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With the publication of the College Sustainability Report Card 2010, more than 1,100 school survey responses from over 300 institutions are now available online. In total, these surveys offer more than 10,000 pages of data collected from colleges and universities during the summer of 2009. To access surveys from other schools, go to the surveys section of the website. To see grades, or to access additional surveys submitted by this school, please click the "Back to Report Card" link at the beginning or end of the survey.
Name: Madeleine O'Neill
Position (in student organization): Coordinator
Date survey submitted: July 17, 2009
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: Brown EcoReps
Number of active members: 200+
Website: http://mygroups.brown.edu/Community?action=getOrgHome&orgID=872
Date of last meeting: April 2009
Frequency of meetings: Once every 2 weeks
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008:
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Recycling at sporting events
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Trayless dining in one of the major campus cafeterias
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Installation of CFL lightbulbs in dorms
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RecycleMania
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Beyond the Bottle campaign against water bottle consumption on campus
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Clean Break recycling and charitable donation program
Progress made on each issue/program since August 2008:
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We recycled at Brown home football and hockey games.
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We implemented trayless dining at the Verney-Wooley cafeteria, thereby conserving 4,800 gallons a week from our start date in October.
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We installed CFLs in dorm rooms.
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We increased our cumulative RecycleMania recycling rate from 15% in 2008 to 18% in 2009, and reduced our cumulated pounds of waste per person by 2 lbs.
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We worked with another student group, EmPower, to start the Beyond the Bottle campaign. We raised awareness through movie screenings and taste tests and reduced bottle sales at our pilot location by 35-40%. We also got the Brown Dining Services to sell metal water bottles for meal credits and install two new hydration stations at campus eateries.
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We increased clothing donations by 167%, reduced custodial and grounds labor hours by 40 hours due to reorganization of the Clean Break program
SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND COMPETITIONS
2) Does your group organize any sustainability challenges/competitions for your campus and/or with other colleges?
[ ] No
[X] Yes. Please list details for all competitions.
Name of competition: Recyclemania
Year initiated: 2004
Frequency of competition: annual
Participants: entire campus
Incentives: Grand Prize!
Goal of competition: Reduce waste, increase recycling and educate participants
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced: Increased our recycling rate by 3%, reduced our cumulative pounds of waste per person by 2 pounds, and sent 91 tons less material to the landfill and 5 tons more to recycling
Lasting effects of competition: The support we gain during this event to bolster our existing infrastructure is the most valuable lasting effect of this competition. Long after the competition is over, the changes we implemented during its ten week course remain in place.
Website: http://brownecoreps.blogspot.com/
SUSTAINABILITY IN STUDENT GOVERNMENT
3) Does your student government include a specific position or committee dedicated to campus sustainability issues?
[ ] No
[X] Yes. Please describe: Four student positions are reserved for memberhip on the Energy & Environmental Advisory Committee
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school:
Members of EcoReps are generally members of the many other student sustainability groups. This year my two main initiatives in addition to or involving EcoReps were: working with students from the group EmPower to propose energy monitoring systems in dorms, and creating the group Beyond the Bottle. I also worked with the group CCURB(Community Carbon Use Reduction at Brown) to develop projects like Pump It Up!, a project to pump tires for members of the community to save gas, money, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
5) Please list and briefly describe any other student-run organizations related to campus sustainability at your school, and provide URLs if available (e.g., student groups; student government committees; student-run food co-ops, gardens/farms, bike co-ops) and provide contact information of the student leaders, if possible:
Brown Progress Initiative (BPI): BPI is a multidisciplinary think-tank for sustainable product design and development. Composed of subcommittees in the sciences, engineering, business/finance, and technology, BPI seeks to harness the creative energy of the entire Brown community to cultivate innovative solutions for a changing world. Ideas will aim to create profitable products by solving current needs in a "green" manner, and BPI will work together to bring its ideas to market.
BROWN UNIVERSITY SUSTAINABILITY CONSULTING AND INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP (BUSCIP): This is a group of students primarily dedicated to sustainability consulting in the Providence community for local businesses, and on campus departments and facilities. They seek out local businesses and leverage their knowledge of sustainability to evaluate their operations, and then develop recommendations to make them more sustainable and reduce their impact on the environment. This is an exciting opportunity to work on cases and gain practical experience using knowledge and dedication to environmental improvement to effect change in the community. They will be organizing several events throughout the course of the spring semester and are looking for people interested in sustainability consulting, design, strategy and "best practice" development, and attracting businesses. A website is in development.
Eco-Reps: Eco-Reps are select undergraduate students who work to educate their campus mates about environmental issues. They operate on the philosophy that we can reduce our harmful impact on the environment by making simple changes in our lifestyles.
Emerging Green Leaders (EGL): EGL are Brown University students and young professionals intent on being part of the green building movement that is rapidly taking hold across the nation. Students are invited to collaborate with and join the Rhode Island Green Building Council, Emerging Green Builders Committee, or any other related committees. The R.I. Green Building Council will offer hands-on education and training workshops, promote sustainability practices, sponsor design competitions, conduct building tours, match students with "green" mentors, and provide internships and leadership opportunities.
emPower Student Group: The emPOWER campaign is made up of Brown University students who believe that Brown must take responsibility for its contribution to global warming and immediately work to end it. The student-run blog outlines the group’s accomplishments and provides information on major milestones.
ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS (EWB): A group of students and faculty dedicated to using engineering for social and environmental good. To that end, EWB-Brown facilitates working relationships with other groups and communities, in Providence and beyond, to pursue opportunities for socially conscious and environmentally sustainable design.
RHODE ISLAND STUDENT CLIMATE COALITION (RISCC): Now a coalition of 5 universities and 9 high schools, RISCC is working to push an 80% carbon emission reduction by 2050 bill through the Rhode Island state legislature to help Rhode Island become a leader in the new green economy.
Sustainable Food Initiative (SuFi): A plan that integrates local food and sustainable agriculture into student life through an on-campus, student-run farm.
Undergraduate Council of Students (UCS): The Undergraduate Council of Students is a representative body of twenty-seven elected (five from each class plus an executive board) members committed to serving Brown's undergraduate community.
Women in Science and Engineering (WISE): WiSE provides students, particularly women and under-represented minorities, with the information and encouragement they may need to stay in the sciences, succeed, and go on to science- and engineering-related work and graduate study.
Questions 6 is for informational purposes only; your response will NOT be included in the Report Card evaluation process.
6) Please list any regional or national networks with which your group is affiliated (e.g., Energy Action Coalition/Campus Climate Challenge, Sierra Student Coalition, a state PIRG, a state student sustainability coalition):
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Name:
Position (in student organization):
Date survey submitted:
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: emPower
Number of active members: 40
Website: http://empowerbrown.org
Date of last meeting: May
Frequency of meetings: Weekly
2) Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008:
--Reducing Campus Carbon
Several students from our group sit on the Environment and Energy Advisory Committee which was created to research and implement concrete reductions in the school's electricity demand.
We are currently exceeding the pace of reduction needed to achieve this goal.
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CCURB - Community Carbon Use Reduction at Brown is a program aimed at implementing student and faculty generated projects that simultaneously reduce carbon usage and benefit the local Providence community.
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Completed Project 20/20, a pilot project which puts CCFL's in low income households
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Started Pump It Up pilot, which aims to ensure drivers are properly inflating their tires
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Submitted several more proposals to the CCURB board for evaluation for the coming year
--Increasing Campus Sustainability
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Went into first stage of Beyond The Bottle, which aims to eliminate plastic water bottles from campus stores
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Reduced water bottle sales 35-40% at pilot retail location (which represents 25% of on-campus bottled water sales) in just over one month
--Educating Green Leaders
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Started planning for an institute for climate and energy, which aims to unite all of Brown's research dedicated to climate and energy
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Brought 40+ students down to PowerShift 09, the largest youth conference on environmental sustainability
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Started a triple bottom line investment group which allows students to invest $40,000 in companies focused on environmental, social, and economic returns. Students will do research and direct the allocation of the funds to various exciting ventures aimed at making our energy supply/society more sustainable.
SUSTAINABILITY IN STUDENT GOVERNMENT
3) Does your student government include a specific position or committee dedicated to campus sustainability issues?
[ ] No
[x] Yes. Please describe:
Although student government does not have a dedicated position, we have (had) several positions within school oversight committees that are dedicated towards campus sustainability held by students.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school:
Participated in Focus the Nation 2008, bringing together a weeklong series of events dedicated to increasing the profile of campus sustainability
Created media outlining Presidential candidates' stances on environmental issues
Aided in the organization of several large scale conferences on Sustainability (Brown is Green and Better by Design)
Petitioned for creation of a public display of campus energy consumption and carbon production.
Working closely with the environmentally and socially filtered endowment fund
5) Please list and briefly describe any other student-run organizations related to campus sustainability at your school, and provide URLs if available (e.g., student groups; student government committees; student-run food co-ops, gardens/farms, bike co-ops) and provide contact information of the student leaders, if possible: Eco-Reps - work with students on campus to reduce their waste and to recycle. They organize competitions including RecycleMania, wherein we compete with other universities to achieve the highest recycling rates. They also organize collection bins for all the stuff that college students would otherwise throw out at the end of each semester.
SuFI - The Sustainable Food Initiative works to incorporate more local and organic foods into Brown's cafeterias. They have recently convinced the Brown President to create an advisory council to direct the campus' food services toward purchasing local and organic foods. SUFI also runs a student garden, which is open to all members of the Brown community.
Farmers Market - Brown holds a farmers market on campus every week through the fall, attracting local farmers and food makers.
RealFood - RealFood works to get locally produced, sustainably produced food into dining halls.
Bikes @ Brown - This year, a new bike-sharing program began on campus. For $5/year membership, students can borrow bikes whenever they want.
Questions 6 is for informational purposes only; your response will NOT be included in the Report Card evaluation process.
6) Please list any regional or national networks with which your group is affiliated (e.g., Energy Action Coalition/Campus Climate Challenge, Sierra Student Coalition, a state PIRG, a state student sustainability coalition):
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