Sustainability News at UW-Stout
Grounds Maintenance: Green All Over
December 2, 2008
A successful Grounds Maintenance program has more about being “green” than just maintaining and establishing beautiful landscaping on campus. The program also has a philosophy of ‘do no harm’ to the environment. As part of their stormwater management activities, Grounds Maintenance recently reported having swept 15 tons of sand and debris from parking lots and sidewalks. This is the equivalent of removing 1,057,600 aluminum cans from our campus (Aluminum Cans Fun Facts), 15 Volkswagon Beetles, or three male African elephants.
Stormwater is of concern for two main issues: one related to the volume and timing of runoff water (flooding) and the other related to potential contaminants that the water is carrying, i.e. water pollution.
Stoutonia: New Sustainable Technology and Energy Center
Industry leaders and UW-Stout students unite for sustainable gains.
A new center at the University of Wisconsin-Stout aims to facilitate eco-industrial development between UW-Stout and leaders in regional businesses and the local community.
The Stout Sustainable Technology and Energy Center is currently uniting members of the UW-Stout biology, chemistry, business and design departments with local businesses such as Five Star Dairy of Elkmound, Wis. and the Gopher Resource Corporation of Eagan, Minn.
Read full Stoutonia article...
UW-Stout— number one in energy efficiency
Summer 2008UW-Stout will be at Menomonie’s first annual Sustainability Day to talk about the university’s environmental initiatives and its status as number one in energy efficiency.
Chart in BTU's per square feet. UW-Stout statistics featured on the bottom line, UW-River Falls on the second to bottom, and the UW Comprehensive Average on the top line.
Show me the numbers!
According to the “Energy Use in State-Owned Facilities” report released annually through Wisconsin’s Department of Administration, UW-Stout is the most energy efficient campus of all thirteen four-year campuses in the University of Wisconsin system. All UW campus’s energy consumption is monitored through monthly utility bills and fuel consumption reports and converted to units of energy, or BTUs, per square foot, per year. This calculation makes campuses of different sizes comparable.
In the last released report, UW-Stout was 30% more efficient than the UW system average and 12% more efficient than the runner up, UW-River Falls. UW-Stout has been the leader in energy efficiency for more than the past decade.
These statistics may surprise some who are looking for headline grabbing energy projects. However, like the three R’s in waste minimization (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), a sustainable energy regime begins with using less.
What makes UW-Stout #1?
There is something far from glamorous behind UW-Stout’s energy efficient status—an extraordinary commitment to maintenance and incremental energy reduction measures.
Would it excite you to know that each year the university’s chiller condenser and evaporator tubes are cleaned, or that all exterior door weather stripping is checked annually and replaced if necessary?
These measures, and much more, are basic maintenance standards for all institutions, but whether or not they are followed to a “T” depends on leadership and commitment by facilities management.
Ted Hendzel, UW-Stout’s Director of Physical Plant, attributes much of the energy conservation results to the maintenance workers responsible for fine tuning and operating the equipment and facilities. “The facilities workers at Stout took energy conservation seriously starting in the 80’s and it just got to be a way of operating. That has really driven our energy efficiency,” Hendzel said.
Administrative leadership has also supported measures to reduce the university’s consumption. This includes hiring a fulltime HVAC Specialist to operate the Energy Management System which remotely controls heating and cooling on campus.
Many universities have energy management systems, but what really counts is how much time is invested in monitoring and adjusting shut-off schedules and programming and reprogramming the system. UW-Stout’s HVAC specialist position is dedicated to constantly re-evaluating shut-off schedules based on classes and other types of building usage on campus.
New energy efficient design and construction has also benefited the university. In 2005, when the new Red Cedar Hall was complete, it actually reduced UW-Stout’s ratio of energy use per square foot. Besides the new building’s more energy efficient design it was outfitted with Energy Star certified appliances.
The sustainability effort at UW-Stout.
UW-Stout is working toward sustainability on three major fronts: taking steps toward carbon neutrality as a signatory of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment; meeting Governor Doyle’s executive order to reduce energy usage 20% by 2010 at all state facilities; and preventing pollution in accordance with the campus’s storm water management permit through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Efforts to become more environmentally sustainable can be seen in all administrative units. For example, University Dining Services recently made a major investment in a new Energy Star certified Hobart Dishmachine which reduces water use by 750,000 gallons a year and significantly reduces energy and cleaning chemical use.
