October 2013 Sustainability Profile: Bradley Angell

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month features Brad Angell, an administrative analyst who works directly with Grounds Services and the Physical Plant on campus.

We asked Bradley Angell what he thinks about sustainability and how it relates to his work at UCSC.

Name:  Bradley Angell
Title:  Administrative Analyst, Grounds Services, Physical Plant

Education:

• Ph.D., Department of Architecture, Texas A&M University (College Station, TX), December 2012
• Master of Architecture, Texas A&M University (College Station, TX), August 2006 w/ Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Urbanism
• Juris Doctor, McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific (Sacramento, CA), May 2001
• Bachelor of Science, Agricultural Development, Texas A&M University (College Station, TX), May 1998

Favorite Green Tips: Eat less meat.  Drive less, walk when you can, use public transit when you can’t.  Compost as much as possible – food waste causes methane that is 20X worse than carbon dioxide per unit in terms of greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere. 

What does "sustainability" mean to you?  Sustainability expresses an overall quality of urban design, operations and societal professionalism. Beyond a superficially environmental connotation of the word, meaningful sustainability refers to an expectation of longevity, stewardship and attention to the details of human civilization.

How does sustainability relate to your role at UCSC? What's one cool thing you've done to make UCSC a more sustainable place? My position is principally focused on meeting the sustainability standards set for UCSC.  As an agent in the Grounds Services department, I am primarily concerned with seeking operational innovations that will allow our campus to meet its 2020 goals of zero-waste.  First, I am charged with executing a new waste metrics system that directly links our front-loading trucks to a cloud-based system for weighing individual dumpsters on campus upon their pickup.  Second, I have been working on a pilot “Smart Dumpster” program that will allow Grounds Services operators to manage our system of resource recovery on a real-time “needs” basis, freeing up our crew to undertake other recycling and stewardship projects.  Finally, I have been working with other on-campus design professionals to develop a robust composting program to recycle a dramatically higher volume of organic materials on campus grounds.  

How do you practice sustainability in your daily life? Bike to work. Compost at home including vermicomposting (worms!). Practice vegetarianism to reduce my carbon footprint. And avoid watering the lawn if possible.

Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC? My favorite sustainability moment at UCSC occurred when I was presenting our waste metrics program at the 2013 California Higher Education Sustainability Conference.  There, I presented our innovative approach to waste diversion that includes accurate data collection, the process of converting our resource measures from a volumetric norm to an exact weight basis, and our continued coordination in redirecting what would go to the landfill into other streams of reuse and recycling.

October 2013: Green Tips

Green Tip: Greening Your Grocery Shopping

With the school year starting up, the need to stock up our kitchens and dorm rooms with all the essential foods for late night talks with roomies, study dates, and those rushed morning breakfasts is becoming more prevalent. Before you buy those Poptarts or those single serving oatmeals stop and think about all the packaging wasted on these products. One way you can green up your kitchen and grocery shopping is by buying in bulk. By investing in reusable jars and containers that can be filled up in the store you will be able to save all sorts of needless waste. Many grocery stores today have a bulk aisle that provide a variety of foods like granola, rice, dried fruit, and the always important peanut butter malt balls. Bring your own container, fill them up, and skip the plastic waste that normally come with prepackaged food.

If you're new to the buying in bulk experience here are a few tips to help make your shopping experience easier:

1. Make sure you know what products you will need and how much of them before you arrive at the store.
• The bulk aisle can be overwhelming if you're not sure what products you need. Make a list of everything you could be buying in bulk before hand. For example: Whole Wheat Flour, Almonds, Oats, Sesame Seeds, and Brown Rice
2. Check the weight of your jars and containers and write it down before you fill them up. You don't want to have to overpay just because you didn't subtract the weight of the actual container.
3. Once in the aisle, don't forget to write down the number for each product. Every specific product typically has its own number so that when you take it up to the check out stand the cashier can input the number into the system and calculate the price. If they don't have the numbers provided to them the whole process will take much longer.

