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Plymouth State University 2007 Campus Sustainability Leadership Award Application

Category

Four-year and graduate institutions 1,000 - 7,500 student FTE

Plymouth State University's Gold LEED certified Langdon Woods residence hall is just the beginning of the university's commitment to sustainability.

Contact

Bill Crangle
VP for Financial Affairs
17 High Street, MSC 5
Plymouth, NH
603-535-2550
bcrangle@plymouth.edu

Governance & Administration

Plymouth State University is heavily committed to environmental awareness and sustainability. As a regional university we have taken a leading role in environmental issues in New Hampshire and beyond.

President Sara Jayne Steen recently signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, which initiated a comprehensive plan at PSU to achieve climate neutrality and exercise “leadership…by modeling ways to eliminate global warming and providing knowledge and the educated graduates to achieve climate neutrality”.

The President’s Commission on Environmental Sustainability was formed in June 2007: The commission’s charge is to raise environmental awareness in the PSU community and to continue improving campus sustainability. The commission will, by June 1, 2008, develop a plan to achieve climate neutrality on the Plymouth State University campus as outlined in the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, and to facilitate the implementation of that plan. The 14-member commission includes PSU faculty, staff, students, and representatives from the community. This commission will ensure that we “meet the commitment that we have made to…integrate sustainability not only into our curriculum, but the daily lives of our students”.

The Center for the Environment (CFE) serves a diverse research, education, and public engagement role addressing the science, policies, culture and economics of the natural environment in northern New England:
• Applied research: collaborative interdisciplinary projects to promote understanding and stewardship
• Education: advanced undergraduate and graduate education and internships in environmental science
• Public engagement: science translation and educational outreach for New England citizens, government, and businesses. The Center offers laboratory and research services to the public when these services do not compete with the private sector in New Hampshire.

The University Environmental Committee (UEC) fosters the heightened awareness of students, faculty, and staff of the environmental impact of the university community, investigate ways to increase positive impacts on the environment and decrease negative impacts; and works to facilitate improved environmental awareness and knowledge of campus members and the campus-wide conservation of natural resources. Each year an Environmental Fellow is named from our faculty, who engages faculty and students in environmentally educational activities such as lecture series, organizing Earth Day, etc.

Recent academic-year themes were “Go Green” and “Live Lightly”; each were supported by educational programs, required reading, and presentations.

In planning stages of a collaboration with Clean Air – Cool Planet, a leading regional organization dedicated to finding and promoting solutions to global warming.

Operations

Opened in fall 2006, PSU's Langdon Woods is the state’s first residence hall (347 beds) to earn Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Its design elements and green technologies demonstrate PSU’s commitment to sustainability and the environment, and include energy/water use reduction, improved air quality, construction waste recycling, underground storm water management, and ongoing educational displays.

Dining Services actively promotes conservation and healthy eating habits:
• recycles cardboard, plastic, aluminum & glass
• sends food waste to local pig farm
• donates some grease for diesel fuel conversion
• sells, promotes re-usable coffee mugs
• to-go meal containers are recycled biodegradable
• cafeteria and cookout plates are made of recycled materials
• purchases local produce during harvest season
• uses local, free range shell eggs
• uses environmentally friendly dish washing chemicals
• equipment is energy star approved and low use when possible
• equipment with low flow water nozzles
• training employees to save water and electricity
• hybrid delivery vehicle
• coffees roasted locally

Physical Plant/Maintenance has taken steps across campus to reduce waste and improve energy efficiency. Past and ongoing projects include:
• low E windows
• enclosed steam/condensate lines
• better insulated roofs
• semi-instantaneous hot water units
• energy efficient lighting with electronic ballasts
• new high-efficiency power distribution transformer
• occupancy sensors for lights, heating, and cooling in bathrooms and classrooms
• specialty exhaust hoods in science building
• air quality/ventilation improvements
• energy recovery units
• environmentally friendly chiller refrigerants
• individual electric metering in buildings
• campus-wide energy management and building automation system monitors and controls total building temperature, electric and HVAC systems resulting in energy conservation.
• 2.5 gpm showerheads, toilet flushometers, energy efficient washing machines.

Building Services (janitorial) uses biodegradable, earth-friendly cleaning products.

A water jacket on the main generator of the university’s cogeneration plant provides the heat for the 347-bed Langdon Woods residence hall, saving an estimated $150,000 in the building’s first year.