Over the summer, a team of staff and students have been collecting data for a green house gas emissions inventory which will serve as an estimate of the campus’s carbon footprint. The inventory, due to be completed this fall, will provide a benchmark from which to measure future emission reductions programs.
Faculty, staff and students on UW-Stout’s Environmental Sustainability Steering Committee are working to draft a campus-wide sustainability action plan. “This is one of the few committees where everyone is eager to volunteer,” said Raina Clark, UW-Stout’s Environmental Sustainability Coordinator. “It shows that there is a lot of interest in sustainability at the grass roots level of the university and that can be a very powerful thing.”
The committee has kept a variety of sustainability activities going at the same time they are working on the action plan document, including the Spring Move-Out event, designed to keep reusable household goods out of the landfill, and participation in the national RecycleMania competition.
Covered also in the Association of Energy Service Professionals-Wisconsin blog, Aug. 4: http://aesp-wi.blogspot.com/2008/08/uw-stout-is-no-1-in-energy-efficiency.html
UW-Stout Carpooling
July 2008
A recent call for UW-Stout employees interested in carpooling created quite a response!
More than twenty employees from Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, Colfax, Hudson and River Falls have expressed interest in setting up ride share groups. Volunteers are working to connect people based on location and schedule and to help them organize a successful carpool.
If you are interested in carpooling, contact Raina Clark, environmental sustainability coordinator, at clarkra@uwstout.edu. Provide your area of residence and work arrival and departure times.
Spring Move-Out results
May 19, 2008
UW-Stout's first annual Spring Move-Out event was a success! Four vans filled with furniture, clothing, food and miscellaneous items went to Hope Gospel instead of being left on the curb or taken to the landfill.
The event was made possible by Hope Gospel, the Dunn County Solid Waste Division, the City of Menomonie, Veolia Environmental Services, Sustainable Dunn, American Edge Realty, UW-Stout faculty, staff and student volunteers, and the Sustainability Office.
On May 16 and 17, there were a total of 66 drops offs by students, parents and landlords including:
| Clothing | 28 bags |
| Sofa/couch | 22 |
| Misc Kitchen | 20 boxes |
| Food | 17 boxes |
| Stuffed chairs | 13 |
| Desk chairs | 11 |
| Bed frame | 10 |
| Dressers | 8 |
| Dressers | 8 |
| Desks | 6 |
| End tables | 6 |
| Lawn/folding chairs | 4 |
| Futon | 3 |
| Dining chairs | 2 |
| TV | 2 |
| Stereos | 2 |
| Dining tables | 1 |
| Lamp | 1 |
| Gas range | 1 |
| Patio table | 1 |
| Gun cabinet | 1 |
| Snow fence | 1 |
| Plate glass | 1 |
| Ceiling fan | 1 |
GreenSense students share green tips
Eau Claire, WEAU.com, April 22
Recyclemania
April 28, 2008
For the second year, Stout has participated in RecycleMania, a friendly nationwide recycling competition among college campuses. A total of 400 colleges joined in the race this year and the 58.6 million pounds of material recycled during RecycleMania 2008 prevented greenhouse gas emissions of 25,342 metric tons of carbon equivalent from entering the atmosphere.
During the 10 weeks of competition — January 28 to April 5 — Mandy Mulder and Heidi Behnke, Stout RecycleMania student coordinators, worked cooperatively with more than 200 students enrolled in a class on science, society and the environment. In groups, the students completed recycling related projects around campus aimed at increasing recycling rates or reducing waste. Projects were varied and included attending athletic events, encouraging students to use china in dining areas and holding dorm competitions.
The campuswide effort was a great success. Nationally, Stout ranked in the top 50 percent for the Grand Champion, Gorilla Prize, Paper, and Bottles/Cans categories. A highlight of this year’s results was in the Waste Minimization category where Stout showed its ability to reduce waste better than its state competitors, like UW-Madison. Stout also ranked nationally in the Waste Minimization category coming in 12th out of 95 schools.
The coordinators would like to thank Lori Anda-Bowen, Linda Anderson, Mike Bessert, Charles Bomar, Raina Clark, Bob Dodge, Martin Fritz, Joe Harlan, Krista James, Amy McGovern, Lucy Nicolai and Anne Thies for their support during this year’s RecycleMania competition.
For more information about RecycleMania and a complete list of the contest winners visit the official RecycleMania Web site at www.recyclemaniacs.org.
