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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: Amanda Formica
Position (in student organization): past president
Date survey submitted: 7/21/09
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: Students for Fair Trade
Number of active members: 20
Website: http://www.gwu.edu/~gwsft/
Date of last meeting: May 6 2009
Frequency of meetings: once a week
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008:
-raising awareness about fair trade principles and products
-promoting local food on campus
-raising awareness about unfair US trade and economic policies that negatively affect people, especially people in developing countries
Progress made on each issue/program since August 2008:
We hosted a national student lobby day where 70 students came from around the country and DC to lobby Congress on global warming and guaranteeing adaptation funding for developing countries disproportionately effected by climate change. We also worked on creating awareness about fair trade principles and products through coffee houses, food giveaways, and awareness events. We gave away 2000 pieces of fair trade chocolate and successfully lobbied our food service provider to bring three local food options to the cafeteria, along with sustaining a variety of fair trade food options (coffee, chocolate, ice cream, rice, tea, hot cocoa). Our group became very interested in local food this year, after working on the Farm Bill the year before, and created a whole new group as our offspring- the Food-Justice Alliance, which worked on bringing local food to the cafeteria, and will be starting a garden at GW in September. The students who initiated the project were from GW Students for Fair Trade, but it has since brought in other students who until then were involved in no student orgs. The garden will be student run, and will encompass an initial 300 square feet of urban space. It will have a space for a children's garden, for kids
from the neighborhood, and will donate food grown to a neighborhood soup kitchen, elderly housing, and to its volunteers, some of whom will be soup kitchen and elderly housing clients, along with students and area families.
SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND COMPETITIONS
2) Does your group organize any sustainability challenges/competitions for your
campus and/or with other colleges?
[ x ] No
[ ] Yes. Please list details for each competition.
#1 - Name of competition:
Year initiated:
Frequency of competition:
Participants:
Incentives:
Goal of competition:
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced:
Lasting effects of competition:
Website:
#2 - Name of competition:
Year initiated:
Frequency of competition:
Participants:
Incentives:
Goal of competition:
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced:
Lasting effects of competition:
Website:
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: GW student government has a sustainability representative who is a member of the student body president's cabinet.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school:
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: GroW Community Garden, organized by the Food Justice Alliance, a new group founded through GW Students for Fair Trade. foodjusticealliance@gmail.com.
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): United Students for Fair Trade,
Public Citizen-Global Trade Watch, Divine Chocolate, Slow Food DC, Oxfam America,
Oke Banana, International Labor Rights Forum, GW Sustainability Coalition
_______
Name: Jordan Phillips
Position (in student organization): President, Founder
Date survey submitted: 7/21/09
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: Revolution Green Living and Learning Cohort
Number of active members: 60+
Website: No
Date of last meeting: May 1st, 2009
Frequency of meetings: Once per week
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008:
We set out to find how we could make the green movement less painful for GW’s busy and stressed (meaning pretty much all) students. We invested in infrastructure changes to create the first all green dorm at GW by renovating Building JJ. By the end of the year we reduced our electricity and water consumption by 60% each, winning us the Eco- Challenge. We also tried to engage and educate students all across GW by hosting events throughout the year.
Progress made on each issue/program since August 2008:
Progress..hmm. I guess we doubled in size from last year, and will be back for more. We were nominated and won two awards at the Student Excellence Awards.
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 each competition.
#1 - Name of competition: Canvas Bag Exchange
Year initiated: 2009
Frequency of competition: Once per semester
Participants: Whole University
Incentives:
Goal of competition: To cut down on plastic bag usage around campus by exchanging a canvas grocery bag for 4 plastic bags
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced: We gave away 500 canvas bags and collected over 2,000 plastic bags which were recycled.
Lasting effects of competition: We are getting GW students to avoid using plastic bags and at many places you receive a discount for using canvas bags. Also, we pay less for clean up efforts and keep our city cleaner.
