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Report Card 2010

University of Pittsburgh

Student Survey

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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: Jessica McNally and Sony Rane 
Position (in student organization): Co-presidents 
Date survey submitted: July 15, 2009 
 
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS 
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role. 
Name of organization: Free the Planet 
Number of active members: 40 
Website:  
Date of last meeting: April 15, 2009 
Frequency of meetings: Weekly (every Wednesday)  
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008:

Issues addressed:

  • ‘Greening’ of dining halls
  • Fossil fuels used in campus shuttles and maintenance vehicles
  • Paper consumption
  • Recycling management and uniformity of receptacles on campus
  • Vegetarianism and the Environment
  • Global warming science and misunderstandings
  • Sustainability and politics during the presidential race

Programs initiated:

  • Trayless dining
  • Printing fliers on recycled paper
  • Running campus maintenance vehicles on bio-fuel

Progress made on each issue/program since August 2008:

    1. ‘Greening’ of dining halls: Free the Planet has collaborated with SODEXHO to make campus eateries more sustainable. Free the Planet started a trayless campaign in Pitt’s main cafeteria with the goal of removing all trays by this fall, 2009. Members tabled about the benefits of going trayless, and also collected and weighed food waste from student’s trays over a two week period. Members are also working with SODEXHO to replace Styrofoam containers with biodegradable ones and to initiate a pre-consumer composting program at Pitt in the fall.
  2. Campus Fossil Fuels: Free the Planet members, along with the engineering department, are encouraging Pitt’s transportation and facilities vehicles to use waste vegetable oil from SODEXHO as a fuel source. Initial talks have been optimistic and facilities vehicles may be converted sometime this year. 
  3. Paper Consumption: Free the Planet has consistently printed their fliers and advertising materials on the back of computer paper recycled from printing labs around campus. We have also encouraged other student groups to do likewise, and requested that the head of SORC (Student Organization Resource Center) to place a box of recycled paper in the SORC office for student groups’ convenience.
  4. Recycling: Free the Planet has established a close and working relationship with Facilities Management to increase the effectiveness of Pitt’s recycling program. We met regularly to organize the first Recyclemania competition on campus and relayed concerns expressed by students about problems with the recycling program all year long. Recyclemania was very successful event this past year and Free the Planet along with facilities management will make it an annual event.
  5. Vegetarianism the Environment: Free the Planet hosted a presentation and discussion for students on the benefits of reducing and eliminating meat from their diets. FTP also co-sponsored a “Vegetarianism and the Environment” symposium with Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, and for the first time ever had a vegetarian table at Pitt’s annual “Healthy Living Expo.” The purpose of such events was to show students how to maintain healthy, vegetarian diets while attending school and how such a lifestyle would benefit their health and the health of the environment. Free the Planet also organized field trips to local vegan restaurants.

 
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: Recyclemania 
Year initiated: 2009 
Frequency of competition: This was the first year we participated, but we plan to continue participation annually  
Participants: Free the Planet, student dormitory residents, Facilities Management, Department of Housing, Residence Life 
Incentives:  
Goal of competition: To recycle 15 lb per resident student.   
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced: We far exceeded this goal, with a final total of 24.14 lb/person.  Over the 10 weeks of the competition, we recycled over 14,000 lb of bottles & cans, 64,000 lb of corrugated cardboard, and 79,000 lb of paper, for a total recycled weight of approximately 158,000 lb. 
Lasting effects of competition: According to the RecycleMania website for Benchmarking Division schools: 
    "Per Capita Classic" category - Pitt ranked 17th out of 130 schools. 
    "Targeted Materials - Paper" - Pitt ranked 9th out of 78 schools. 
    "Targeted Materials - Cardboard" - Pitt ranked 6th out of 71 schools. 
    "Targeted Materials - Bottles & Cans" - Pitt ranked 22nd out of 78 schools 
    "Gorilla Prize" (highest total weight recycled) - Pitt ranked 21st out of 130 schools. 
The Recyclemania contest allowed Pitt to make a name for itself among other universities leading in sustainability initiatives. Recyclemania helped to encourage students to recycle more of their waste, and also made a lasting impression on students who did not previously recycle. It also brought awareness to problem areas in Pitt’s recycling system and allowed Facilities management to improve upon the system as a whole (i.e. increasing the number of recycling receptacles, reducing contamination). Since participation was so successful this year, Pitt plans to continue Recyclemania in this coming school year and to extend the program to include all of Pitt’s campus (not just resident students).

Website: www.recyclemaniacs.org


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:

Yes. Please describe:

Pitt’s Student Government Board includes an environmental chair and an environmental committee. The committee is comprised of five students who regularly meet to organize their activities.  

Mission Statement: The Environmental Committee shall educate and advocate for environmental issues affecting University of Pittsburgh students living on and off-campus. The Environmental Committee's responsibilities include giving support to Board Member projects that directly or indirectly involve environmental issues. Actions of the Environmental Committee may include:   

►

Striving to make the University of Pittsburgh a paperless university.

►

Increasing Pitt’s environmental rating from a red-circle to a brown-circle neighborhood as defined by the City of Pittsburgh.

