American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment

The Presidents Climate Commitment is the first effort by any major sector of society to set climate neutrality – not just a reduction - as its target. This undertaking by America's colleges and universities is inspired by efforts such as the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, the U.S. Climate Action Partnership and other collective efforts by states and businesses. For more information, please visit the American College and University President's Climate Commitment website.

Biodegradable Service Ware

Next time you eat at Baker Center's food court, you are likely to walk away with corn and sugar cane on your tray. We're not talking tacos and smoothies. We're talking plates, cups, forks, spoons and take-out containers. This serviceware, which to casual observers looks like plastic, is actually a 100-percent biodegradable material derived from corn or potato starch called polylactic acid, or PLA.

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Composting Project

Ohio University was one of six state awardees that received a $250,000 grant through Ohio Division of Natural Resources' (ODNR) Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention program. The funding will be used to purchase and install an in-vessel composting system for the Athens campus. It will be the first full-scale composting project at an Ohio college or university.

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Greeks for the Globe

Local efforts to increase environmental awareness have been spreading from Ohio University's residence halls to Greek housing. Delta Gamma (DG), an Ohio U sorority that recently began a recycling program, has been a trail-blazer. The program's success may encourage others in multi-unit housing to consider a similar environmentally friendly approach.

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Light it up Right

The "Light it up Right" project, is a light bulb exchange program designed to raise awareness about the simple actions students can take to conserve energy. SLO members went around giving students compact florescent bulbs to replace the incandescent bulbs in their dorm room.

CFL's are four times more efficient or use 50-80% less energy and last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Replacing a single incandescent bulb with a CFL will keep a half-ton of CO2 out of the atmosphere over the life of the bulb. According to the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program, if every home in the United States replaced just one light bulb with a CFL, we would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the emissions from more than 8 million cars.

Contact:
Office of Sustainability
sustainability@ohio.edu
740-593-0460

Office of Sustainability

The Department of Facilities Management at Ohio University is committed to improving the efficiency of our facilities, greening our practices and processes, and strengthening our campus-wide culture of environmental mindfulness. Toward these ends, the Office of Resource Conservation was established in May 2006, at which time OHIO's first Resource Conservation Coordinator was appointed. The name of the office has since been changed to the Office of Sustainability.

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OHIO Ecohouse

June of 2005 marked the inception of the OHIO Ecohouse. A university-owned house was transformed into a model for using affordable, green technology and living sustainably. It serves as an outreach and education platform for Ohio University, the local community, and the Appalachian region. An organic garden and solar panels that provide house energy are just a few of the Ecohouse features.

OHIO Ecohouse strives to strengthen the culture of sustainability by providing tours, and workshops open to the university and the community. The residents, Ohio U students, commit to living in the house for two years. During this time, they provide a hands-on place for other students to learn about living more sustainably.

Contact:
Office of Sustainability
sustainability@ohio.edu
740-593-0460

OHIO Unplugged

In Fall 2006, Ohio U hosted the first OHIO Unplugged, a renewable energy themed music festival. The event took place on the South Green lawn, and featured a number of local and regional performers including the Fossil Fools art collective, Attila Horvath, DJ Self Help and others. The goal of the event was to expose members of our campus community to the benefits of using renewable energy, the need for resource conservation, and the consequences of our dependence on fossil fuels. The stage for OHIO Unplugged was 100% solar powered, and the festival was the university's first official Zero Waste event, meaning that no waste was generated from the event.

OHIO Unplugged is a project of the Office of Sustainability. Co-sponsors of OHIO Unplugged included ACRN (All Campus Radio Network), the OU Hip Hop Congress, Dovetail Solar & Wind, Sustainable Living Organization, and Campus Recycling.

OHIO Unplugged was a part of Sustainability Awareness Week.

People that are interested in hosting their own 100% solar powered outdoor event, or a zero waste event, should contact the Office of Sustainability.

Contact:
Office of Sustainability
sustainability@ohio.edu
740-593-0460

Vision Ohio: Master Planning Report & Implementation Plan

In December of 2006, University Planning and Implementation (UPI) released a document, Vision Ohio: Master Planning Report. (Note: this document is large - 29.3 MB.) Part of the document summarized a sustainability plan within Ohio University development. The plan requires that all design team consultants be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited for future requests for proposals (RFPs).

A draft of the Five Year Vision Ohio Implementation Plan is available online. Objective 19 outlines the university's commitment to improving campus facilities and strengthening institutional sustainability through the "greening" of all Ohio University campuses. Strategic goals include "the reduction of the university's purchased utilities, the reduction of our carbon footprint, and the change from a campus culture of consumption to one of conservation."

Featured Story

Sustainability Plan

from the March, 2012 issue of Routes

by Elaine Goetz

Update on Implementation

After the Ohio University Sustainability Plan (SP) was approved by President McDavis and the Board of Trustees in June, 2011, the plan moved into the implementation phase. The Ecology and Energy Conservation Committee (EECC), a committee of faculty and students, serves as the Plan’s monitoring agent with support from Ohio University’s Office of Sustainability (OoS). The SP identifies 35 benchmarks for striving towards sustainability at OU.

Have you ever tried to measure ecological literacy, carbon emissions from commuters or food waste and then compiled all this into an overall sustainability measure? It is not an easy task but that is exactly what EECC and the Office of Sustainability are working on. Teams of faculty, students, staff and community members have suggested strategies for achieving these benchmarks and now EECC and OoS are figuring out how to measure, track and report the outcomes of implemented strategies.

Some major challenges in this process (heads up future sustainability professionals, you’ll want to know this!) include: deciding on appropriate metrics, coordinating who is responsible for working towards benchmarks when they may involve multiple departments or operational units, and ensuring that the workload of faculty/staff is not added to without appropriate compensation.

With great challenges come great opportunities. Many benchmarks can be achieved through simple behavioral changes and small efforts (This is where you come in. Yes, you.) due to their commonsense and economical nature.