Website: n/a
#2 - Name of competition:
Year initiated:
Frequency of competition:
Participants:
Incentives:
Goal of competition:
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced:
Lasting effects of competition:
Website:
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: GW student government has a sustainability representative
who is a member of the student body president's cabinet.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that
you or your group has initiated at your school:
The renovation of our house included changing old light bulbs to CFLs, replacing inefficient shower heads, toilets, and sink aerators with efficient ones. We also sealed windows, installed occupancy sensors, and used drying racks. All while keeping ecoconscious by tracking our electricity and water reductions.
Building JJ Waste Ratio Competition- Students weighed trash and recycling to see who could improve their trash to recycling ratio the most over the course of the year. We recycled a lot, but never got a final amount on the pounds recycling. Coors Light probably contributed most to our recycling weight.
Building JJ Open House- We invited students, faculty, and administrators from all over campus to participate in an open house event intended to educate the GW community about what Revolution Green was up to. We featured five rooms including:
Housing-We described the housing changes we made to JJ and the environmental impact
we had. Also we shared tips that everybody around campus could do.
Green Products-Let visitors sample the green products we used in our house
Recycling-We thought we should teach GW students how to properly recycle, and had
games to help. President Knapp came and played too.
Future Room-We lectured on Solar and Revolving Funds
Refreshments and Discussion- Members of Revolution Green invited discussion and questions anybody had, and free organic baked goods were served from a local vegetarian catering company.
Reduce, Reuse, Rock Out! -Pete Francis (from the band Dispatch) and the Barefoot Truth performed an eco-friendly concert for environmentalism.
D.C. High School Visits- Students from Revolution Green reached out to high school students in D.C. to educate them on the basics and benefits of being green, especially for when they get to college.
D.C. Community Development- Students from Revolution Green traveled to Ward 8 of D.C. to help organize a park/river clean up effort.
Alternative Spring Break-Two Revolution Green Students developed and led a trip to Greensboro, Kansas to help rebuild the tornado-stricken town one of the greenest cities in America.
Revolving Energy Fund-Revolution Green organized a campus wide effort to push for the
Revolving Sustainability Fund, currently being developed by the Office of Sustainability.
Press:
http://media.www.gwhatchet.com/media/storage/paper332/news/2009/04/06/News/Francis.Headlines.Green.Concert-3698404.shtml
http://media.www.gwhatchet.com/media/storage/paper332/news/2009/02/02/News/Llc-Students.Live.Green.In.Building.Jj-3608059.shtml
http://media.www.gwhatchet.com/media/storage/paper332/news/2008/09/04/Opinions/Letters.To.The.Editor-3415331.shtml
http://www.teenvogue.com/connect/blogs/soundoff/2009/04/team-earth-small-actionsmake-big-changes.html
5) Please list and briefly describe any other student-run organizations related tocampus sustainability at your school, and provide URLs if available (e.g., studentgroups; student government committees; student-run food co-ops, gardens/farms, bike co-ops) and provide contact information of the student leaders, if possible:
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)
_______
Name: Preeti Parulekar
Position (in student organization): Director of Events (2009-2010), Executive Director (2009), Director of Politics (2008)
Date survey submitted: 7/21/2009
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: GreenGW
Number of active members: 50
Website: www.gwu.edu/~greengw
Date of last meeting: 28 April 2009
Frequency of meetings: weekly
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008: reducing energy use through our CFL Light Bulb Trade-In program; promoting recycling and awareness of recycling resources on campus; tree planting on campus and tree recycling into other areas of the community.
Progress made on each issue/program since August 2008: increased participation in light bulb trade-in events, higher numbers of recycling containers in campus buildings.
SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND COMPETITIONS
2) Does your group organize any sustainability challenges/competitions for your campus and/or with other colleges?
[X] No
[ ] Yes. Please list details for each competition.
