Going Green @ Haverford

Fernandus Hall, Assistant Director of Facilities Management, Housekeeping Services, reports:

“We are currently revamping our recycling program.  Allied Waste Management – our waste management/ recycling vendor – has switched to a Single Stream System.  This system allows us to consolidate or various categories of recycling in one container.  As a result of Single Streaming we are going to stream-line our process.

So far this year we have recycled over 1,300.00 yards of recycling, paper, cardboard, cans, bottles and plastics.  We are hoping to expand our recycling effort to include more recycling items.

We are looking forward to working with Students and Staff in improving our recycling program.  Stay tuned for future updates.”

View a PDF of what materials can be recycled on campus.

The recycling dumpster (pictured above) at the facilities complex is emptied every two weeks during the school year.

The American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment is a high-visibility effort to address global warming by garnering institutional commitments to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions, and to accelerate the research and educational efforts of higher education to equip society to re-stabilize the earth’s climate.

President Emerson signed this commitment in the summer of 2007.

The presidents signing the Commitment are pledging to eliminate their campuses’ greenhouse gas emissions over time. This involves:

• Completing an emissions inventory
• Within two years, setting a target date and interim milestones for becoming climate neutral.
• Taking immediate steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by choosing from a list of short-term actions.
• Integrating sustainability into the curriculum and making it part of the educational experience.
• Making the action plan, inventory and progress reports publicly available.

Learn more about this initiative including the full text of the commitent.

Claudia Kent, sustainability coordinator, will periodically post the CER’s “Campus Sustainability Status Report” in response to the president’s commitment. The report for the period of May15 – June 30, 2008 is available as a PDF.

Opened in October 2005, the Douglas B. Gardner ‘83 Integrated Athletic Center is a 100,000-square-foot complex designed by the internationally acclaimed architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.

The Committee on Environmental Responsibility (CER) was influential in getting the new Gardner Integrated Athletic Center (GIAC) built under LEEDs guidelines. The GIAC received gold certification, the second highest standard. Learn more about the LEED rating system from the US Green Building Council.

Haverford College has made the commitment to build all future projects green.

Haverford’s Committee for Environmental Responsibility continues to promote personal responsibility for protecting the environment with its latest efforts to bring PhillyCarShare to campus.  PhillyCarShare gives students a chance to lighten their ecological footprints by sharing a fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle that resides on campus instead of using their own vehicles for errands, trips into the city, airport runs, etc. PhillyCarShare is an economical opportunity for the College community to do its part to reduce dependence on automobiles in and around Philadelphia.

The cover story of the spring 2008 Haverford alumni magazine focused on food at the College. The article, written by Cheryl Sternman Rule ‘92, takes a look at the coming of age of Haverford dining services – including the wide variety of options from vegan to allergy conscious, the eco-friendly choices, use of locally grown produce, and more.

The entire article is available online in PDF format, starting on page 38 of the document.

The Tommy T Challenges were an annual challenge to the Haverford Community to help the environment and ran for three academic years, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, and 2006-2007.

2004-2005 Challenge: “Do it in the dark.”/”It turns me on when you turn me off.” Purpose: To conserve electricity.

2005-2006 Challenge: “Do it front and back.”/”It turns me on when you turn me over.” Purpose: To reduce the amount of paper used on campus.

2006-2007 Challenge: “Do it in the dirt.”/”It turns me on when you break it down.” Purpose: To encourage composting of food scraps.

This conference was held April 20-21, 2007 at Haverford College and was presented by: the Earthquakers, Committee on Environmental Responsibility, Women’s Center, Students’ Council, OMA, Deans Office, and President Tritton.

Concern for the environment rests not only with scientific research on issues such as global warming and a wide range of contaminants, but also in how the choices we make individually and as communities directly impact the environment as a whole. The Conference was geared to celebrate what Haverford College and other communities, both in the Philadelphia area and beyond, are doing to heighten awareness of our interconnected-ness, and in turn empower ourselves through that connection.