Green Campus Initiative
Universities Working Together for a Sustainable Future
The Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection supports regional, national and international climate change efforts by making your facilities more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Learn how your institution can join the "Green Campus Initiative" in the Connecticut and participate in the New England Climate Change Action Plan. Also, join the Northeast University Coalition in support of the United Nations Decade for Education in Sustainable Development.
The Institute has initiated a project to research, identify and promote an effective approach to sustainability on college and university campuses in Connecticut. The Institute can provide leadership and resources to Connecticut schools interested in taking a comprehensive sustainability approach aimed at lowering energy use and cost, reducing greenhouse gases from building systems and transportation, water and waste water management, improving recycling, hazardous waste reduction and disposal, and materials procurement. This approach will target twelve areas of sustainable activity on a typical campus.
As part of the green campus initiative, several environmental projects are being piloted on Eastern Connecticut State University ’s campus. In addition, ECSU is a signatory of the Talloires Declaration and has also received a campus ecology report card from the National Wildlife Federation. Information on the sustainability model that is being developed at ECSU is available on this website or by contacting the Institute for Sustainable Energy at (860) 465 – 0251 or e-mail ise@easternct.edu
Why focus on colleges and universities? As institutions dedicated to the research and education of a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future for all society, colleges and universities are ideal leaders in addressing the issue of climate change. By engaging institutions to implement solutions to climate change, ECSU and the Institute seek to expand the role of schools at every level of the climate change discourse, reduce emissions, and establish a network of Connecticut universities and communities working together toward a common goal. Perhaps most importantly, in acting to decrease their impact on climate change, colleges and universities will serve as learning laboratories whereby the campuses are "learning by doing", with broad implications for society.
12 Steps to Campus Sustainability
Resources for Campus Sustainability
Green Campus Initiative Presentation by Bill Leahy
Workshop Presentations:
Last Updated: 3/15/06