#1 - Name of competition:
Year initiated:
Frequency of competition:
Participants:
Incentives:
Goal of competition:
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced:
Lasting effects of competition:
Website:
#2 - Name of competition:
Year initiated:
Frequency of competition:
Participants:
Incentives:
Goal of competition:
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced:
Lasting effects of competition:
Website:
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: The GW Student Association has an appointed Director of Sustainability, who serves as the Student Association’s liaison to sustainability-oriented student organizations, events, departments, and offices.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school: GreenGW is proud to host multiple light bulb trade-in’s each academic year, as well as sponsor other organizations in tree plantings, organize community service and outreach programs, and host on campus awareness events. One of our most successful events this past year was an educational partnership, in which our members held hands-on, interactive workshops in a local elementary school. We were able to teach young students about topics ranging from wind and hydro power to recycling to solar energy, and encourage them to use critical thinking and problem solving skills.
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:
GW Students for Fair Trade, President: Elizabeth Liberman
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):
No affiliations or memberships
_______
Name: Andy Ludwig
Position (in student organization): Co-President, GW Net Impact
Date survey submitted: 7/21/09
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: Net Impact chapter of George Washington University
Number of active members: 65
Website: http://studentorgs.gwu.edu/netimpact/Home/
Date of last meeting: 4/20/09
Frequency of meetings: Monthly, excluding the summer
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008:
Last year, Net Impact was busy on GW’s campus and has plans to become even more involved in the future! We started the year by installing a green roof on the Elliott School at GW, a project that was initiated by GW Net Impact’s former president, Brett Kaplan. This year was also spent organizing and creating a “Certificate in Responsible Management.” This addition to the curriculum at the business school should enhance the options available under the new ethics-oriented curriculum revitalization. We also offered our members first-hand member exposure to sustainability experts on various occasions, including one event during a business school-wide Career Trek to San Francisco. We were proud to have raised a sizeable stipend for two colleagues, so that they were able to undertake a non-profit summer internship which aligned with Net Impact’s mission. Finally, a large portion of our members attended Net Impact Central’s national conference in Philadelphia, leading us to be one of the largest chapters in
attendance.
Progress made on each issue/program since August 2008:
The Green Roof has been completed and was partially replanted recently.
The Certificate in Responsible Management is now available and has 5 students already signed on to the process, publishing a blog about their activities.
We held numerous lunches and info sessions with sustainability experts and already have some great speakers lined up for the 2009-2010 year.
We fundraised enough money to support two graduate students with unpaid, Net Impactoriented internships over the summer.
Over 20 members went to the National Conference, making us one of the larger chapters in attendance.
Many of our members were able to find sustainability-oriented jobs and internships this summer, thanks to connections and guidance from Net Impact.
SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND COMPETITIONS
2) Does your group organize any sustainability challenges/competitions for your campus and/or with other colleges?
[ X] No
[ ] Yes. Please list details for each competition.
We hope to play a role in GW’s Eco-challenge competition 2009-2010.
#1 - Name of competition: Eco-challenge
Year initiated: 2008-2009
Frequency of competition: Annual
Participants: Undergrad residents
Incentives: Year-end party, building renovation
Goal of competition: Energy and Water consumption reduction
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced: electricity: 10.4% per resident, water: 3.7% per resident
Lasting effects of competition: Increased awareness of consumption habits
Website: http://living.gwu.edu/greenliving/ecochallenge/
#2 - Name of competition:
Year initiated:
Frequency of competition:
Participants:
Incentives:
Goal of competition:
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced:
Lasting effects of competition:
Website:
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: GW’s general Student Association has a position dedicated to sustainability issues. The MBA Association has a position dedicated to social responsibility, which includes environmental stewardship-type activities.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school:
- Some members are working with the Office of Sustainability to initiate a Revolving Sustainability Fund to finance green projects around the campus.
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:
Green GW : http://www.gwu.edu/~greengw/
DC Greenworks (partnering with students in Net Impact, Green GW)
http://www.dcgreenworks.org/
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):
Net Impact Central (the national organization)
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