Colgate University
ER-2: Student Sustainability Outreach Campaign

Colgate's Office of Sustainability provides education on waste minimization and recycling to campus community members throughout the year. The campaign focuses on how students and staff can minimize landfill waste and reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost. With programs such as RecycleMania, Green Living and Green Office and through activities planned and implemented by an on-campus composting program led by the student Compost Club, the office has improved behaviors across the campus. Colgate's recycling guide is available at: http://www.colgate.edu/docs/d_distinctly-colgate_sustainability_climate-action-planning_waste-minimization-and-recycling/2013-14-colgate-recycling-guide---12-11-12.pdf?sfvrsn=0 Colgate also provides an opportunity for students and staff to track their energy conservation efforts through Building Dashboard (http://buildingdashboard.net/colgate/). This tool tracks energy and water usage in student residence halls. The publicly accessible dashboard features up-to-the-minute statistics.

Since 2008, we have reduced our landfill waste by over 175 tons (or 19%) while our recycling rate has improved from 16% in 2010 to 22% in 2012. The 2011-2012 year represented the 5th year in a row where our per capita waste declined (56 lbs per person [2008] to 44 lbs per person [2012]). This progress comes as a result of improved recycling infrastructure including recycling bins in each student room and an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling program with 16 stations located throughout campus. Since 2009, we have reduced our electricity consumption on campus by over 1.3 million kilowatt-hours. This is attributed to better systems management, lighting upgrades, more efficient data centers, and all-around more sustainable behavior (e.g., people turning lights off in empty rooms, powering down computers overnight, and unplugging coffee pots and other electronic devices).