Carleton College Environmental Audit 2004 ENTS Capstone Presentation

Carleton College: Environmental Audit 2004 ENTS Capstone Presentation Authors: Miller Cochran Jamie Long Lauren Miller Stephanie Pimm Damian Winters

Introduction

Environment and Health Energy and Water Materials and Waste Environment, Health, and Safety

Energy and Water

Energy Use Performance: Carleton is well within the Good Company’s Benchmark Problems with monitoring of individual buildings and off-campus housing Use of MN Sustainable Design Guide Recommendations: Better monitoring Provide feedback and information to campus users Look towards meeting Kyoto standards

Renewable Energy Performance: Carleton does not currently purchase renewable energy Wind turbine project Recommendations: Use any profit from wind turbine to buy green energy Offer students/faculty/staff option for “taxing” themselves in order to purchase green energy.

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Performance: Air emission estimates Global Change Biology project Carleton has never completed a full report on GHG inventory that includes travel, transportation, etc. Recommendations: Encourage student project on environmental footprint for Carleton College

Transportation Performance: Current changes in parking regulations recommend that no new parking lots should be built Yellow Bike Club Carleton meets suggested benchmark for car/bike spaces Recommendations: Dead storage for cars should be reviewed and enforced Coordination of Yellow Bike Club should be compensated as a student job Make commitment for hybrid vehicles in the future

Water Use Performance: Within or below the 90 -120 gallons/SCU/day benchmark Some water-saving devices implemented Toilets, urinals, showerheads Buildings monitored separately, but residential and most irrigation combined Little or no feedback to campus users Recommendations: Establish system for better monitoring and reporting Provide feedback to campus users

Materials and Waste

Recycling Systems Performance: Offer wide range of services: commingled, paper, batteries, cardboard, ink cartridges Good campus infrastructure – bins in key locations About 65 tons of waste per week, 30% recycling rate Recommendations: To reach the goal of a 50% recycling rate, which some institutions have achieved, Carleton should compost food waste and be more vigorous about our recycling education.

Paper Use and Printing Performance: Paper purchased through Printing and Mailing Eucalyptus or 30% recycled options Efforts in past to increase recycled content – discontinued due to concerns about printing, brightness No fee for printing on campus, creates wasted paper Recommendations: Carleton should offer higher recycled-content paper options in the future as product quality increases Carleton should strongly consider adopting a fee system for printing, which could significantly decrease paper use on campus

Computer Hardware Purchasing and Disposal Performance: Largely switched from large CRT monitors to LCD (flat-panel) displays in an effort to comply with Kyoto protocol – high initial cost but high energy savings All used electronic parts sent to Materials Processing Corporation for break down into reusable/recyclable parts NEO – formed to distribute old/used computers to students Recommendations: Communicate with Dell and other hardware suppliers to find out what materials they can take back themselves Recycle CDs Redirect NEO’s efforts at more practical computer distribution Consolidate “machine rooms” for better energy efficiency

Food procurement/disposal Performance: Some produce from Midwest Food Alliance Earth Day organic meal, fair trade coffee Little pre-consumer food waste, no food recovery program Approx. 500 -600 lbs/day post-consumer food waste, currently no composting of cafeteria food waste Recommendations: Continue efforts to compost cafeteria food waste Increase labeling and self-serve where possible Consider expanding organic and local food options Consider donating pre-consumer waste to food bank

Environment, Health, and Safety

Conservation & Restoration Performance: Unusual size & scope: Arb 880 acres, Mc. Knight 35 acres Habitat for threatened species, buffer zone for Cannon Active restoration program, but work is slow-going Chemical use for invasive removal is low and declining Limited interpretive program Recommendations: Continue expanding interpretive program to better educate students about Minnesota’s natural history and Carleton’s role in preserving biodiversity and natural areas

Grounds maintenance Performance: No data available on irrigation water use Two rain sensors and minimalist philosophy Broadleaf herbicide use fairly low, increasing corn gluten use Campus master plan promotes native, low-maintenance landscaping No construction policies regarding minimizing storm water runoff Recommendations: Better monitoring system for irrigation water use Continue to reduce chemical herbicide use Explicit policies regarding minimizing runoff with new construction

Chemical Use: Custodial and Maintenance Performance: All chemicals used come from one company, Ecolab All the impacts of a product are considered The college stays up to date with current product developments and innovations The safety of staff and others is considered Recommendations: The college should continue to stay current with products that minimize environmental impacts. Carleton could consider a more formalized process of product selection and evaluation.

