make extensive use of recycled materials. They are reducing the overall waste and they have a robust recycling program. Further, they are becoming a “paperless” campus which uses only “green” products.

Campus Sustainability Day Summary of Events

On October 26th many college campuses across North America celebrated the 9th annual Campus Sustainability Day (CSD). Campus Sustainability Day highlights the green accomplishments and initiatives of staff, faculty and students.

Searchable Environmental Education Resources

Here is the Web's most comprehensive compendium of links to help students explore their green academic options. Most of these sites are completely searchable by location and/or subject of study. Each link offers a wealth of information to help college and university students find the right green school and the right green program.

The information contained in these searchable directories and databases include listings of environmental degree programs as well as environmental opportunities and organizations at campuses around the country. These sites enable students to compare environmental schools in the US and around the world. Degree programs include but are not limited to Environmental Engineering, Wildlife Sciences, Environmental Studies, Environmental Education, Forestry, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Students looking to explore their environmental education options need look no further than the 21 links below:

Green Education
Environmental school directory
Search green MBA programs by campus or online school
Environmental programs and degrees for US colleges and universities
Green school guide
Green education online
Online environmental degree programs
Sustainability programs at California community colleges

Sierra's Top 12 Green College Curriculums
Evergreen State College
Northland College
Hampshire College
University of Vermont
Georgia Tech
University of New Hampshire
Arizona State University
Colorado State University
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Boston University
Northern Arizona University
University of Georgia

LEED Green Building
Clean Edison LEED exam prep courses
Everblue LEED accreditation
LEED resources

Online Education
Green education online
College Education Finder
Search green MBA programs by online school
Online environmental degree programs
Online University Hub
A complete listing of all online colleges
Online doctorial degree programs

All Education
College search
College directory
College navigator
Community college directory
Index of American universities
Index of Canadian universities
Index of international universities
Graduate school search


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