10 Paths to Green
Dec 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Mike Kennedy (mkennedy@asumag.com)
Schools and universities seeking to make their campuses more environmentally friendly have many avenues available to them.
Educational tools
Schools and universities that incorporate sustainable design strategies and green operations into their facilities often use those facilities as a way to teach students and staff about the effectiveness of the green practices.
Schools powered in part with photovoltaic cells can set up displays that show students how much solar energy is being generated. Other monitors can be set up to show students the amount of energy being consumed in a facility and how various operations and equipment alter the usage pattern. Computer programs also can be set up to help students keep track of energy usage and costs.
A school facility can be designed in a way that leaves building systems exposed so that students better understand how those systems function.
Paper reduction/recycling
Education institutions go through tons of paper in worksheets, class handouts, notepaper, requisition forms and other bureaucratic documents. Many schools and universities have established programs to reduce the use of paper and encourage recycling.
At the University of California at Berkeley, students have formed the "One Side Clean (OSC) Paper Re-Use Project." As the name implies, the project's aim is to get students and staff members to reuse paper that has been used on only one side. OSC bins with reusable paper have been placed throughout campus in computer labs, administrative offices and other areas.
Berkeley also has begun using paper with at least 30 percent recycled content and urges departments to use both sides of a sheet of paper when printing or copying material.
Recognition
As green school design and construction has become a widely sought goal, organizations have stepped forward to help guide education administrators along the green path, and to provide them recognition when they have achieved an environmentally friendly school facility.
The most well-known of the green rating systems is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification process, established by the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED program assesses the design and construction of a facility and awards points for incorporating environmentally friendly elements. A platinum rating is the highest level of certification, followed by gold, silver and certified. Last year, the council created a specialized rating system geared for K-12 facilities.
The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) has put together volumes that spell out the criteria needed to design and build a high-performance education facility. The CHPS created a rating system based on the criteria that provides benchmarks for schools to meet to be considered a high-performance school.
The Green Building Initiative is another organization that seeks to identify sustainably designed facilities. Its Green Globes rating system is based on a program that began in Canada. Earlier this year, Bethke Elementary School in the Poudre (Colo.) district became the first school in the United States to be recognized by the Green Globes system.
Carbon neutrality
The overall goal of all these energy- and resource-saving conserving steps is to bring about a more healthful planet that will survive and prosper for generations to come. College and university presidents have come together to commit their institutions to long-term efforts to rein in energy consumption and combat global warming.
The higher-education administrators who have signed The American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment have promised to make their institutions carbon neutral — removing as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they generate.
Representatives of about 600 colleges and universities have signed the pledge. They have agreed to complete a comprehensive inventory of all greenhouse gas emissions on their campuses within one year and update the inventory every other year thereafter. They also promise within two years to develop an action plan for achieving climate neutrality on their campuses.
"Campuses that address the climate challenge by reducing global warming emissions and by integrating sustainability into their curriculum will better serve their students and meet their social mandate to help create a thriving, ethical and civil society," the commitment states.
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