Photo by: Andrew Fielding
Across the country, schools, businesses and individuals are changing their ways to be more sustainable. The DU campus is no exception.
Currently, the administration, dining services and students are working to be more environmentally friendly. There are four main groups working towards these goals: the Sustainability Council, Sodexho Food Services, the Sustainability Committee and the DU Environmental Team.
The Sustainability Council consists of students, administrators and other university workers.
The DU Environmental Team is a club on campus that meets every Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the conference room behind Jazzman’s.
Sustainability at DU starts in the buildings themselves. According to Mark Rogers, University Architect, eight buildings on campus meet the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) guidelines for being certified green buildings.
Included are the Ricketson Law building, its parking structure, Nagel Hall, the Sie addition to the Cherrington Building, Craig Hall, the Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management Building, Barton Lacrosse Stadium and the Kappa Sigma Fraternity House. Ruffatto Hall will also meet these requirements when it is finished.
The Ricketson Law building was the first building in Colorado and the first law school in the country to have gold level certification according to the USGBC.
One of the big pushes on campus is to reduce energy use.
The new windows installed in J-Mac, Halls and Towers are all energy efficient.
Tom McGee, an energy engineer, said that Nelson Hall uses the most energy of any resident hall while Johnson-McFarlane uses the least.
According to McGee, the difference can be accounted for by the electronic locks, newer ventilation requirements, air conditioning and kitchens present in Nelson.
McGee also said that DU is trying to help the environment by purchasing wind energy credits that account for a little over 31 percent of DU’s energy use.
The school has also looked into installing solar panels on campus but the two percent of its produced energy would not be worth the $70 million to install them.
Sodexho provides all food service on campus. The Sustainability Committee is a part of the Undergraduate Student Government that meets every Sunday at 6 p.m. in the Driscoll Underground.
Some of the most noticeable changes on campus have been put into action by the Sodexho Food Service. Last week Sodexho started a new composting program through which everything from food scraps to paper can be sent to A1 Organics where it is broken down to fertilizer in an industrial composter.
Sodexho also purchases much of its food and dairy products from local growers. All coffee sold on campus is organic, Rainforest Alliance Certified and bird friendly.
According to their website, the dining service donates all of their leftover food to the Food Bank of the Rockies. This is close to 100 pounds food a week.
The Sustainability Committee and DU Environmental Team work very closely with each other and other groups on campus.
“DUET is the street team for the Sustainability Committee,” said Tay Dunklee, President.
These two student-run groups were integral in the start of the Bicycle Sharing program, the composting program, spreading the recycling program and running the Recycle Mania competition last spring.
The DU Environmental Team meets at 6 p.m. every Tuesday in the conference room behind Jazzman’s.
Over the next few weeks there are several different sustainability events happening on campus.
Wednesday is Camus Sustainability Day. There will be a recycling display on Driscoll Bridge put together by the DUET.
Also look for the Sustainability Committee who will be giving out hot cider by the permaculture garden, next to Ben Cherrington Hall.
The next event will be on Nov. 6 for the Colorado Environmental Film Festival.
This is one of the largest green film festivals in the country and will be shown in Lindsay Auditorium with many of the directors present.
