+ Orientation Go Green – Hobart and William Smith Colleges \

ORIENTATION

GO GREEN

Orientation 2021 is being planned as an in-person, four day event for incoming first-year and transfer students. COVID-19 related restrictions continue to evolve, and as new information becomes available, it will be added to the appropriate Orientation webpages.

Orientation
Former HWS President Mark D. Gearan signed the Climate Leadership Network’s Carbon Commitment (formerly the ACUPCC) in September 2007. Since then, from recycling contests to a bike sharing program, the Colleges’ students, faculty and staff have been moving at breakneck speed to make the campus carbon neutral and sustainable!

The Colleges offer a Green Room Certification for students’ residential space. Designed to help participants create a sustainable living space and acquire a basic level of sustainability knowledge about the Colleges’ environmental practices, Green Room Certification offers students a terrific opportunity to be recognized for environmental efforts and engagement.

In the coming weeks you may be buying mini-fridges, small appliances (like hair dryers), and supplies for your desk. Many of these purchases will stay with you during all four years of your education and have a lasting impact on the environment.

Below is a list of items that will help you reduce your environmental impact and be prepared for Green Room certification:

  • Reusable water bottle
  • Reusable travel mug
  • Reusable shopping bag
  • Spork or other reusable utensil, and a cloth napkin or two
  • Notebooks/other school supplies
    • FSC Certified office paper
    • Post-consumer recycled content notebooks
    • Pens with post-consumer recycled content
    • FSC Certified pencils
  • Energy efficient light bulbs (preferably LEDs)
  • EnergyStar certified refrigerator (communicate with roommates to just bring 1 refrigerator)
  • EnergyStar certified televisions (communicate with roommates to just bring 1 TV)
  • Environmentally-friendly shampoos and soaps
  • Do not bring a printer to your room; instead use network printers
  • Smart power strips
  • Coldwater High-Efficiency (HE) laundry detergent
  • Environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies
  • Consider bringing a bicycle to campus or renting one through the Colleges Yellow Bike Program (available first come-first serve at the start of the fall semester)

MORE INFO

Want to know more about what HWS has done and what you can do to lessen your impact on the environment? Visit our Sustainability webpage for more information.