While Boston University has made improvements in its ecological programs, a lot still needs to be done, Sustainability@BU representatives said.
“Our slogan is, ‘It’s what you do,’ but it’s what we all do together,” said Dennis Carlberg, director of Sustainability. “It’s not somebody else’s problem. We all need to work on this together.”
Sustainability drafted a 17-part strategic plan based on the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, STARS, to address issues such as climate action, Carlberg said.
“Like STARS, our strategic plan actually has 17 different issue areas from curriculum, research, co-curricular activities, all the operational stuff that you’d expect,” Carlberg said. “This is the national standard, and that’s important for us.”
However, no proposed goals have been agreed to yet, and Sustainability will be proposing the plan to the Sustainability Steering Committee.
“The reason for that is we need to do the hard work of justifying the cost benefit, which is what we’re going to be doing over the next six months,” Carlberg said. “It’s not easy here to get things approved, and I’m saying that in a positive way, because it has to be right.”
BU earned a silver ranking through STARS in December 2011, according to the STARS website.
A silver ranking signifies room for improvement, said Sustainability intern Michael Orr. To continue its efforts, Sustainability looks to develop a Green Department Certification and improve lab energy efficiency.
“We’re also developing the Green Department Certification to address larger issues involving purchasing and department-wide policies for sustainability,” Orr said in an email interview.
BU will resubmit to STARS again in a few weeks for a new rating, Carlberg said.
In addition, the initiatives in the 2011-12 academic year included promoting Green Office Certification, installing electric vehicle charging stations in the BU Medical Campus and constructing two buildings certified through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system.
Both LEED-certified buildings, the East Campus Student Center and BUMC residence, are set to open this fall, Carlberg said. The residence is the first on the BUMC campus where gray – previously used – water reclamation has been implemented.
“There’s a dorm project on the Medical Campus that is using captured drain water, storing it and using it for irrigation,” Carlberg said. “We’re interested in doing this where it’s appropriate.”
The BUMC residence is expected to receive LEED silver, and the East Campus Student Center is tracking at LEED gold.
“That’s been our focus for this past year, getting buildings going on LEED,” Carlberg said. “We’re really looking forward and making sure we’re doing things right now so that the new building stock is energy efficient, water efficient and [provides] a healthy place to live and work.”
LEED ratings were also used in the Green Office Certification project this year, Carlberg said. Orr said the Green Office Certification project has taken great strides this semester, and only two schools remain to be certified.
“We’re hoping to have at least a few participants from each college or school on campus by early this summer,” he said.
Sustainability has certified 115 offices since February and 415 offices in total, Orr said.
“The next few things we are working on is improving the Green Office Certification by determining if those who have already been [certified] are continuing to improve sustainability in their workplace,” he said.
Other initiatives this year included the addition of 36 BigBelly waste and recycling collection systems to campus and piloting a trash buddy program at the School of Education and the George Sherman Union.
Two and a half tons of paper per year per restroom were saved by implementing hand dryers in the GSU in place of paper towels, said Sustainability intern Meredith Withelder.
Trash buddies, small trash cans to place waste in that hang off recycling bins, will be piloted in two additional buildings, including in Facilities, by the end of the summer, Carlberg said.
Rachel Atcheson, next year’s Vegetarian Society president, said though many of Sustainability’s initiatives are “wonderful,” they take part in greenwashing, a public relations tactic.
“You’ll get a green initiative organization, such as Sustainability@BU, and they will push really hard to make everyone feel like they’re actually doing all these progressive things,” Atcheson, a College of Arts and Sciences junior, said. “Sustainability is not doing as much as they could be.”
Atcheson said Sustainability falls short in that it fails to address meat consumption, a major contribution to green house gases.
“The fact that they’re just not addressing the meat consumption is disappointing,” Atcheson said. “They divert attention from individuals’ meat consumption to their recycling or reusable bags initiatives.”
Jaime Silverstein, director of Environmental Affairs within Student Union and a School of Management senior, said the environmental group on campus made an initiative to come together this year.
She said, “We need more students on board and participating so that we have more of an environmental impact on campus.”
Billy • May 3, 2012 at 9:14 am
I wonder what all that costs?
Is there a cost/benefit analysis done on those bins?
anon • May 2, 2012 at 4:16 pm
Rachel, it only says Sust. falls short in meat-consumption here.. The rest of the article does justice to the initiatives you think are wonderful, thats that, why repeat it.. The BUVS always is spewing greenwashing out of their mouths and shoving veggies down all throats
M • May 3, 2012 at 9:39 pm
Hi Anon,
Meat consumption is a big issue. Just because it’s not the aspect of environmentalism you happen to be passionate about doesn’t make it any less important or relevant. It’s true that the BUVS is promoting a green lifestyle through vegetarianism — and that’s because vegetarianism is in fact synonymous with a green lifestyle that actually keeps us from having a global water crisis, not to mention decreasing the problem of methane release into the atmosphere from cows, etc.. Please don’t hate on Rachel Atcheson; she’s a great person and she wasn’t quoted in the best possible way, but it’s not constructive to make blanket statements about an organization or a cause without looking into the issue of meat consumption’s impact on the environment with greater depth. Just because you might not like to hear it, doesn’t mean that meat eating is green and that it’s a non-issue. That said, I’m sure you’re a great person who cares about the environment also, and I wish you all the best in your continued efforts to promote sustainability in whatever area you are most passionate about. Best, me
David Axelrod • May 2, 2012 at 10:20 am
OK, who on the Daily Free Press is dating this Rachel Atcheson woman?? First you give them carte blanche to publish a letter threatening us, now you quote her in this article for God knows what reason! Hey Rachel Atcheson is the only word you know “greenwashing”, I love how she says that, but know one bothers to explain what it is. Just because someone believes in vegetarianism doesn’t mean they have to push it down everyone else throat.
Nathan Shin • May 3, 2012 at 1:01 pm
Please me more respectful to Ms. Atcheson. She has taken the initiative to act on her convictions and that takes a lot more courage than insulting her. If you disagree with the what she says or how she says it, then I am sure you are able to do it in a manner that is constructive. She obviously cares deeply about the environment, and if you do too, then there is hope for real communication. I think that what she is doing is giving voice to an incredibly overlooked aspect on our impact on the environment: meat consumption. She says she hopes for education, and part of that education comes from the self. David, there is abundant literature on the environmentally destructive impact that is a result of our over consumption of meat – a good start is a report from the United Nations entitled “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” concluding that the meat industry is the source of more greenhouse gases emissions than all transportation (cars, trucks, planes, etc.) combined. With the amount of research that has been done, it is clear that we are no longer talking about “belief” in vegetarianism, but knowledge. I am sure that if you took the time to conduct some thoughtful research, you will see how you can help the world become a better place for all of us, including the animals.
Rachel Atcheson • May 2, 2012 at 9:23 am
I do feel a little misquoted, as many of my quotes are out of context. I also didn’t stop at saying “wonderful” initiatives by Sustainability@BU, I mentioned quite a long list of positives that Sustainability@BU has done – LEED-certified buildings, composting, water-efficiency- and I feel like this was overlooked. To reduce Sustainability@BU’s hard work down to “wonderful,” is not accurate in the least.
But on the meat-front, Sustainability@BU has not been pushing for as much change as they could be.
I hope for: education, education, education.