By Emily Raij, Maupin House
America’s Greenest Campus is a nationwide contest where colleges compete to see who can reduce their carbon footprint by the greatest amount. There are 450 colleges participating to win up to $20,000 in cash prizes, and the contest, which launched March 31, has already achieved the following environment-saving successes:
- $1.5 million saved
- 5.9 million pounds of CO2 avoided, the equivalent of taking 500 passenger vehicles off the road or the annual energy use of 250 homes
- 1.6 million kWh of energy reduced
- 5.2 million gallons of water saved
- 39,000 gallons of gasoline saved
The contest is a partnership between SmartPower, a clean energy and energy efficiency marketing organization, Climate Culture, an online carbon measurement and reduction utility, and the U.S. Department of Energy. It runs through October 5, 2009, with winners announced on October 12, 2009. For more information, visit www.smartpower.org, www.letsgetenergysmart.com, and www.climateculture.com, or access the Climate Culture Facebook Application at apps.facebook.com/climate_culture.
As NSSEA members, we’re always interested in how we can make a difference when it comes to education. What about the environment? Maybe your company has already taken steps to “green” its office or its products. If not, here are some suggestions you can try, from baby steps to a deeper commitment:
- Start a recycling program in your office. This can be as basic as putting out bins for recyclables that someone volunteers to take care of each week or starting an official pick-up program with your county/city.
- Make use of waste paper. Try shredding some of the paper to use as packaging material, use blank sides as scratch paper, print on both sides, and recycle what you don’t use.
- Print and copy less. Do you need to print or copy every email, contract, manuscript, quote and proposal? Then don’t! You’ll limit the clutter on your desk and the planet. Consider adding a signature to your email that asks recipients to consider the environment before printing.
- Stop using plastic water bottles. There’s no reason why a reusable bottle won’t quench your thirst at the office all day. And you can replace paper and plastic bags with reusable ones as well.
- Carpool, walk, or ride your bike to work. This is an oldie but a goodie—even if you go car-less for one day per week, you’ll be making a huge difference over the course of a year
- Opt for recycled materials for your print and manufacturing jobs. Catalogs, books, plastic and metal parts, and much more can be created from recycled materials. Soy-based inks are become more common as well. There are more options than ever before, and you don’t have to sacrifice quality for conscience. You can even let customers know about your green efforts by putting an FSC Mixed Sources label on your catalog or books.
- Partner with a local environmental organization, chamber of commerce or school. Try starting your own city-wide contest or sponsoring a charity benefit for an environmental cause. If you work in higher education, maybe you can get involved with America’s Greenest Campus!
If you have other green business tips, please post them to the blog!