Supermileage Challenge
April 19, 2008
In mid-April, Stout is hosted the Supermileage Challenge. High school and middle school students used their math, science and technology skills to build vehicles that can get up to 500 miles per gallon. Eighteen schools from three states will compete in the event.
View the WQOW video...
Menomonie Approves Eelctrical Vehicles
March 18, 2008
The Menomonie city council unanimously approved an ordinance approving the driving of neighborhood electric vehicles on city streets. The ordinance is a direct response to an electric vehicle UW-Stout bought to help patrol parking lots. Read the WEAU.com story...
"Student's Solar Vision"
March 6, 2008
Click here to read the Eau Claire Leader Telegram article "Student's Solar Vision: Stout sophomore pitches technology idea at Capitol."
"Going for the Green"
March 6, 2008
Click here to read the Stoutonia article "Going for the Green: Stout takes steps towards an eco-friendly campus."
"Mixed Green: RecycleMania comes to Stout"
March 3, 2008
Click here to read the Dunn County News article about RecycleMania and Stout's student Recyclemania coordinators, Many Mulder and Heidi Behnke.
Week 4 of RecycleMania: UW-Stout reaching waste minimization target of the University Presidents Climate Commitment
March 2, 2008
Once again UW-Stout is leading the RecycleMania Waste Minimization category for all UW campuses, including UW-Madison. As of week four of the 10 week national college campus recycling competition, Stout is still in the top 11% of all campuses for this category.
This specific RecycleMania event involves a more advanced educational campaign, teaching the campus community to cut waste by placing less emphasis on recycling and more focus on reuse and reduction. Results are calculated by taking the volume of acceptable recyclables and adding it to the volume of trash and dividing this number with the population figure.
Participation in the Waste Minimization competition may be credited by a school as one of their two required "tangible actions" under the Presidents Climate Commitment. University of Wisconsin-Stout Chancellor Charles W. Sorensen signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment on September 12, 2007.
The climate commitment agreement is a high-profile pledge by college and university leaders nationwide to reduce and ultimately neutralize greenhouse gas emissions on their campuses and to provide their graduates the education to help society do the same.
Sorensen joins at least 375 other campus leaders in becoming a Charter Signatory of the climate commitment document. The request to sign the document was brought by the Stout Student Association and supported by leadership on the Chancellor's Advisory Council.
For more information about the Commitment rules, visit: http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/
UW-Stout’s sustainability program finds ZENN
February 12, 2008
Although students may not like receiving parking tickets, they may appreciate the new electric car that helped the parking meter attendant deliver them.
The University of Wisconsin-Stout has purchased a Zero-Emission, No Noise fully featured electric vehicle, known as a ZENN car, as part of its campus sustainability efforts. The car will be used by Parking Services for security and safety patrol of campus parking lots.
Designed for neighborhood or urban use, the ZENN vehicle also makes sense for a campus, Keith McCarten of UW-Stout’s security and police services said.
“I was interested in taking the lead in switching to a vehicle that is both less expensive to operate and more ecologically friendly,” McCarten said. “Many of our parking customers, especially students, are concerned about the carbon emissions of traditional internal combustion engines, and this was a good way to demonstrate that we share those concerns.”
The ZENN vehicle can drive for 30 to 50 miles on one charge from a standard electrical outlet, at a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour. Charging the vehicle seven times is equal to one tank of gas, which according to ZENN’s marketing materials, makes its energy usage equivalent to 245 miles per gallon of fuel.
At a petite 10 feet long and 5 feet wide, the ZENN vehicle seats two people. Its estimated operating cost is 1 to 2 cents per mile, compared to a conventional gas vehicle’s cost of 8 to 12 cents per mile.
In addition, the vehicle is low maintenance. Its exterior panels are rustproof and dent resistant for long-term durability. And, because the ZENN is solely electric, it eliminates the replacement and repair costs of oil changes, oil filters and tune-ups associated with internal combustion engines in gas vehicles. Brake wear also is greatly limited due to the ZENN’s lower driving speed and its regenerative braking system, which helps to recharge the vehicle’s batteries as it brakes.
“I’m hoping that use of the ZENN can serve as a laboratory for assessing the benefits of increased use of this kind of vehicle in other areas of campus,” McCarten said.
