Suffolk University

From brown to greenTaking an urban college campus from locked recycling bins to a thriving environmental program is a matter of raising awareness, learns Gary Toushek. When Gordon King was hired as senior director of facilities planning and management at Suffolk University two years ago, he found locks on the recycling bins because the person in charge of recycling was afraid that the wrong items would end up in the binsÔÇöpaper in the glass bin, metal cans in with cardboard, and so on, as well as items that were clearly not appropriate for recycling.  There was little attention paid to utility consumption or costs and no investment in energy efficiency. His work was cut out for him, but fortunately he had assistance from a graduate student volunteer, Erica Mattison, who has a natural passion for environmental and conservation issues. ÔÇ£Upon starting graduate school at Suffolk in 2005, I saw opportunities for the campus to become greener,ÔÇØ she says. ÔÇ£I noticed that campus recycling could be improved as a program and invested time and energy to mobilize others so we could make it happen. The student group that I had coalesced, along with faculty support, held a petition drive and got 1,000 signatures in support of a more inclusive campus-wide program to recycle glass, metal, plastics and paper. With Gordon on board, we had administrative support that enabled the adoption of an expanded program.ÔÇØShe says raising awareness on campus was a challenge, since most students commute to the 1.3-million-square-foot campus in downtown Boston, and there isnÔÇÖt much room for storing recyclables. King hired Mattison as the UniversityÔÇÖs first recycling coordinator, and soon the two of them encouraged some faculty and students to join a recycling committee. In the last two years there has been a dramatic turnaround, with signage and bins in plain view throughout campus, increasing the recycling rate from four percent of the waste stream to 35 percent. ÔÇ£Changing the culture by raising awareness is the challenge weÔÇÖve had to overcome,ÔÇØ says Mattison. ÔÇ£Logistically, itÔÇÖs been difficult, but weÔÇÖve made a commitment to do it. WeÔÇÖve changed how we do business, to make it more about reducing, reusing and recycling instead of throwing things away, which was the default.ÔÇØ In January of 2007 they organized an advisory sustainability committee composed of students, faculty and administrative staff, with a goal of integrating green practices into various aspects of planning, operations and education. MattisonÔÇÖs position expanded to sustainability coordinator to encompass a broader range of programs.One example of green building projects is the Ten West Residence Hall, a 274-unit, 98,000-square-foot, $40 million dormitory that opened earlier this year and will be certified LEED Silver. ÔÇ£Throughout that process we incorporated green building practices for the design elements, as well as the facilityÔÇÖs operations and maintenance,ÔÇØ she says. Another new residence building with a theater will be complete in two years and will also be certified LEED Silver.The university has also recently started to invest in energy efficiency initiatives, such as lighting with improved technology, using as an example the financial benefits of recycling. ÔÇ£A ton of trash going to the landfill costs us $275,ÔÇØ says King, ÔÇ£whereas a ton of recyclables is only $135. So as we shift the waste stream and invest in innovative energy methods for environmental reasons, weÔÇÖre also saving money for Suffolk.ÔÇØ TheyÔÇÖre beginning to see initial savings due to a decrease in overall energy consumption, which will ultimately affect the universityÔÇÖs $6 million utilities budget.For Mattison, one of the exciting aspects of making environmental progress is involving the community. SheÔÇÖs been focusing on harnessing the growing interest among students, faculty and staff, as well as the greater community, with its multitude of organizations involved in environmental initiatives. Together with King, theyÔÇÖre encouraging those individuals and groups to offer ideas and are helping to implement the more feasible ones. ÔÇ£People are finding it empowering,ÔÇØ she says. ÔÇ£Classes are getting involved, and weÔÇÖre raising awareness through community services projects. IÔÇÖve spoken with several students from a wide range of classes, from marketing to environmental public relations to journalism, who want to write papers on sustainability issues, such as the campus recycling program. ItÔÇÖs another sign of the growing interest of students here.ÔÇØ Suffolk continually hosts major events; a recent one was part of a nationwide effort that more than 4,000 schools and organizations participated in to raise awareness of global warming and apply political pressure to implement policies that will reduce carbon emissions. Another event was the Earth Day Extravaganza, which featured environmental initiatives by classes and off-campus groups and companies. Several Suffolk students participated in Massachusetts Power Shift, a recent energy conference organized by students.ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre focusing on common-sense measures that the community has offered, so we currently have about 30 suggestions that our sustainability committee has put forth, and weÔÇÖre implementing the most feasible of those. From a utilities standpoint, weÔÇÖre currently focusing on reducing consumption of electricity and water. It makes sense financially and environmentally in terms of reducing our carbon footprint,ÔÇØ says Mattison. ÔÇ£We are wrapping up the lighting and water retrofits, and weÔÇÖll be conducting additional energy efficiency measures. So those efforts, combined with decreasing our trash output and increasing our recycling, are some quantifiable elements that weÔÇÖre concentrating on.ÔÇØ She says students tend to drive the efforts, and itÔÇÖs up to the administration to get on board and provide the funds and access, and to help institutionalize the energy and efforts that students put forth. To have any lasting impact, the university has to invest in the programs. ÔÇ£It doesnÔÇÖt take much to motivate people,ÔÇØ says Mattison, ÔÇ£if you let them know there are those of us who welcome their ideas and take them to heart and try to implement them. ItÔÇÖs when theyÔÇÖre ignored that they feel powerless. WeÔÇÖre trying to foster an attitude of sharing ideas. Our recycling program alone has shown that people want to be involved and empowered, to see the program succeed and expand. Now that people here are used to recycling, theyÔÇÖre motivated to incorporate it into their life off campus as well. ItÔÇÖs a great opportunity to raise peopleÔÇÖs awareness and help them become more responsible citizens. ÔÇÿThink globally, act locallyÔÇÖ is really starting to happen here.ÔÇØ┬á