A recent AssociatesDegree.com blog post details 50 distinct ways that 50 universities are tuning into sustainability. Ranging from harnessing green energy sources such as landfill gas and wind power, to incorporating sustainability into the curriculum, food offerings, transport infrastructure, and architecture of campus, the 50 schools highlighted in the post are leading the way toward a greener future. The geographic and size diversity of institutions included in the listing indicate that achieving LEED and other strategies for improving sustainability are not the sole purview of large institutions.

Schools such as Middlebury College and Georgia Tech are making strides in the switchover to green energy sources. Middlebury has constructed a biomass gasification plant onsite, designed to cut the school’s CO2 emissions by 40 percent and its fuel oil consumption by 50 percent. Meanwhile, at Georgia Tech, the Green IT program surveys the university’s entire computing system, searching for possible efficiencies and ways to save energy, the article reports.

Meanwhile, other schools are integrating sustainability into their course offerings and events calendar, such as Oberlin College in Ohio, which has hosted the Ecolympics for the last several years. In the event, students compete to reduce waste, save energy, and volunteer for environmental causes.  Another great example of sustainability in the curriculum comes from Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre, which is producing a sustainable play, using natural fabrics, high-efficiency stage lighting, and recycled materials.

Many colleges have looked to the supply chains that feed their dining services as way of improving sustainability on campus. For example, almost half of the food in Yale’s dining halls is local, seasonal, or organic; Emory University in Atlanta has a stated goal of replacing 75 percent of its food supply with local products by 2015. Pennsylvania’s Dickinson College grows 25 percent of its food needs on its own organic farm, and another 27 percent of its food budget is spent on locally sourced food, the article notes.

An ever-growing list of universities have embraced LEED on campus, including many that have been featured on this blog. The post highlights other accomplishments, including the University of Florida’s LEED-Platinum certified football complex, and a trio of buildings on the Santa Clara University campus in California that include recycled materials in their design.

Finally, colleges looking to enhance their green credibility have reconfigured their on-campus transport options, from the discounted public transportation passes offered by University of Minnesota, to the fleet of biofuel buses that help students navigate the University of Vermont campus in Burlington.

Click here to read about more great ways that universities are embracing sustainability.

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Chris Timmerman
Contributing Writer
Green Education Services
www.greenedu.com