Greening Universities
Lecture 9
Overview
• Why universities need to change
• Greening universities movements
• How to start a greening movement at your
university
• Vision, goals and objectives
• Changing curriculum, operations, &
research
• Conclusions
Why Universities need to change
• Universities have an ethical responsibility to promote
and teach about a just, fair society
• Universities generally do not understand vision how
their research affects how humans live within the global
ecosystem.
• Different specialties collide: economics, natural
science, social sciences
• Potential damage to the natural and social environment
by research and its results is not systematically
investigated.
• Students are not trained in interdisciplinary systems
thinking.
Questions not currently addressed at
Universities
• What is the role of universities in light of the
decreasing well-being of our societies?
• What types of research should universities
perform?
• In what social and economic settings do people
thrive best?
• What are the values and institutions most likely to
produce justice and sustainability?
• How do we live within the Earth’s carrying
capacity?
The Greening Universities
Movement
• The Tailloires Declaration: 275 universities worldwide
http://www.ulsf.org/
• The Copernicus Declaration: 322 universities worldwide
http://www.coprenicus-campus.org
• Second Nature: Greening curriculum
http://www.secondnature.org/
• Campus Ecology: Greening university operations
http://www.nwf.org/campusecology/
More Campus Greening Organizations
• The World Resources Institute: Greening business
colleges (BELL project) http://www.wri.org
• Consortium for Environmental Education in
Medicine
• Association for University Leaders for a
Sustainable Future
Taillores Declaration
1. Increase Awareness of Environ. Sustainable Development
2. Create an Institutional Culture of Sustainability
3. Educate for Environmentally Responsible Citizenship
4. Foster Environmental Literacy For All
5. Practice Institutional Ecology
6. Involve All Stakeholders
7. Collaborate for Interdisciplinary Approaches
8. Enhance Capacity of Primary and Secondary Schools
9. Broaden Service and Outreach Nationally and Internationally
10. Maintain the Movement
How to start
• Initiate a process of greening the university
by finding like minded people among
faculty, staff, administration and students
• Recognize the critical need to improve
environmental literacy
• Formulate a vision for the university to
reorient the university’s culture to a core
philosophy of environmental stewardship,
sustainable development and social justice
more
• Formulate goals and objectives
• Set up organizational structure
• Seek support of administration
Vision for a University
• Environmentally knowledgeable faculty and staff
• Graduates with highly developed knowledge of the
natural and social systems and their contributions to
human well-being
• A university with a small ecological footprint that is
healthy and resource efficient.
• Research that develops clean, resource efficient
technologies with low environmental and social
impacts
Goal and Objectives
Goal: Significantly reduce the Ecological
Footprint
• Objective 1: Create a Green University Strategic Plan
– Create inventory of all existing projects which support sustainable
development
– Develop strategy for reducing resource consumption and waste
– Create clearing house for information, concerns and questions
– Organize and conduct university-wide eco-audit
• Objective 2: Define and Promote Environmental Literacy
– What is environmental literacy?
– How do we put environmental literacy in curriculum?
– How do we ensure environmental considerations appear as key
criteria in decision making?
Action Committees
• Curriculum Committee
– Define environmental literacy,how to achieve it campus-wide
– Promote curriculum changes in Colleges and Departments
– Liaison with other universities relative to curriculum
• Campus Ecology Committee
– Inventory existing efforts that are greening UF
– Review the protection of natural systems and their function
– Examine resource consumption and reduction
– Review waste and pollution and their prevention
– Look at procurement practices
– Review planning, construction, and maintenance activities
– An alternative to the present ecology
– Create links between campus organizations
• Outreach Committee
– Create a clearinghouse for information
– Liaison with Campus Ecology and Second Nature
– Create links between UF units and organizations
involved in specific greening actions
– Publicize existing efforts and new programs that
contribute to greening the university
Curriculum Change
Two main approaches:
1. Create courses which teach sustainable
development in a comprehensive approach
2. Include various aspects of sustainability
into existing courses
Things a BCN Professor Should
Know!
• ASTM is producing Green Building Standards
• The US Green Building Council is the major US
force in greening the built environment
• New Urbanism and Sustainable Architecture are
rapidly increasing in influence
• Healthy interior environments are critical
• LEED: US Green Building Rating System
• Waste=Inefficiency=Lost $
Course Modifications Pre-BCN
• BCN1210 : Construction Materials
– Environmental Impacts of Materials: Cement,
Metals, Drywall, Plastics, Glass, Tiles,
Composite Materials, Wood Products,…..
– Sustainable Forestry
– Renewable vs Nonrenewable Resources
– Reuse and Recycling Alternatives for Materials
• BCN 3223C Superstructures
– High Performance Buildings
– Alternative materials and products
– High performance systems and Advanced Framing
– Waste issues and Construction waste management
– Indoor Air Quality
Jr 1
• BCN 3521: Electrical Systems
– Global warming, energy resources and energy issues
– Energy efficient lighting and passive lighting
– Energy efficient transformers, motors, EPA Energy Star
– Control systems for energy conservation; photovolatics
• BCN 3500 Plumbing and Piping
– Water resources, greywater, reclaimed water, rainwater
– Materials issues: PVC, recycled content
Change of Campus Ecology
• Examine local impact of university
• Conduct eco audit
• Formulate indicators
Sustainability Indicators
• Indicators are bits of information that
highlight what is happening in the large
system, small windows to provide a small
glimpse of the “big picture”
• Indicators are models simplifying a complex
subject to a few numbers which can be easily
grasped and understood by policy makers and
the general public
Purpose of Sustainability
Indicators
• To better track campus activities & efforts
• Standardize accounts & streamline monitoring
• Communicate progress to the campus community
• Compare our efforts with other universities
• Facilitate recommendations & support change
Areas in Which Indicators
Could Be Developed
• Energy • Built Environment
• Water • Health Science
• Material Resources • Campus Community
• Waste Disposal • Research
• Food • Decision Making
• Land Stewardship
• Transportation
Areas in Which Indicators
Could Be Developed
• Energy • Built Environment
• Water • Health Science
• Material Resources • Campus Community
• Waste Disposal • Research
• Food • Decision Making
• Land Stewardship
• Transportation
Example Indicators
• Water: - Water consumption
- Ground water quality
- Waste water disposal
• Food: - Food waste on campus
- Food purchasing policies
- Research on food sustainability
• Transportation: - Car dependence
- Green space converted to parking
- Transport-related safety
• Built Environ.: - Building decision process
- Building priorities
- Ecological design of buildings
http://www.sustain.ubc.ca/
http://www.greencampus.harvard.edu/
http://www.sustainable.ufl.edu/
Closing Thoughts
• Greening universities should be a ‘grass
roots’ movement
• Support of administration and other key
organizations within the university
structure is needed
• Marketing and visibility are crucial
• Financial support should be secured from
within and from outside sources