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Campus Operations

We promote and celebrate best practices for campus operations. These efforts conserve energy and reduce carbon and waste.  

Buildings

  • 2030 Master Plan calls to "model its commitment to sustainability through efficient facilities and operations management and will make progress toward carbon neutrality."
  • Juniper, Butler, and Valcour Halls achieved LEED Gold status and use geothermal heating/cooling systems
  • Perry Hall is a LEED Platinum building and uses a geothermal heating/cooling system
  • Aiken Hall is a LEED Gold Certified building (see Aiken factsheet)
  • CCM earned 3 Green Globes and uses 47% less energy than the national average for a building of its type
  • 194 St. Paul Street earned 2 Green Globes and has a 119.3KW DC solar array
  • The green roofs at IDX Center and Perry Hall, which ease storm water runoff, keep the buildings cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter
  • Building rehab and renovations, including sealing building envelopes, upgrading windows, using Energy efficient HVAC systems, and adding other features which have produced average energy savings around 50% - including Bader Hall (2012) and Whiting Hall (2014)
  • Partnership with ReSource to donate old usable furniture and salvage building materials when we renovate

Cooling

  • Ice storage tank that builds ice for cooling on off-peak rates
  • Elimination of ethylene glycol in cooling systems
  • Night purge of academic buildings for reduced nighttime cooling
  • Buildings put on geothermal heating/cooling systems: Perry Hall, Juniper Hall, Valcour Hall, Butler Hall, Whiting, CCM, Bader, and McDonald

Dining Services

See more information here

  • Local Food Purchasing via Sodexo's Vermont First program
  • Fair Trade Coffee, Tea, & Bananas 
  • Pre & Post-consumer composting
  • Heat capture system on dishwasher
  • Sodexo Starbucks accepts reusable cups for beverage orders
  • Guide to Greening Campus Events

Grounds

  • Lawn and garden debris is composted
  • All woody wastes go to the McNeil electricity generating plant for fuel
  • Fertilizers used on our grounds are organic
  • Storm water retention system at Perry Hall (bioswale and permeable walkways), which achieved BLUE Certification in May 2018 for being a watershed friendly building
  • Community Garden
  • College Apiary

Heating & Electrical

  • Digital carbon monoxide monitor sensors for residential life student safety
  • Automated classroom controls for class scheduling
  • Digital control scheduling for administrative offices
  • Holiday mode controls for administrative buildings
  • CO2 sensors in large spaces for temperature controls
  • Variable frequency drives on large mechanical systems for electrical savings
  • Residential Life policy about unplugging appliances during break times
  • Increased use of motion sensor lighting and LED lights

Purchasing

  • Purchase produce through Black River Produce
  • Fair Trade coffee, tea, and bananas available in Dining Hall and EATS dining areas
  • Fresh Vending machines (Library, Ireland, and Lakeside)
  • Encourage purchase of 30-100% recycled-content office paper
  • Green Seal cleaning products used across campus
  • Recycled-content can liners used for trash and recycling bins
  • LEED certified furniture in new buildings
  • Purchase EPEAT Bronze or higher computers and monitors. See IS Statement of Practice. 
  • Restriction of sale and use of plain, bottled water
  • Recycled content toilet paper and paper towels used throughout campus, as part of the Power of Three program. See the video below to learn more

    PromoVideo-P3 from Power of Three on Vimeo.

Renewable Energy 

Transportation

See more information here

Water

  • Installation of low-flow shower heads in all residence halls
  • Modulation of boiler water temperatures
  • Regulate hot water discharge with hot water mixing valves
  • Replaced all campus washing machines with high efficiency models
  • Water bottle refill stations in many buildings across campus

Waste Reduction & Diversion

  • Uphold the Vermont State single-use products law (effective July 1, 2020) on plastic bags, plastic straws and plastic stirrers
  • Single-stream recycling for a wide variety of paper products, plastics #1-6, glass, and aluminum. Check out our recycling, composting, and reuse guidelines for more information
  • Pre- and post-consumer composting in the dining hall
  • Water bottle refill stations in many buildings across campus
  • Paper Towel Compost Collection in buildings without hand-dryers in bathrooms 
  • Move Out collection programs for on and off-campus students
  • Book collection program, partnering with Better World Books
  • Plastic bag recycling program with NexTrex
  • Office supplies recycling program with Terracycle x Casella

Partnerships

Contact Us

Want to know more about how we're making campus operations more sustainable? We'd love to hear from you: 

Nic Anderson,
AVP of Operations & Planning

Kate Cronin,
Assistant Director of Campus Operations & Planning

Eliana Fox
Sustainable Transportation Coordinator

Holly Francis,
Sustainability Coordinator

Tim Van Woert
Director of Facilities