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University of South Carolina, Columbia 2006 Campus Sustainability Achievement Award Application

Category

Four-year and graduate institutions over 10,000 student FTE

Contact

Patricia Jerman
Director, Office of Sustainability
University of South Carolina, Columbia
Columbia, SC
803-777-7760
jerman@sc.edu

Governance & Administration

In 1998, the President of The University of South Carolina (USC) joined the Presidents of Clemson and the Medical University of South Carolina to form the Sustainable Universities Initiative (SUI). Since that time, USC has institutionalized its overarching commitment to campus sustainability by creating an Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC), whose members include faculty from all of the University’s colleges, key administrators, and graduate and undergraduate representatives. One of the first tasks of the EAC was to develop a campus environmental policy, which was approved by the Board of Trustees in October of 2000.

The EAC has served as the umbrella organization for the Environmental Health and Safety Division’s ISO-certified Environmental Management System, which is expanding to other units on campus. In addition to serving as a sounding board for environmental issues on campus, the EAC conducts annual assessments of campus operations to measure progress. Significant events over the past two years include the decision to join EPA’s GreenScapes program and designation of the entire campus as an arboretum.

The Trustees’ commitment is mirrored by that of President Sorensen, who marked the 2005 LEED certification of the 500-bed West Quad residence facility by stating that all new campus construction should meet LEED Silver standards. Campus Sustainable Design Guidelines, developed to support Housing efforts, have been approved by the EAC and are shared with architects and other professionals working with the University.

USC’s School of the Environment (SOE) serves as the hub of USC’s focus on sustainability and the environment. A “virtual” school, it includes approximately 150 associated faculty from disciplines as diverse as history, engineering, law and art.

Housing has also made sustainability a significant focus, with a sustainability section on its web site, the only Environmental Programs Manager in housing that we know of, and a designated “Green Grad Assistant” each year. Residence hall advisors and custodians receive “green training” so they can support Housing’s overall goals.

Other recent administrative commitments include the creation of a campus Office of Sustainability, university membership in organizations such as AASHE, US Green Building Council (USGBC) and the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology Program. In July of 2006, Trustees approved a campus smoking ban as part of the Healthy Carolina Initiative.

Student organizations also contribute significantly to campus sustainability. Two years ago Student Government created a cabinet position for Environmental Affairs, and this year has listed “increasing sustainable practices at the University” as one of its top action items. In 2005, a newly established student chapter of the Public Interest Research Group joined USC’s chapter of Students Allied for a Greener Earth in promoting sustainability through a focus on greenhouse gas emissions reductions, Bike/Walk to work day and many other projects. In 2005, students from USC organized their peers around the state into a coalition supporting use of renewable energy on campuses across the state. They also joined with students across the country to present a Declaration of Independence from Dirty Energy to our Governor.

Operations

In 2005, West Quad residence hall received LEED Silver certification. Eight campus buildings currently under construction or in design are expected to receive LEED certification over the next 2 years. Clearly these buildings have already, or will have, an enormous impact on campus energy and water use. However, USC is also aggressively working to conserve energy and water through its Energy Policy and a performance contract expected to reduce energy consumption and save approximately $4 million/year. Beginning in 2005, low flow water fixtures were installed and lighting levels were adjusted to provide adequate, not excessive light. Most computer labs have converted to flat screen monitors to save energy. In 2006, construction began on a path-breaking biogassification facility that will substitute wood waste for up to 80% of our natural gas use.

Several years ago, USC began implementing a transportation/parking plan calling for the elimination of core campus parking coupled with improvements to public transit. USC’s shuttle busses have been outfitted with GPS “NextBus” technology to enable passengers to know precisely when the next bus is due, credited with increasing ridership from 3,000 to about 4,500 per day over the course of a year. The shuttle fleet also pioneered the use of biodiesel. Electric vehicles operate in the core campus, and are used by the post office and various other units. Bicycles are an important element in the campus transportation plan; over the past two years bike lanes and additional bike racks have been strategically located, and work continues under the aegis of USCycle, a subcommittee of the EAC. In 2005, abandoned bikes were refurbished and can be borrowed by faculty and staff in a program called Cycling at Carolina.

Student Government and SAGE have worked closely with Sodhexo to integrate locally grown food into the campus dining facilities. Last year, Local Food Days were offered twice weekly, and generally sold out.

USC’s award winning Recycling program has always collected cans, bottles, cardboard, office paper and toner cartridges. It also facilitates the internal recycling of computers and office furniture. Recently it began recycling at football games, capturing 2200 pounds of waste in 2004 and 6000 pounds in 2005. USC participated in Recyclemania in 2005-06 and hosted a community electronics recycling event in 2005. Beginning in the fall of 2005, several units on campus piloted the use of TechnoTrash Cans to collect electronic waste. Residence halls recycle batteries and toner cartridges. Laboratories are encouraged to participate in an internal materials exchange, developed several years ago to keep unused supplies out of the hazardous waste stream. In a related effort, most chemistry labs are using “micro-chemistry” to reduce waste.