Now that you have that down you can go tackle your grocery shopping in a new sustainable way. Buying in bulk is efficient, green, fun, and can also be cheaper!

Financial Accounting & Reporting and Payroll Offices Become Green Certified

Congratulations to the members of the Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) and Payroll Offices for completing their Green Office Certification this summer! Both did a wonderful job engaging in the process and have made commitment plans that will keep them engaged in sustainability efforts. For more information about the Green Office Certification Program, or if you would like to get involved, please check out the Green Office Certification website.

New! Campus Sustainability Plan

Every three years, a new Campus Sustainability Plan (CSP) is created as a resource for the nine sustainability working groups on campus. The Plan establishes goals, objectives, and metrics that will help the working groups track their progress in the years to come. The new 2013-16 plan is now available online and is meant to build on the work accomplished in the 2010-13 Campus Sustainability Plan. It sets a high, but achievable bar in the nine topic areas related to sustainability, including a new topic area: "Awareness, Education and Engagement".

Chancellor's Sustainability Challenge

The Chancellor's Sustainability Challenge is a year-long coordinated campaign focusing on one topic of sustainability, and for 2013-14, our challenge is to "reduce waste" at UC Santa Cruz. The Challenge will bring together waste reduction efforts already happening on campus, build awareness, and encourage personal action, and it will lay the foundation for continued reductions in the coming years to ensure the campus reaches its waste reduction goal of zero waste by 2020. 

Our campus currently diverts about 64% of its waste, meaning 36% of the waste produced on campus goes to the landfill. We want 100% of our waste to not go to the landfill.

You can make a difference! Take the pledge and make a commitment to reduce waste. To find out more about the campaign and what others are doing, visit the Chancellor's Sustainability Challenge website. Like us on Facebook to learn about how others are rising to the challenge.  

Individuals--you, me, your teacher, the person driving your bus, the person sitting in front of you in class, the lady that processes your expense reports, the person sitting next to you in a boring meeting, the cute boy on the second floor of your dorm--each of us plays an important role in reducing waste. So please, take small actions by separating your recycling, printing double-sided, bringing a reusable mug or using a reusable water bottle. If you already do these things, then stretch yourself--bring reusable utensils when you have food to-go, enroll in direct deposit, and get others involved and help make others aware of what they can do. Small acts can have big impacts!

Summer Orientation Waste Diversion Success

Congratulations to the Orientation Office, UCSC Dining, and the Student Environmental Center on the 6th year of Zero Waste Summer Orientation!  This collaborative effort strives to not only divert as much waste as possible, but also to cultivate a zero waste culture within the campus community.  Thanks to the collaboration and the cooperation of this year's guests, 2,887.4 lbs of waste were diverted from the landfill over the course of six days during the 2013 Summer Orientation program.  Thanks to the commitment by Dining Services to provide sustainable food sourcing along with compostable cups, plates, napkins, and utensils; trash was only 2.5% of the overall waste recorded.  Dining fed over 1100 students and families each day of orientation with local foods sourced from Monterey Bay area farmers.  Who can resist a handful of those delicious Watsonville-grown organic strawberries?  Parents exclaimed "I wish I was coming here to go to UCSC and eat this kind of food every day!"

To find out how you can reduce waste on campus this year, click here to take on the Chancellor's Sustainability Challenge.  

October 2013: Innovative Approaches to Sustainability

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, check out the Project Clearinghouse website and contact the Sustainability Office and we will help you direct your ideas toward fruition!

University of Virginia Develops New Model to Measure Nitrogen Footprint
Working with students from multiple disciplines, a professor of environmental sciences recently released the results of a university nitrogen footprint analysis. Predominantly coming from energy use and food production, nitrogen can contribute to smog, acidifying water and weakening the ozone layer. It's not just about carbon dioxide emissions!

University of Buffalo Offers New 'Sustainability Academy' for Students
In its inaugural year, students in this residential learning community participate in community projects and
behind-the-scenes campus operational activities, as well as collaborating with environmental organizations.