Princeton University
ER-T2-1: Student Group

Greening Princeton seeks to improve the relationship between the University and the environment by first identifying pertinent environmental issues and then creating task forces to develop solutions. Greening Princeton initiates projects by contacting the most appropriate administrator(s) and listening to their concerns and constraints to see how we can make our ideas work with their mission. By bringing in new ideas, assisting with background research, increasing student support for initiatives, and/or advocating for funding, Greening Princeton greatly accelerates the process of improving and implementing environmentally friendly and socially responsible policies.

1) Greening Princeton Dinner Discussions - On a monthly basis throughout the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 academic year, Greening Princeton hosted dinner discussion events in which professors made presentations on topics related to the environment and had open conversation with students afterward 2) CFL Exchange - Every fall since 2008, Greening Princeton has collaborated with the Office of Sustainability to host a CFL Exchange, a day-long event in which students can pick up CFL light bulbs for their rooms to replace less-efficient incandescent bulbs. 3) "Do It in the Dark" Energy-Saving Competitions - In fall 2008 and spring 2009, Greening Princeton collaborated with SURGE to host two week-long energy-saving competitions between the residential colleges - the first between Rocky and Mathey, and the second between Forbes and Whitman. 4) "Trayless" Dining - In spring 2009, Greening Princeton advocated for Princeton Dining Services to remove trays from their dining halls. The group presented a study that demonstrated the substantial environmental and economic benefits that trayless dining can provide. As of summer 2011, all campus dining halls will be "trayless".

In addition to Greening Princeton, there are a number of other active, sustainability-related student groups on campus. The Princeton Environmental Network (PEN) is a consortium of more than a dozen of these groups. For more information, see http://www.princeton.edu/sustainability/student/pen/index.xml.