Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 48.61
Liaison Kristina Bryan
Submission Date Feb. 26, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Saint Louis University
IN-2: Innovation 2

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Brandon Verhoff
Director
Sustainability & Benchmarking
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Title or keywords related to the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Student Led Initiative -Disposable Water Bottle Reduction Plan

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:

Over the summer of 2014, the Student Government Association (SGA) Wellness Committee submitted a proposal to reduce the total number of disposable water bottles purchased on campus by 50%. The proposal included a plan to install 31 new water bottle filling stations across campus along with an engagement program.
The use of plastic water bottles has been a growing concern raised by students and student organizations across the Saint Louis University campus. This practice has proven to have large environmental risks and concerns both in production and waste. For instance, it has been reported that 86% of all plastic water bottles, or around 30 billion, end up in a landfill every year in the U.S. The production of plastic water bottles also has social justice implications. Often times, the privatization of water results in a net loss of resources for the surrounding communities in part of the world where local residence cannot afford the price of bottled water. In order to address these concerns the SGA Wellness Committee created “The Water Fountain Initiative”.
In order to significantly decrease bottle waste campus wide, the SGA Wellness Committee deemed it necessary to fund infrastructure needs to encourage the use of tap water. This infrastructure improvement added 31 new filling stations in various locations at a cost of $70,000. The locations were strategically selected by the SGA Wellness Committee based on convenience, accessibility to current water bottle fillers, and other high traffic areas.
During the fall 2014 semester, reusable water bottles were purchased to provide students with the accessibility and promotion of the new water bottle filling stations scattered throughout campus. Campus engagement activities occurred during Fall Welcome, new student orientation, and other campus activities.
In support of this initiative the University has added water bottle filling stations as a standard in all new building projects.


A brief description of any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation (if not reported above):

As of December 2014 a total number of 384,494 disposable water bottles have been saved due to the installation of these new water bottle filling stations.


A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise:
Which of the following STARS subcategories does the innovation most closely relate to? (Select all that apply up to a maximum of five):
Yes or No
Curriculum No
Research No
Campus Engagement Yes
Public Engagement No
Air & Climate No
Buildings No
Dining Services No
Energy No
Grounds No
Purchasing No
Transportation No
Waste Yes
Water Yes
Coordination, Planning & Governance Yes
Diversity & Affordability No
Health, Wellbeing & Work Yes
Investment No

Other topic(s) that the innovation relates to that are not listed above:
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The website URL where information about the innovation is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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