Chemical Use: Hazardous Materials Performance: The college does a good job of handling hazardous materials. Only very small amounts of hazardous materials escape down drains or are otherwise not properly disposed of. Facilities and the college work through the chemistry department for disposal. Recommendations: The college should consider using micro-sizing in labs and using a more “green curriculum. ”

Indoor Air Quality Performance: The college has recently begun an aggressive program to assess and combat indoor air quality issues. The college has in place policies to prevent indoor air quality issues before they arise. Recommendations: The college could speed up the IAQ assessment program with additional funding and attention. Once the IAQ program has been completed, the college should continue to focus on prevention.

Governance, Learning and Policy Planning and Purchasing Learning and Governance

Planning and Purchasing

Campus planning Performance: Recent completion of 100 -year plan Integration of Arboretum with campus, Northfield Green space Recommendations: Work out specific plans for deconstruction – materials, etc. Develop specific College goals/guidelines for sustainable design, working from MN Sustainable Design Guide and/or LEED evaluation points

Purchasing Tools and Strategies Performance: Purchasing is very decentralized – departments and offices exercise most of control Little effort for sustainable purchasing campus wide Facilities department has purchased sustainable wood, recycled paint Recommendations: Carleton should work towards implementing a strategy to reduce the environmental impact of its purchasing decisions, and adopt the proposed Environmentally Responsible Purchasing Policy.

Learning and Governance

Governance and Leadership Performance: Environmental Advisory Committee Active in making recommendations, reviewing campus issues, budget to make campus improvements Environmental Statement of Principles Largely unknown, non-binding Recommendations: • Continue to support the work of the EAC and ensure that its recommendations are considered carefully and in a timely manner through the appropriate chain of command. • Consider adopting more specific goals in its pursuit of sustainability.

Investment Policy Performance: Currently no formal process for considering the social and environmental consequences of its investment practices Recommendations: Carleton should create a formal structure, such as a committee, to engage in an ongoing discussion of investment responsibility

Environmental Studies Curriculum Performance: ENTS exists as program (not dept. ), concentration 2004 ENTS program review document just completed High enthusiasm from faculty, students Recent loss of faculty Requires more organization Recommendations: 2004 review document as starting point Maintenance as viable concentration requires input Increase in staffing should be seriously considered Clearly delineate organizational structure in writing

Campus Culture and Environmental Awareness Performance: Strong support from students and faculty Many groups with environmental affiliation: SOPE, MPIRG, Green House, Farmhouse, ENTS Program, EAC Requires greater organization Recommendations: Reestablish Green Network Encourage dialogue and cooperative projects among student groups, faculty and administration Greater integration with campus as a whole

Overall Performance Energy and water monitoring and information dissemination are similar problems across campuses Many colleges are now at least looking further into food procurement and composting Larger universities have more concrete sustainability and environmental plans Chemical awareness seems higher at Carleton than at other schools Many schools are now looking at using 100% post consumer recycled paper Reasonable number of car/bike spaces Renewable energy use/interest high at Carleton Green chemistry more widely used in larger universities

Overall Recommendations High Priority Tasks The College should: improve its monitoring and reporting of water and energy usage and provide better feedback and information to campus users. continue working towards composting the post-consumer food waste generated by the dining halls. consider expanding local and organic food options in the dining halls. adopt the proposed Environmentally Responsible Purchasing Policy, and work towards creating and implementing a strategy to reduce the environmental impact of its purchasing decisions. create a formal structure, such as a committee, to engage in an ongoing discussion of investment responsibility adopt specific goals and targets in its pursuit of sustainability.

Thank you… The Good Company Myles Bakke Phil Camill Kirk Campbell Chuck Carlin Joel Cooper Dennis Easley Diane Fredrickson Ari Guha Fred Hagstrom Randie Johnson Issa Kawas Robert Lampa Brian Mars Jim Pence Mary Savina Joshua Skov Loretta Springer Richard Strong Alison Unger Joseph Winegardner Global Change Biology students