Green Gossip with Ashley Pryor

While we are still a way from making Honor Roll, University of Toledo has reason to celebrate a one-grade jump in our standing on the College Sustainability Report Card, from a D+ to a C+. The Report, which is compiled annually by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, surveys schools on five categories: Administration (our current grade: C), Climate Change and Energy (B), Food and Recycling (B), Green Building (B), Transportation (C), Endowment Transparency (C), Investment Priorities (C) and Shareholder Engagement (F)

Because of the Administration’s attention to the importance of building on our international reputation as leaders in photovoltaics, alternative and renewable energy research, the recent dedication of the Scott Park campus as a Campus of Energy and Innovation, and the fact that the President signed The President’s Climate Commitment (see my last post for details), we earned some of our highest marks yet – solid Bs- for our work in helping to reduce our carbon footprint both on our own campus and in the wider world. We also earned a B in the category of Green Building in recognition of the university’s five LEED certified buildings, which includes the LEED “Gold Certified” Memorial Field House. This all represents a major improvement in the quality of life and health of our university campus from years past, and reflects the hard work, determination, and dedicated effort of the staff, faculty and students who comprise the Go Green Committee, the faculty researchers who put UT on the map in the key areas of alternative energy in the first place, and the many unsung heroes who work each day to find saner and more sustainable ways of doing business. Finally, a special shout out must go to Aaron Baker, a Government Relations Specialist, who was charged with the monumental task of compiling  the information for the report. Good work, Aaron!

Just as we push our students to aspire to “A” quality work, UT should look for new ways to enhance its “green grade.” We need to continue to find ways to create a thriving culture of sustainability and good stewardship, an exercise that will involve rethinking every aspect of our lives on campus from how and what eat, to what purchases we make for our offices, to the ways we commute to campus and the distances we travel to get there. And while LEED construction, the installation of wind turbines and solar panels, are certainly important elements in the alchemy of creating a more sustainable UT, it is interesting to note that many of the schools that have earned As have done so by focusing on creating multiple small scale, grassroots opportunities for learning and engagement in sustainable ways of living that focus on everyday routines, on supporting local, emergent eco-friendly businesses, and supporting our small farmers.

Take for instance the category of dining. UT shares many of the same dining service features as a school like Dickinson College (which earned an A-): like Dickinson, our dining services purchases cage-free eggs, hormone- and antibiotic-free dairy products, and some local foods. Dining halls are equipped with water- and energy-efficient dishwashers, and all locations are tray-less. The university has switched to paper-based takeout containers, and fryer oil is recycled into biodiesel. What then makes the difference between our B performance and Dickinson’s A performance? One major difference that caught my eye is Dickinson’s commitment to buying local and organic food. According to their report, Dickinson Dining Services spends $592,703 of its $3,138,825 budget annually on purchasing food that was grown or raised locally, while UT reports spending only $3,000 of its reported $4,019,494 budget on locally grown (Battle Creek, MI) produce. Even with this promised five percent increase the lion’s share of our purchasing power that could be used to support local farmers leaves the region.
Another difference is in composting. Dickinson composts all of its waste, while aside from the pioneering efforts at the Apple Tree Nursery (hurray for our treasured nursery school!), we still do not have a composting program in place at UT. Grounds and our UT Outdoor Classroom Garden could immediately benefit from the compost, and the university could very quickly recoup the start up costs of a composting program through the reductions of some of the agricultural inputs they would need to purchase elsewhere. The problem here, as far as I understand it, does not have its source in Dining Services. Indeed, everyone I have spoken with about this issue has been an enthusiastic supporter of this initiative. Grounds too, is willing to participate, although they rightfully might be concerned with how on an already tight budget they would add composting to their to-do list. So what’s the hold up? To move UT off the dime, we desperately need something like an Office of Sustainability, or at least a Sustainability Coordinator, to assist in the implementation of the efforts of the multiple units on campus that are involved in sustainability initiatives. All of the “A” institutions have them and that is because there is a growing recognition that sustainability and stewardship impacts all aspects of the university and cannot be limited to technologically driven innovations alone. With active coordination, our wonderful, small-scale ideas will not languish from neglect, lack of resources, or, as in the case of composting, the inability to effectively coordinate the different willing parties.
Just as an A paper is distinguished not only by its command of the facts and clear language, but also by its cohesive structure and well presented argument, so too  UT will need to think beyond the important large-scale efforts (LEED certification, transitions to renewable energy) to include some of the smaller, more particular elements of daily life on campus in a coordinated fashion, like how and what we eat, where we buy it, and what we do with the leftovers.

Next: The “greening” of our curriculum!

UT is buzzing about the plans for a School of Alternative and Renewable Energy based at the Scott Park Campus and about the promise of more green jobs for our graduates. Our institution is joining a growing list of universities that are preparing students for a world sorely in need of graduates with broad-based and holistic knowledge of the challenges posed by the goal of a sustainable future. But as important as our efforts toward renewable energy are, improving our College Sustainability Report Card Grade at UT will involve not just study, but local action throughout the university, from students to faculty, and from the dining halls to the board rooms.

There is nothing wrong and everything right with continuing to build UT’s reputation as a leader in the research and development in renewable energy. But an increasing number of scholars who work on issues related to sustainability recognize that we can not simply power our way out of our current economic and environmental quagmire by turning to alternative sources of energy. That’s because “sustainability” means a lot more than “sustaining consumption.” But that raises the question that we really need to ask if we are going to begin to think sustainably. What is “sustainability”?

Big question! This is the first in what will be a series of entries that address “sustainability” as a UT priority. What do we think about “sustainability” as a UT community? What are we already doing in our classrooms, corridors, dining halls and dorms to create a sustainable future for UT, and what can we do better? UT is students, families, cooks, faculty, support staff, lab techs, nurses, administrators, web designers, to name a few. Armed with my new digital recorder I am on a mission to find out how some of you would answer the question, “what is sustainability,” especially as it relates to your daily routine, but also ways it relates to a larger national and global community dedicated to thinking and acting sustainably. Stay tuned…