IUS students are following national green sustainability trends by recycling, beautifying campus, and starting student groups that will help bring sustainability to campus. Recently, green sustainability policies, initiatives and student interest has begun to grow.
“Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Green sustainability initiatives are important to IU Southeast’s admission growth rates. Recent research shows that students interested in green sustainability initiatives in prospective colleges and universities have steadily increased. A survey of nine colleges completed in 2011 by researchers at the College of William and Mary shows that, “current freshmen are two times more likely to choose their school based on sustainability concerns than the entering freshman class just 3 years ago (13.5% vs. 6.5%, respectively).”
“A lot of schools are moving towards sustainability and a greener campus,” Lauren Pangburn international studies senior said.
Pangburn is the Student Government Association (SGA) Campus Sustainability Advisor. This is a new SGA executive position for IU Southeast.
“The role is to work with the students and the administration to implement green initiatives,” Pangburn said.
Pangburn believes IU Southeast could benefit from having more sustainability initiatives.
“It offers us a leg up in the region as far as schools go that can give us a leadership role when it comes to comparing us to our benchmark institutions,”she said.
IU Southeast is currently building a sixth lodge on campus to be called Timber Lodge that will be the first “green” lodge on campus.
“Timber Lodge, will be our first LEED-certified building on campus,” said IUS former Chancellor Sandra R. Patterson-Randles.
Timber Lodge has been designed to receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED sustainable buildings increase the efficiency in which the building uses energy, water and natural materials, while restoring human health and protecting the environment through the building lifecycle, according to the EPA.
This new lodge will be located near the Orchard and Grove Lodges at the south end of campus.
IUS Physical Plant focuses on going green. The physical plant’s green initiatives include programs such as recycling, energy management, campus beautification, and energy conservation.
There are recycling bins located in every building where paper, aluminum and plastics can be disposed of. The physical plant can also order recycling bins for departments that need them.
IU Southeast Physical Plant policies include several energy conservation measures and programs in effort to reduce utility costs across campus. Energy conservation initiatives play a large role in solving current environmental problems. Sustainable energy policies are one of the many aspects of green sustainability that also offers financial benefits. Energy saving projects are projected to save IU Southeast $272,348 over the next 6 years according to financial projections. Some of the energy saving projects include replacing light bulbs and windows with energy efficient ones.
Many IU Southeast students believe in going green and are showing it by volunteering their time to make campus more beautiful. Campus Beautification Day is open for faculty, staff, and students to work together towards green sustainability. During the last week of spring classes, volunteers plant flowers, trees and spread mulch to beautify the campus with natural landscapes. Each living plant and tree reduces carbon dioxide emissions into the ozone layer, this in turn could help reduce the campuses carbon foot print.
Colleges and universities are now being ranked by their green sustainability initiatives and the number of degree programs available to students interested working in the green sector jobs.
The 2011 Green Report Card issued a “B” to Indiana University Bloomington and a “C+” to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. No data on the other IU institutions are currently available.
The job sector for green sustainability is growing, causing colleges and universities to include greener sector courses, certifications and degree programs. Degrees in environmental science, public health, green interior design, human ecology and other topics in green sustainability will create will produce professionals equipped to handle sustainability issues. Economists are describing the 21st Century as the “Green Collar Era”. Issues like global warming, oil spills, and the current food crisis in many countries will be addressed by professionals in the green job sector, which will provide economic growth, social development and sustainable solutions to problems. IU Southeast currently does not offer any of these specific green sustainability degree programs, but professors in the natural science department are looking into adding more green sustainability courses and possible degrees as student interest rises.
IUS students, faculty and staff who are interested in green sustainability should visit Campus Life and ask about sustainability groups like The Society of Green Sustainability that are currently being formed on campus. The Physical Plant can be contacted to sign-up for Campus Beautification Day. There will also be a sustainability week coming to campus this spring 2014 that will help guide more sustainability initiatives at IU Southeast.