Grounds and Landscaping:
• installed additional bike racks
• new plantings, lawn and narrower profile walks
• increased perimeter parking and expanded campus shuttle system reduces individual vehicle traffic.
• photocells on all outdoor lighting fixtures
• new outdoor fixtures are zero-cutoff design to reduce light pollution
• approximately 70 yards of compost produced yearly from yard waste and fall leaves.
• Used for soil amendment, landscaping, flower beds, and in our campus nursery.

Recycling: An estimated 16 tons of scrap cardboard, 40 tons of mixed paper, and approximately 20 refrigerators are recycled annually.

Chemical: Using microscale chemistry techniques in chemistry/life science classes. Installed environmentally friendly carpet in several locations and planning to use it for future installations.

The Environmental Health/Safety Office oversees proper handling and disposal of all hazardous waste.

Information Technology Services promotes Energy Star products and communicates energy saving tips and practices to faculty, staff, and students.

Curriculum & Research

Bachelor of Science degrees are offered in Environmental Biology, and Environmental Planning. A new major in Environmental Studies is under development for fall 2007.
Plymouth State University’s College of Graduate Studies offers a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science and Policy which is administered by the Center for the Environment.

In August 2006 a faculty workshop was presented on “Greening The Curriculum”. Faculty are actively encouraged to weave themes of sustainability into their courses.

Developed an environmental planning course under geography, offered through the Center for the Environment, to teach community planning approaches to sustainability.

Funded and developed undergraduate and graduate Sustainability Field Study Courses in Sweden, Iceland, Scotland, Australia, and India that focus on approaches to sustainability including "The Natural Step", Permaculture, and Ecological Footprinting.

PSU endorses the Living Routes Program of semester-long programs in Ecovillages. A PSU student attended the Scotland program in Fall 2006.

Many faculty involved their classes in the LEED Gold certified Langdon Woods residence hall project, generating much interest in sustainable designs and living.

Environmental research is being conducted by many science faculty, and through PSU’s Center for the Environment, which is described in the Governance/Administration section above.

Campus Culture

Common Ground, PSU's student environmental organization, works to make the campus and local community more environmentally friendly. The organization presented a 2007 Earth Week theme of “Think Globally – Act Locally”, and offered a variety of student and public events such as solutions to global warming, a presentation on applying skills of sustainable living, a presentation by PSU students on environmental issues in politics, a cleanup day, an environmental fair, and showings of “Who Killed The Electric Car?”, and “An Inconvenient Truth”.

We have seen significant growth in our campus community’s awareness of environmental issues. PSU students, faculty, and administration actively work to promote and organize efforts to care for our environment, and educate ourselves and others about greener living on campus and in the community.

Our residential life department’s "Live Better” mission encourages the increased environmental awareness of our students:

• provides collection bins in all residential facilities at close of each semester to collect food and clothing for charity.
• donates nearly 100 mattresses per year through the Institution Recycling Network to disaster relief, military hospitals and orphanages instead of into landfills.
• donates surplus desks, chairs, and beds to community charity organizations while reducing the amount of waste going to the landfill.
• provides recycling collection stations at each residence hall.
• utilizes passive educational programming through bulletin boards, door hangers, bathroom flyers, and newsletters to guide students into practicing simple habits to reduce waste and energy consumption.

Faculty have met with concerned students outside the classroom to brainstorm ideas for making environmentally effective changes in their lives and discussing topics such as “Greasal” cars and gardening.

Students have held meetings with administration to share their ideas about alternative heating and vehicle fuels for the campus.

Students are working with the American Cancer Society to collect and recycle text books, preventing nearly one ton per year from entering landfills in addition to raising money for research.

Community Service & Outreach

Center for the Environment outreach & partnerships: Faculty environmental science research grants, environmental planning for North Country communities, and past and present partnerships with Hubbard Brook Research Foundation and Experimental Forest, North Country Conservation Initiative, Squam Lakes Association, Newfound Lake Region Association, Waukewan Watershed Project, White Mountain National Forest, NH Department of Environmental Services, Humboldt Field Research Institute, Northern Forest Center, UNH, National oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Baker River Watershed Association, among others.

CFE Environmental Research Laboratory: this water quality laboratory was established in 2006 to serve as a regional surface water quality laboratory in partnership with the NH Department of Environmental Services for testing samples for the state’s lake and river monitoring programs in the Lakes Region and northern New Hampshire.

PSU supports the Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative (PAREI) and Local Food Plymouth.

Developing a partnership between campus and community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and non-renewable fuels.

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