“The sustainability effort at Stout is spread across all departments and depends on the initiative of individuals like Keith,” Raina Clark, UW-Stout environmental sustainability coordinator, said. “We have many faculty, staff and students who have volunteered to take on projects in recycling, composting and other areas because sustainability is important to them personally. Keith’s success in bring the first completely electric vehicle to campus shows that we can make great things happen.”
For more information about the ZENN vehicle, contact McCarten at mccartenk@uwstout.edu or (715) 232-2552.
For more information about other sustainability initiatives at UW-Stout, contact Clark at clarkra@uwstout.edu or (715) 232-1588.
Read the Leader Telegram's article on the Stout's Zenn vehicle.
UW-Stout submits first report for the Presidents Climate Commitment
November 22, 2007
UW-Stout has completed its first report as a signatory of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).
The report, submitted on November 15, 2007, covers the institutional structure we have created and tangible actions we are taking to move UW-Stout toward climate neutrality.
Click here to view a pdf of the report.
UW-Stout is next required to: 1) complete and report on a comprehensive green house gas emissions inventory by September 15, 2008 and 2) submit a climate action plan and an updated emissions inventory by September 15, 2009.
For a detailed look at Stout’s responsibilities as a signatory of the Presidents Climate Commitment, go to the ACUPCC website at http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/. You can view the 2-month reports of other climate commitment signatories at http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/reports/.
Recyclable Art Competition Results
November 15, 2007
The November 12th Recyclable Art Competition was a great success!
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Click here to view a photo gallery of the event and some of the entries.
Popular choice winners:
Elementary: Ashley Rohde; River Heights Elementary
Middle School: Taylor Davis, Maria Pozharsky, Alissa Giljohann; Menomonie
High School: Chelsea Grambo; Colfax High School
College: Megan Thomas; University of Wisconsin- Stout
Non-college, adult: Jane Beckwith; Knapp, WI.
Judges’ Choice winners:
Elementary: Ellen Peterson; St. Paul’s Lutheran School
Middle School: Joe Baier and Tommy Lor; Menomonie Middle School
High School: Callie Anderson; Colfax High School
College: Hope Larson; University of Wisconsin-Stout
Non-college, adult: Marie Gabert; Elk Mound, WI
Matt Pugmire, UW-Stout student, won the "guess how many cans are in the bale of aluminum" contest. He guessed 23,900, over by just 247 cans.
The Recyclable Art Competition was co-sponsored by Blue Devil Productions, GreenSense, Sustainable Dunn and Dunn County Solid Waste. Prizes for the winning entreis were donated by local businesses: Acoustic Café, Bad Cat Bikes, Burger King, Bookends, Broadway Bowl; Burrachos, Jeff and Jim’s Pizza, Legacy Chocolates, Menomonie Market Food Coop, Pizza Hut, Ted’s Pizza, UW-Stout Bookstore, and Wal-mart.
View Dunn County News coverage of the event.
New Environmental and Natural Resources course
November 12, 2007
In spring 2008, Rula Qalyoubi Kemp, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Economics, will be teaching a new Environmental and Natural Resources course (Econ 350). This course will cover number of areas of special interest to environmental science minors:
- Economist perspective on the environment
- Welfare analysis of market failure and environmental/resource problems.
- The economics of correcting market failures
- Benefit-cost analysis and its application to environmental and natural resource problems
- Policies for regulating environmental pollution.
Additional topics include: economic of energy, water resources, air pollution, renewable resources, trade and environment, economic development and environmental quality. The class is scheduled for Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 1:25 to 2:20pm. For questions, contact Rula Qalyoubi Kemp at kempru@uwstout.edu.
UW-Stout joins the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
November 7, 2007
Stout is now a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). All faculty, staff and students have access to AASHE’s members-only resources, discounts to AASHE-sponsored workshops and events, and opportunities for professional development and networking. Create an account by clicking on the link above and going to "Member Login" in the left column. Use your campus e-mail address as your username, and follow the directions to have a password e-mailed to you.
Auxiliary Services Sustainability Webinar
October 18, 2007
University Housing and University Dining Services brought the University of Virginia's "Award Winning Sustainability Ideas for Auxiliary Services" webinar to some of UW-Stout's key auxilliary services staff on October 10, 2007. Click here for a link to the webinar powerpoint.
Chancellor Sorensen signs the Presidents Climate Committment
September 24, 2007
Chancellor Sorensen signs the Presidents Climate Committment on September 15, 2007. Read more...