Housing also collects recyclable or reusable material—from clothing to furniture and electronics during student move out days and cardboard during move in. “Green Cleaning” is being implemented in residence halls and is used in some other areas of campus. West Quad pioneered solar pre-heating of domestic hot water, which has been so successful that it is being implemented in other residence halls.

Curriculum & Research

USC’s interdisciplinary masters program mirrors sustainability’s triple bottom line, with courses required in business, science/technology and public policy. USC offers an interdisciplinary environmental minor and last year added an environmental major expected to become active in the fall of 2007. SOE presents awards to students, faculty and staff each spring, focusing campus attention on sustainability.

Graduate students developed an interactive presentation entitled “Introduction to Sustainable Living” delivered by graduate students to students enrolled in University 101, a course open to all first year and transfer students. Over the past two years, approximately 50 presentations have been given, reaching about 1000 students and their professors.

Sustainability is included in designated sections of English 101, taken by over 80% of all incoming freshmen. Readings are geared toward sustainability, as are the required service learning projects. Students worked with homeless shelters, parks, environmental education projects and the like, using their efforts as the basis for reflective papers. While the initial funding for the project has expired, the themed sections were so popular that some instructors have chosen to continue focusing on sustainability without added assistance. In the past two years, approximately 2000 hours of service have been provided to the community through the efforts of only a few sustainability-themed sections of English 101.

Another department with significant new courses is the Civil and Environmental Engineering, with classes addressing sustainable construction, LEED, and Low Impact Development. Other courses including sustainability are taught in departments ranging from social work to political science. The Honors College developed a Sustainable Futures semester in 2004, offering a number of sustainability courses and hosting relevant speakers. One class project evolved into a sustainable coral reef exhibit installed at West Quad, consisting entirely of captive-raised (rather than wild caught) animals. The aquarium and exhibit was dedicated in 2005.

The aquarium is only one of a number of campus efforts that blur the line between formal and informal education. The Environmental Awareness Community at West Quad residence facility and associated living/learning center integrates technology, design, sustainability and learning opportunities, in order to attract students and faculty from various academic disciplines across campus. The First Year Environmental Awareness Community was developed to allow first-year students with shared interests to live together and take a common set of classes.

USC also hosts unique research efforts. The Center for Fuel Cell Research, established in 2002, is one of the nation’s leaders in developing alternatives to petroleum. In 2003, NSF selected the University of South Carolina’s College of Engineering and Information Technology to develop and commercialize the use of fuel cells. In the past two years, efforts have expanded through research agreements with German and Korean institutes, as well as with private entities. USC works closely with non-profit groups such as Fuel Cell South and Engenuity SC to promote fuel cell commercialization. Next year, Columbia and USC will host the nation’s premier fuel cell conference. Taken together, these efforts have made USC and Columbia, a hub of “the new energy economy.”

Community Service and Outreach

USC’s sustainability efforts have been closely integrated with community sustainability efforts, and, indeed, USC has been considered a driver for the larger community. Beginning in the summer of 2004, USC’s Sustainability Director and Housing Environmental Manager have been instrumental in the establishment of the SC Chapter of the US Green Building Council and serve on the Board of Directors and Program & Education Committees, respectively. USC Housing has provided the Chapter with a “home” since its inception. The Chapter library is housed at USC and the Chapter considers USC its customary meeting place. USC and Clemson together host a student chapter of Emerging Green Builders which exposes students to local design professionals at student-organized sessions to study and prepare for LEED AP exams.

The West Quad Learning Center has hosted over 12,000 people per year for classes, training, tours and conferences since it opened two years ago. State agency and community groups frequently use the site for meetings, educating about sustainability as they enter and exit. Housing personnel have hosted tours of the facility for individuals and groups ranging from the Secretary of Energy to state legislative committees to neighbors of the university interested in exploring “the green dorm.”

While green buildings have been the most visible means of outreach with the community, over the past two years, USC has been significantly involved in a variety of efforts to promote sustainability within the state. These include a joint project with the SC Department of Commerce and the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control to create the SC Sustainability Network, a virtual community showcasing “sustainability in action” across all sectors of the state economy. Related to this effort, USC worked with Department of Commerce employees to create a seminar open to all Commerce employees to ensure that they understood the potential of sustainability as a driver for the state’s economy. Several USC faculty and staff have participated in the 18 month efforts of nearby Fort Jackson to develop its Installation Sustainability Plan. USC hosted an icebreaker reception for Pentagon, local military and community officials as the final phase of the effort began this spring. In 2006 we began a series of “energy conversations” for campus and community, partnering with The Columbia International Council to focus on oil as a national security issue, with Environmental Defense to focus on global climate change, and in September will host the film Kilowatt Ours with a lecture by the filmmaker. As is the case with all of our sustainability-themed talks, the public is invited. Several members of the state’s newly created Biomass Council, created to foster the development of renewable fuels, are from USC, and the Director of the Office of Sustainability chairs a committee focused on finding renewable substitutes for petroleum feedstocks. USC’s Environmental Law Clinic continues to serve the state, providing services to the state Attorney General, the Department of Commerce and the SC Wildlife Federation, among others, over the last two years.

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