Why UVA will be the nation's leading sustainable university
UVA's environmental impact goes well beyond coal and graduation.
By Sheffield Hale, Local CorrespondentThu, Nov 17 2011 at 12:24 AM EST
Photo: Beggs/Flickr
The nation's leading university in sustainability: University of Virginia? Really? The growing university that gets 70 percent of its energy from coal, is poorly located for renewable energy and whose alumni had pursued sustainability at UVA "without institutional goals" amidst a "frustratingly conservative" culture?
Yes, really. Current and future students will look back proudly at their time here because, contrary to popular belief, there's more to a sustainable experience than electricity production. The Board of Visitors passed the first ever sustainability resolution in the summer of 2011. This resolution did call for a reduction in carbon emissions of 25 percent by 2025, but more importantly, it declared that "the university will utilize the highest standards of environmental stewardship and resource conservation and will address other areas of concern beyond greenhouse gas emissions... The university will educate and engage its students, faculty, staff, and the larger community; contribute to knowledge through research... and foster public service related to these sustainability principles."
Let's look at where UVA is becoming a leader in making its campus more sustainable:
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Transportation — UVA just joined Zimride, a thriving ride-sharing network, and is on pace to install the largest bike-sharing program of any university in the country.
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Nitrogen — Environmental science professor Jim Galloway and his team developed the first nitrogen footprint calculator, which visualizes the amount of nitrogen lost because of food production and transportation.
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Food — Charlottesville is surrounded by a booming breadbasket of local food. Students, faculty, staff and community members passionate about food engage in the university's interdisciplinary UVA Food Collaborative.
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Waste — The University Committee on Sustainability is exploring a goal of sending zero waste to landfills.
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Water — At a school that has 400 million gallons of rainfall on impervious surfaces each year, we have an opportunity to become water neutral and offset some of the 500 million gallons per year we currently consume.
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Stormwater — Following successful stormwater initiatives at the Dell pond and JPJ, as well as the UVA Bay Game's research about our impacts on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, we have the knowledge and the tools to lead by example.
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Landscape — It's hard to find a more beautiful location than the one on which Thomas Jefferson constructed the academical village. 90% of this UNESCO World Heritage Site is green space with ten vibrant gardens and the iconic lawn.
Those goals are great, but wait — where does a university, an institution of learning, capitalize on these opportunities? While producing less waste makes a more sustainable campus, producing leaders and ideas are the main ingredients for a sustainable university.
- Living learning laboratory — Given the incredible opportunities to create a sustainable campus, those goals become even more central to UVA's mission when students and faculty engage in the process through research and education. As of November 2011, students and faculty can join the journey by serving on new task forces for reducing our environmental footprint in all major areas.
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Community — Resilient communities not only integrate into their environment but also have strong relationships with their neighbors. The Better Business Challenge has already partnered 22 small local businesses with 36 student liaisons to help time-strapped businesses pursue sustainability and enable students to learn by doing.
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Academics — As a top 25 university, UVA has a popular new minor in sustainability and a growing demand for coursework in sustainability. Even though the interdisciplinary courses or research on topics like sustainability currently lack sufficient institutional support, research teams and networks like EcoMOD and ESAVANA have achieved national and international recognition.
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Student leadership — You would be hard pressed to find a place with such active students who take as much pride in student self-governance. Students not only participate in over 50 sustainability-focused organizations at UVA and in the community, but they also engage in conversations at most levels of the university thanks to the new student subcommittee.
Environmental leader and activist Bill McKibben pointed out that "not many people get to say that they are in the most important place doing the most important work ... but students get to say that!" After hearing Bill's words and seeing the enormous opportunities for UVA students to embark on a journey in sustainability, I realized that it is we — UVA students — who have the privilege of doing the most important work at the most important place at the most important time.
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