February 2013: 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!

University of Guelph Earns Fair Trade Status
University of Guelph in Ontario has received Fair Trade Campus status from Fairtrade Canada, becoming the first fair-trade campus in the province. In other words, all coffee served at non-franchise locations on campus is fair trade-certified coffee. The certification is a result of the university’s commitment to purchase fair-trade products that uphold social and environmental standards to protect food producers and the environment.

Oklahoma State University to Develop Campus "Eco-Village"
The university has begun developing a housing option designed to encourage its residents to be more socially and ecologically aware. The newly-conceived "eco-village" will incorporate ideas about sustainable living in a socially integrated community by integrating sustainable building design, on-site food gardening, and small-scale animal farming into these new living spaces on their Stillwater, OK campus.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Creates Sustainability Degree
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (or, RPI) in Troy, NY has created a new major in sustainability studies to prepare students for jobs in the construction, science and engineering fields with a heavy focus on clean technology. The new Science and Technology Studies - Sustainability Studies B.S. program weaves together techniques and insights from the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering to address environmental problems.

University of Vermont Hosts First Bike Summit
University of Vermont (UVM) in Burlington, VT recently held its first annual Bike Summit in an effort to raise awareness about bike visibility on campus. The participants of the summit discussed ideas about how to improve bicycle life on campus, like adding more bike racks around campus, increasing the number of bike lanes downtown, and a creating an on-campus shop to help with bike repairs.