Planet, Profit & People Provoke Conversations in USU's Green Office Program
Utah State University’s Aggie Recreation Center recently moved to hand dryers only in four of the most used bathrooms. The change, which eliminated paper towel waste, will save over $10,000 annually. With these savings, the ARC plans to transition all restrooms to a lower waste model. Additional hand dryers and fewer paper towels will reduce environmental impact and increase savings. The ARC also recently joined USU’s Green Office Program and will have plenty of tips to exchange with the 11 other participating offices around campus.
The Green Office program is an initiative to bring sustainable practices like this to offices around USU, saving the university money and working towards USU’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. The program promotes energy efficiency, waste reduction and responsible purchasing practices. Green Office program coordinator, Kate Robinson, says the program also helps offices run more smoothly by forming relationships with building managers and Facilities to solve problems.
“By using the triple bottom line concept of people-planet-profit, we can implement sustainable practices to help the environment, USU students and the USU budget,” says Robinson.
Many offices on the Logan campus are already involved in the program, including the Department of History, Dining Services, Outdoor Programs, Office of Global Engagement, Student Sustainability Office, Center for Community Engagement, Aggie Blue Bikes, Facilities Administration, Facilities Customer Service and the Student Nutrition Access Center. Interested offices begin by assembling people who are interested in promoting sustainable practices and start implementing ideas from the Green Office Program. The Green Office coordinator helps these groups or Green Teams identify resources and opportunities to be recognized for sustainable practices that are already in place and to learn about adding more.
To learn more about the program, visit http://sustainability.usu.edu/getinvolved/green-office.
CONTACT
Kate Robinson
Office Coordinator
USU Green
kate.robinson@aggiemail.usu.edu
TOPICS
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