How Green is UVM

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How Green is UVM?

• ENVS 295
• Gioia Thompson
• Environmental Coordinator
• January 2008

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What is Sustainability?

• Sustainability is  "..development that meets
  the needs of the present without compromising the
  ability of future generations to meet their own
  needs"
• World Commission on the Environment and
  Development, 1987
• Question How will our communities and
  economic systems survive into the future?

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Sustainability in Higher Education/Campus Greening

• Ensure that critical activities are ecologically
  sound, socially just, and economically viable
• Emphasize these concepts in curriculum, research,
  outreach
• Prepare students to contribute as working
  citizens
• Support surrounding community
• Create institution that functions as sustainable
  community
• Compliance air, hazardous waste, stormwater
• Land use, landscaping
• Transportation, parking, fleet
• Water use
• Purchasing food, local products, fair trade, etc
• Solid waste management
• Energy use and sources

www.aashe.org Member login for resources
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UVM and Environmental Council Context

• Since 1996, grassroots networking group of
  faculty, staff, students, community members
• ECadvisors, advocates, instigators, conveners,
  not administrators
• Full-time Environmental Coordinator, 10k budget
• Annual EcoFair, support student groups
  activities, culture, EcoReps, awards, interns
• Annual dialogue with President, Provost re
  environmental leadership, performance,
  accountability, energy issues

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Green Campus News Awards

• 10 that Get It
• Oberlin
• Harvard
• Warren Wilson
• U California system
• Duke
• Middlebury
• Berea
• Penn State U
• Tufts
• Carnegie Mellon

• Sustainability Leadership Awards
• Univ. of British Columbia
• Michigan State University
• Warren Wilson College,
• Middlebury College,
• Berea College
• Green Mountain College
• Honorable mentions
• Evergreen State College
• Univ. California, Berkeley

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Green Campus News Awards
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(No Transcript)
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Easy As?
UVM A B A A A B A B
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(No Transcript)
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Solid Waste
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Total CO2 Emissions
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Select UVM Indicators 1990-2005
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UVM Changes 1990-2005
C02 16
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Key Question Impact per Person

• How much space to heat and power and fill with
  things?
• How many people using the space for how long?
• How much waste, energy, water use per square foot
  of building space?
• How many greenhouse gases per person?
• Key factor
• SQUARE FEET OF SPACE per person
• Correlates with
• WEALTH OF THE INSTITUTION, which
• Correlates with ECOLOGICAL IMPACT
• (Rappaport and Creighton, 2007, Degrees that
  Matter, p. 24)

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What will it take to really Green?

• Environmental Academics
• Interdisciplinary environmental research,
  diversity of environmental majors service
  learning community outreach
• Environmental Culture
• Environmentally responsible attitudes and
  behaviors of students, staff, and faculty
• Environmental Campus
• Green buildings, heating, cooling,
  transportation, purchasing, disposal of
  materials, storm water
• Environmental Accountability
• Environmental values in strategic planning,
  budgeting, planning, management, performance
  tracking community dialogue

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Questions?

• Gioia ThompsonEnvironmental Coordinator
  Environmental.Council_at_uvm.edu656-3803
• UVM Campus Greening website
• http//www.uvm.edu/greening
• GreenUVM listserv
• http//list.uvm.edu
• UVM Publications
• Tracking UVM www.uvm.edu/greening/trackinguvm.pdf
• Guide to Green Living at UVMhttp//www.uvm.edu/gr
  eening/green_guide.pdf

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Electricity Sources
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ENVS 295 Environmental Management Systems

• What is an EMS and How do we assess one?

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2006 Benchmark Survey of EMS in US
63 are interested in or are developing an EMS
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EMS Models

• ISO 14000 the analytical approach
• Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)
• a European wide voluntary regulation encouraging
  the adoption of environmental management
  stakeholder involvement is emphasized
• BS 8555 gradual approach
• Eco Campus gradual approach with awards and
  aspect scheme

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EcoCampus Aspects
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The Eco Campus Model

• Bronze Level (Planning)
• Senior management commitment
• Environmental awareness training
• Baseline environmental review
• Draft environmental policy
• Silver Level (Implementing)
• Legal other requirements
• Significant environmental aspects
• Objectives, targets programs
• Environmental policy

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The Eco Campus Model

• Gold (Operating)
• Resources, roles, responsibility authority
• Competence, training and awareness
• Communication
• Documentation
• Control of documents
• Operational control
• Emergency preparedness response
• Platinum (Checking Correcting)
• Monitoring measurement
• Evaluation of compliance
• Nonconformity, corrective preventative action
• Control of records
• Internal audit
• Management review

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Field Trip Reports

• Purpose
• Collect information that allows a description of
  the management system in use for this program
• Identify imbalance(s) in their PDCA cycle
• Assess the development of the EMS on the Eco
  Campus scale

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Step 1 Vital Statistics

• Answer the journalistic questions to define the
  scope of the program
• Who
• What
• When
• Where
• Why
• How
• Note sources of this information web page, paper
  documents, memory of the program manager
• This should be done before the field trip through
  the quiz and on line research

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Step 2 EMS outline

• Describe the program in EMS terms
• Aspect covered
• Impact measurement
• Indicator tracking
• Relative significance of indicators
• Goals and trends
• This information will probably come out of the
  presentation by the program manager and following
  discussion
• Again, note the sources of the information

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Step 3 PDCA overview

• Organize the program indicators into Plan, Do,
  Check, Act stages
• Look for scorecard imbalances
• Probably will request questioning of program
  manager and loose interpretation of the stages

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Step 4 Eco Campus Rating

• Assess the stage of development of the EMS on the
  Ecocampus scale
• Will be done in the next class period during
  discussion of the program.
• If we can identify easy ways to improve the
  rating, include those in the report.
• The field trip reporter will lead this
  discussion, but the determination will be done by
  the class as a whole.

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ESF Trip Report

• Vitals
• EMS Analysis
• PDCA Balance
• Eco Campus Rating