Fall 2016 Newsletter

From the OEP Director

University of Connecticut Office of Environmental Policy | 1

As always, this issue features sustainability highlights from a busy six months at

UConn. The summer was off to a great start in May, when we were honored to

accept UConn’s 2016 Green Circle Sustainability Award from the CT DEEP.

Meanwhile, current events beyond the campus tell a different story. A new Trump administration could slow

or reverse hard-earned progress on climate action by revoking EPA’s Clean Power Plan and withdrawing from

the UN’s Paris Agreement, even before these policies take effect.

One thing is certain in the months and years ahead - now more than ever, higher education needs to lead on

climate! We can drive a prosperous, clean energy future through education, research, and outreach, and

through our own low-carbon operations and innovations.

On December 9th, President Herbst stepped up to keep UConn on the forefront. She joined presidents from

more than 170 colleges and universities in signing a letter urging president-elect Trump and Congress to sup-

port the Paris Agreement, climate research, and investment in a low carbon economy. Now it’s time to “walk

the talk” in 2017.

Happy New Year!

Rich Miller

….One thing is certain in the months and years ahead - now more than

ever, higher education needs to lead on climate! “

2 | Fall 2016 Newsletter

2020 Vision for Campus Sustainability and Climate Leadership

Fall 2016 EPAC Meeting

OEP staff shared good news and great aspirations

at this semester’s Environmental Policy Advisory

Council meeting. Aspirations consisted of specific

goals and strategies in a proposed 2020 Sustaina-

bility Vision Plan (see above), which used the re-

sults of student, faculty and staff surveys to identi-

fy goals in eight priority areas. OEP has been

meeting with stakeholders throughout the year to

arrive at feasible yet ambitious metrics for achieving these goals. At press time, the plan is under

consideration by the University’s senior leaders. The good news

also came from multiple departments represented at EPAC, es-

pecially updates about UConn’s new LEED Gold Policy for all

construction and major renovation projects, and the rollout of a

successful Zipcar service on campus. Both programs aim to re-

duce UConn’s carbon footprint.

100% renewable

purchased power

101-acre North Campus

Hillside Environmental

Education Park expansion

30% reduction in daily

potable water use

Click here to learn more about UConn’s 2020 Vision Plan, including goals for clean energy, green

building, outreach and engagement, sustainable dining, open space and waste reduction.

In November, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that UConn was

the #3 overall sustainable campus among 249 colleges and universities

rated between 2013 and 2016. The university was also cited as a “top per-

former” in the AASHE Sustainable Campus Index for three specific practic-

es, its: Vendor Code of Conduct, sustainability-related research, and ex-

emplary student engagement through the UConn@COP program.

University of Connecticut Office of Environmental Policy | 3

2013-2016 Environmental Leadership Awards

For the first time in nearly four years, UConn presented awards to those who have gone above

and beyond their jobs and academic pursuits to make our campus and community more sus-

tainable. The awards ceremony included inspiring introduc-

tory remarks by Scott Jordan, EVPA & CFO, and Gene Likens,

Special Environmental Advisor to President Herbst. An eight-

person committee selected award recipients from dozens of

nominees in categories for students, faculty, staff, alumni

and external environmental partners, among others.

Check out an on-line slideshow summarizing the achieve-

ments of all ELA award Winners and Finalists here.

UConn@COP22 Marrakech An enthusiastic cohort of 12 students, four fac-

ulty members, and two sustainability staff

traveled to Marrakech, Morocco, to attend the

UN’s annual Climate Change Conference

(COP22) in mid-November. The contingent

witnessed fascinating discussions on climate

policy, action and resilience, networked with

international students and senior administra-

tors at Cadi Ayyad University, and immersed

themselves in the Moroccan culture. To learn

more about the UConn experience in Marra-

kech, check out the group’s COP22 Blogs.

Recycling Update

Special Recognition Winners

This semester, Facilities Operations and Building Services staff swept across

campus with changes that will make recycling easier for everyone. Actions in-

cluded retrofitting containers with mixed-recycling lids, coupling trash and re-

cycling bins, and color-coding plastic bag liners to avoid commingling. Stand-

ardizing bins, increasing their convenience, and differentiating trash from recy-

cling are significant steps to a better recycling rate at UConn.

Photo by Jeff Gonci

4 | Fall 2016 Newsletter

Members of the EcoHusky student group and EcoHouse learning community volunteered at the

annual Hartford Marathon on October 8th. They manned the compost and recycling bins, and edu-

cated the race-goers about proper waste sorting with their interactive basketball game. In Novem-

ber, 150 students attended the EcoHusky student group’s free public viewing of Before the Flood,

National Geographic's new documentary on cli-

mate change starring actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

On Saturday, December 3rd, just two years after

attending the historic People’s Climate March in

New York City, EcoHusky joined more than 400

people in Hartford to march for the preservation

of our planet, and human rights to health, jobs,

and equality, in the March for Jobs, Justice, and a

Livable Earth.

EcoHusky Events

EcoMadness Winners

On Saturday, September 24th, more than 40

student volunteers collected recyclables

from tailgaters at the UConn vs. Syracuse

football game. For the first time ever, Green

GameDay included an inter-fraternity tail-

gate recycling competition, which helped

EcoHuskies set a new GameDay record. Al-

pha Sigma Phi (ΑΣΦ), led by recycling captain Christian Turelli, took home the trophy for their

significant contribution to the record one-ton total of bottles and cans collected at GGD 2016.

Green GameDay

Lowest per capita water usage: Alsop (West)

Greatest percent reduction, water usage: Holcomb (East)

Lowest per capita energy usage: Holcomb (East)

Greatest percent reduction, energy usage: Whitney (East)