GO GREEN
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)