►

Better serving off-campus students and their recycling needs.

►

Increasing the ease and visibility of recycling receptacles in and around University buildings.

 

OTHER ACTIVITIES 
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school: 

  1. Sustain-a-bowl: Free the Planet partnered with E.C.O. (Environmental Campus Outreach) to organize and facilitate a student section at the Purchasing Department’s first ever Blue, Gold, Green Fair. The student section, entitled “Sustain-a-bowl,” highlighted the sustainability initiatives of various student organizations on campus. Groups were asked to construct creative displays entirely out of recycled and/or salvaged materials in order to spark interest and conversation from fair goers. People who visited the Sustain-a-bowl received free reusable bags, vegan and organic food samples from local vendors, and more.
  2. Fair Trade Café: Free the Planet and the Oakland Tea house collaborated on an event called “Fair Trade Café” which was free to all students. Fair Trade Café educated students about how and where to purchase Fair Trade Certified products both on campus and off, and about the environmental responsibility that Fair Trade Certification ensures. Students enjoyed free Fair Trade Certified coffees and teas, vegan snacks, and performances by local bands while learning how their purchasing power can be put to good use.
  3. Swap-O-Palooza: Swap-O-Palooza is an annual event hosted by FTP that encourages students to reuse and recycle old clothing instead of throwing it away to be sent to the landfill. Students bring whatever articles of clothing they wish to get rid of and can trade them for different clothing or repair their own clothing with free sewing supplies provided. Swap-O-Palooza has been hugely successful, gaining in popularity each semester, and has even received attention from local media on multiple occasions.
  4. Focus the Nation: The mission of this nation-wide event: “Through education, engagement and action, Focus the Nation empowers young leaders to accelerate the transition to a more just and prosperous clean energy future.” Free the Planet participated in Focus the Nation a second time this year by hosting a series of lectures, presentations, forums, and a concert over a two-day period. The purpose of Focus the Nation was to give students an diverse background on key environmental issues and to offer possible solutions to environmental problems our society currently faces.
  5. Politics and the Environment Lecture Series: FTP brought Ralph Nader from the Independent party to speak about his environmental positions. Since FTP is a non-partisan organization, we held a debate following Nader’s lecture between Pitt Republicans and Pitt Democrats in order to provide students with a well rounded view of candidates’ positions on environmental issues. Both presentations were incredibly successful, bringing in a combined population of over six hundred community members, faculty, staff, and students.

 
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:

Engineers for a Sustainable World (Pittsburgh Chapter): Engineers for a Sustainable World's vision is a world in which all people enjoy the basic resources to pursue healthy, productive lives in harmony with each other, and with the Earth. ESW mobilizes engineers through education, training, and practical action-building collaborative partnerships to meet the needs of current and future generations. ESW's primary goals are to stimulate and foster an increased and more diverse community of engineers and infuse sustainability into the practice and studies of every engineer.

http://www.esustainableworld.org/

 

SGB Environmental Committee:

See question 3 above for mission statement and goals.

http://www.pitt.edu/~sgb/environmental.htm

 

Pitt Outdoors Club: The POC’s motto is "Leave no trace." POC been a club since the 1960’s and through different phases they have done a lot of work to preserve the areas that they like to explore and take advantage of. They encourage Pitt students to get outside and enjoy nature, while making sure that they tread as lightly as possible. The POC frequently sponsors outdoor expenditures at little or no cost to students. They bring their own utensils and plates to club meetings and parties, and never leave anywhere without making sure it looks just as it did when they arrived. POC is currently having discussions about adopting a crag - similar to adopting a highway - so that they can give back to the natural settings they seeks so often.

http://www.pittoutdoors.com 

 

E.C.O. (Environmental Campus Outreach): E.C.O.’s mission is to facilitate communication between the University of Pittsburgh, campus groups, and students in order to increase awareness and involvement regarding environmental issues and solutions. They were key organizers of the student section of Pitt’s first ever Blue, Gold, Green Fair and also created a pamphlet for freshman students that provides information regarding how to lead a sustainable lifestyle while living in campus dormitories.

 

Students for Sustainable Fitness: SSF is dedicated to increasing sustainability initiatives in the campus gyms. They are currently researching human energy harvesting equipment, such as treadmills and exercise bicycles, which would power the lights and televisions in Pitt’s main gym, the Peterson Events Center. They are also working to get the gyms to use towels instead of disposable wipes for equipment sanitation, recycled or bamboo yoga mats as well as other eco-friendly exercises equipment, and to initiate a recycling program in the gym, as there currently is none.

 

Humanitarian and Environmental Alliance: The Humanitarian and Environmental Alliance (the HEA) aims to strengthen the effectiveness of humanitarian and environmental organizations and activists.  Through trainings, gatherings, and inter-organizational communication, the organizations and activists that comprise the Humanitarian and Environmental Alliance will enhance their abilities to create positive social and environmental change.  

http://hea-pitt.org/about-the-hea/ 

 

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): 

1. Energy Action Coalition

2. Sierra Student Coalition

3. Pennsylvania Youth Sustainability Network

 

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