Green Campus Initiative Report

The 2008-2009 Green Campus Initiative Report is now available on the Green Campus Initiative web page.

On page 2 of the report I wrote a letter to the Lasell Community highlighting our accomplishments. I have pasted the text from the letter below.

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Dear Lasell College Community,

Since the Green Campus Task Force started its work in October of 2007, Lasell College has made tremendous progress towards making our campus a sustainable place to live, work, and study. In this report we highlight the many accomplishments we have realized on our campus in the past 2 years.

Several accomplishments are worthy of special note. First, the launching of the Lasell College Single Stream Recycling Program now provides the campus community the opportunity to recycle a majority of their waste material. In the first three months, our single stream system diverted over 4 tons of material from the landfill. We look forward to improving the system and launching new education campaigns in 2009-2010 to further increase recycling rates.

A second significant accomplishment in 2008-2009 was the hiring of Princeton Energy Systems to help Lasell College develop an Energy and Sustainability Master Plan. Princeton Energy Systems will provide consulting services to help us optimize our energy usage and evaluate the feasibility of cogeneration, renewable, and alternative energy strategies.

The launching of the Environmental Studies Major and Minor also represents a significant accomplishment for Lasell College. By increasing course offerings related to the environment, we are providing the opportunity for students in all majors to obtain the information, knowledge, and skills needed to promote sustainability in their places of work and in their home communities.

Finally, in September of 2008, President Alexander signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. By signing this commitment, President Alexander has asserted that Lasell College will do its part to help create a “thriving, ethical, and civil society” free from global warming emissions.

We look forward to engaging more of our community in these efforts as we work towards becoming a model institution of sustainability.

Sincerely,

Michael Daley, PhD
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science
Chair of the 2008-2009 Environmental Sustainability Committee