University of Minnesota, Duluth
IN-1: Innovation 1

Regional Sustainable Development Partners of the University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota is one of the largest public research universities in the country with five campus locations, eighteen regional extension offices, and a dozen research and outreach centers. Its large breadth presents a unique opportunity to spread sustainable practices across multiple regions while still operating under the same University. The Regional Sustainable Development Partners of the University of Minnesota was created in 1997 to engage citizens in partnership with the University. It aims to support sustainable development in Minnesota by using the resources of the University to address community-identified issues. The extent of the University of Minnesota allows for numerous local issues to be addressed on multiple campus or extension locations all at once, giving the institution a large capacity for sustainable research, education, and outreach. As of 2007, the Partnership encompasses five regions in the state of Minnesota. The Partnership sponsors projects throughout the state to demonstrate and advance sustainability. Recycle Your Holidays is a program that recycles holiday lights by providing recycling bins to businesses and community centers, with the goal of collecting 50,000 pounds of lights by the end of 2010. A laundry company installed solar thermal hot water panels in 2008 to demonstrate alternative energy usage and savings to low and middle income communities. The 2008 Farm Beginnings program taught farmers the skills they need to farm sustainably, including business planning, financial management, whole farm planning, and low-cost sustainable production techniques. All of these projects have furthered sustainability throughout the state through active citizen engagement and leadership with the University. The RSDP also works with the CERTS program, Clean Energy Resource Teams, which help identify and implement clean, efficient, and renewable energy projects around the state. The UMD campus participates in the Partnership through faculty and staff involvement on boards and also faculty/student involvement on specific community projects.