Innovative Approaches to Sustainability at Other Campuses.

Here are a few selections of the innovative approaches to sustainability taking place on other college campuses. Each of these examples was chosen because they represent ideas that UCSC could potentially implement in some form, or in some cases, already has begun to. If you see something here that you want to make a reality at UCSC, contact the Sustainability Office and we will help you direct your ideas toward fruition! 

"UC Green" Flipboard Highlights Environmental News UC-Wide
Wondering what kind of sustainability research and projects are taking place at other UCs? "UC Green" is an online magazine full of links to stories about the sustainability findings and successes UC-wide. Click here to read it!

Sustainability: A Solution To Student Retention?
Recent statistics from The Princeton Review (1) indicate that 69 percent of college applicants now cite an institution's level of commitment to environmental sustainability as a factor in their college choice, with 24 percent saying that is a very significant factor. This raises an intriguing question: if institutional commitment to sustainability impacts students' decisions regarding where to attend school, how does it impact what happens once they arrive on campus? Is there a correlation between sustainability and student retention and graduation rates?

Survival Of The Fittest For Green Gym Pedalers
Blending the concepts of sustainability, fitness and social media, Fit for Green is the brainchild of Executive MBA and Ph.D. graduates from UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business, including founder and CEO John Spirko. “Our goal is to make working out on ordinary gym equipment more interactive and rewarding by returning energy to the grid and competing with peers through modern social networking,” he said in a statement. “This new return on investment model will be a catalyst for renewable energy machines in all gymnasiums replacing calories burned with watt-hours created as a measure of fitness accomplishment.

New Mexico State University Geographers Map Outdoor Campus Recycling Resources
Researchers in the Spatial Applications and Research Center (SpARC) at New Mexico State University recently mapped the outdoor recycling bins on campus and determined they are not evenly distributed across campus and need to be closer to buildings. Those who conducted the study predict that relocating the bins may lead to increased recycling.

Works Cited 
1. The Princeton Review. The Princeton Review Releases Free "Guide to 311 Green Colleges" in Partnership With the U.S. Green Building Council. April 20, 2011.