What are a few things that come to mind when thinking of the "college experience? " Eating pizza six days a week? Writing papers the night they're due? Those may be the more popularized experiences, but a college at its most basic is designed it to help its students learn and grow. Some universities take this more literally than others.
Take Green Mountain College for example, #6 on Sierra Club's 2013 list of Cool Schools. Its students were one of the first to help their college achieve climate neutrality, a truly impressive feat considering that climate neutrality means a carbon footprint of zero. This requires balancing any carbon output with an equivalent offset. It might seem simple at first, but what would this take? This would mean planting trees, reusing or recycling all trash, eating homemade produce, burning fossil fuels, and using wind or solar energy. For Green Mountain College, they found 1.2 million kilowatt-hours in an unlikely source: cows. Dickinson College, #2 on Sierra Club's list, collects grease from local restaurants to turn it into biodiesel. These colleges are taking advantage of the opportunity to craft and mold these creative young minds to tackle energy issues with their challenging and stringent sustainability courses.
However, not every sustainable solution is completely unique to each school, there are several practices that many universities share. For instance, many schools have campus-wide composting to reduce waste, enforce keeping paper and water waste low, and maintain cafeterias that serve student grown produce and utilize trayless dining. Also, many schools only build LEED Certified buildings, a certification that distinguishes a high performance green building. LEED takes many variables into account (sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, etc.) and provides a status level of Silver, Gold, or Platinum. Dickinson College only builds to LEED Gold standards.
Not only are these colleges making a positive impact on the environment, they are teaching responsible and accountable living as well as fostering a strong sense of community and teamwork. These are healthy, functional habits that a student can take and use for the rest of his or her life. What are some of the ways you could practices what they preach? Take a look at our products to get a few ideas on how to take the first baby steps.