Professional Documents
Culture Documents
White Paper - The Green Beans
White Paper - The Green Beans
Angel Solomon
Jourdin Reece
Michaela Tolbert
Stephanie Schlau
Table Of Contents
Executive
Summary
3
Introduction
.4
Why
Go
Green?
The
University
of
South
Florida
The
Green
Movement
USFs
Green
Report
Card..5
USFs
Student
Green
Energy
Fund
6
What
is
the
Student
Green
Energy
Fund?
The
Student
Green
Energy
Fund
Completed
Projects
LED
Lights
in
Parking
Garages.
7
Fitness
Center...
8
Solar
Doks.
8
Water-Bottle
Filling
Stations....
9
LEED
Building
Certification
10
Reduce,
Reuse,
Recycle.11
Campus11
Dining
Hall...11
Student
Organizations...12
Student
Environmental
Awareness
Society..12
Student
Environmental
Association.12
How
Does
USF
Compare?..........................................................13
University
of
Pennsylvania
.13
University
of
Florida14
Conclusion
15
Glossary
of
Terms.16
2
Works
Cited17
Executive Summary
This paper will discuss the efforts of the University of South Florida to go
green. We will look at the different projects that have been successfully
implemented, the many committees and student organizations that have
contributed to the projects, and what the projects are doing for the University.
Some of the student contributors that have
kept this movement alive by working
together to create a more green campus
are the Student Green Energy Fund,
Student Environmental Awareness Society
(SEAS), and the Student Environmental
Association (SEA). They are the ones that
decide how to best use their budget for the
good of the University. In addition to the
projects of this movement, another
approach the University has taken to better
the green campus is constructing
Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) certified buildings. The
University has also established many recycling programs in order to reduce
waste consumption. We will also discuss how the University is a part of a
community that is in the process of becoming more environmentally aware, and
how the University and the city of Saint Petersburg are working together to help
further this movement.
Introduction
Why Go Green?
It is known that our planet
USFs Climate
Action Plan (CAP)
commitment to maintaining a
inventories, sustainability
academic programs.
technology.
N
EW
Administration
The University of South Floridas master
plan and strategic plan incorporates
sustainability. The sustainability office has
eight staff members and the school is
implementing a green purchasing policy.
The Green
Report
Card
The Green
Report Card was
designed to identify
colleges and
universities that are
extraordinary in their
commitment to
sustainability. The goal
was to provide easy
accessible information,
which allows schools to
learn from one
anothers experiences
that will enable them to
establish a more
effective sustainability
practice. The Report
Card serves as a tool
for when high school
students are evaluating
campuses. It also
serves as a means for
independent evaluation
for campus operations
and endowment
investments, and
provides thorough
assessment methods by
assessing performance
across 43 indicators in 9
main categories.
USFs Student
Green Energy
Fund
emissions.
The SGEF committee is made
up of four students and four staff and
faculty. However, any student and/or
faculty are able to make green
The Student
(SGEF) is an
organization that is
dedicated to making
USF an
environmentally
sustainable campus
administration.
dedication to
reducing and
even
possibly
stations.
Garages
lived. By the
completion
of the
SGEFs Pilot
Project, LED
lights were
installed on
all floors of
the parking
garage,
which
reduced the
total energy
acts. The
consumption
SGEFs
by 65%.
ultimate
goal was to
have
parking
garages
Solar Doks
Fitness Center
The SGEF approved the
installation of fitness equipment
called Green Cardio Loft in 2013
after a proposal was made in 2012
by the USFSP intramural coordinator
Todd Clark. The fitness center began
with the installation of a Net Zero
treadmill created by the company
Woodway that did not require
electricity to be powered, but instead
was powered entirely by the runner.
Water-Bottle Filling
Devices
The SGEF funded several
water-bottle filling stations across
campus. The Committee Chair of the
SGEF, Michael Legget, made this
proposal in 2012. The Elkay EZH2O
David ONeill
LEED
Certification
In 2014, the
Science and
Technology
Building at the
University of South
and groundcover.
Other buildings at USF that
around $80
10
SPOTLIGHT
Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle
Recycling is a fundamental process
for the University of South Florida to
create a sustainable campus.
Campus
USFs efforts to reduce
consumption have resulted in the
University distributing over 2000
programs.
Dining Hall
11
academic year.
Student
Organizations
organizations/projects. Similarly,
Awareness Society
co-friendly
activities to
celebrate the
earth, such as
Bay.
12
Student Environmental
Association
The University of
Pennsylvania
The University of
Pennsylvania received an A- in 2011
by the Sustainable Endowments
Institute for the College Sustainability
Report Card, which is higher than
the University of South Floridas B+.
The University of Pennsylvania
received a higher grade in recycling,
food, and climate change and
energy.
In 2009, UPenn launched its
Climate Action Plan to take steps to
improve the Universitys ecological
performance. The Environmental
Sustainability Advisory Committee
works to accomplish the goals of the
Climate Action Plan. Similar to USF,
UPenn has a green fund that has
financed more than 18 projects
proposed by students or faculty.
UPenn has purchased
renewable energy credits that
represent 45% of the Universitys
energy needs. All of the new
buildings constructed at UPenn must
be at least LEED Silver certified.
Since 2000, the university has
repurposed 940,000 square feet of
existing building space for alternate
use.
13
14
Conclusion
15
Glossary of Terms
American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment
(ACUPCC) A network of colleges and universities have created institutional
commitments to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from specified campus
operations, and to promote research and educational efforts of higher education
to equip society to re-stabilize the earths climate.
Ecological Footprint - the impact of a person or community on the
environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of
natural resources.
Emission the production and discharge of something, especially gas or
radiation
Greenhouse Gases - a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by
absorbing infrared radiation (carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons)
Greenhouse Gas Inventories are type of emission inventory that are
developed for a variety of reasons. Scientists use inventories of natural and
human-caused emissions as tools when developing atmospheric models.
LED Light emitting diodes
Nonrenewable Resource A resource that is not replaceable after it has
been used.
Renewable Resource is an organic natural resource, which can replenish to
overcome usage and consumption, either through biological reproduction or
other naturally recurring processes. They are resources part of the Earths
natural environment and largest components of its ecosphere.
Solar Dok a solar-powered picnic table made from recycled materials by the
company EnerFusion, which provides a self-sustaining, electronic device
charging center.
Sustainability is the ability to continue a define behavior indefinitely.
Environmental Science: the quality of not being harmful to the environment or
depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological
balance.
16
Works Cited
Annotated
Bibliography
"Sustainability | Minutes."
Sustainability. University of South
Florida St. Petersburg, 27
Jan. 2015.
Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
17
18
"Sustainability | Minutes."
Sustainability. University of South
Florida St. Petersburg, 27 Jan. 2015.
Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
19
20