by Kris Gallagher
In 2009, the Sierra Club “failed” DePaul on its annual Cool Schools guide to the most eco-enlightened universities. In 2011, it ranked DePaul among the top 50 greenest colleges in the nation.
How did DePaul make such a leap? It took thriftiness, a sense of mission and an enthusiastic partnership between students and the staff of DePaul’s Facility Operations (Facility Ops).
“Being ranked 46th in the nation is a pretty big accomplishment,” especially because DePaul is in an urban environment, says Anthony Alfano, president of the Student Government Association (SGA), which initiated and funded many of the most visible changes. “Rural campuses have more options, like farming their own food.”
The 2009 Sierra Club rating galvanized SGA into founding its Environmental Concerns Committee, which works with DePaul’s Sustainability Initiatives Task Force and Facility Ops to identify green opportunities. SGA has donated $250,000 annually for the past four years to fund projects such as solar-powered lighting, solar-powered trash compactors that need to be emptied just once or twice a week, a green roof on the DePaul Center and water-bottle refill stations, all installed by Facility Ops.
“Facility Ops has been great. They are that body that gets a lot of things done, and they like being energy efficient,” says Alfano. “When we come to them with ideas, they’ll be at our next meeting with a list of 10 options and their costs.”
Green is thrifty
Facility Ops’ long-time commitment to cost savings dovetails neatly with sustainability efforts, says Jim Kohl, director of operations for the Loop Campus: “Most green ideas are actually cost savings.”
For example, Facility Ops retrofit–replaced the internal elements–of all the lighting in Loop Campus buildings, saving “about 30 percent in the lighting costs, without sacrificing any light,” he says. Variable frequency drives are being installed on large pumps and fans, which now run only as fast as needed. A growing number of classrooms have motion sensors that automatically turn off the lights.
Computerized “smart start” systems check outside temperatures and humidity as well as building schedules to determine when to turn on heating and air conditioning, says John Zaccari, director of operations for the Lincoln Park Campus. “So, instead of guys coming in at 5 in the morning and flipping everything on, there may be some buildings that have the right amount of sun on them or had a program going all night that kept the building warm, and the systems might not turn on for an hour or two.”
SGA-funded solar panels power about 40 light poles at the Lincoln Park Campus. SGA also paid for watt-stingy LED lights in the parking garage next to Centennial Hall. Campus landscaping now incorporates many perennials, particularly plants native to the area. In addition to providing a habitat for local species, the move cuts down significantly on transportation and containers needed for annual plants, Zaccari says.
Good actions, done well
Many changes are cost-neutral but inspired by St. Vincent’s injunction to do good and do it well. Two of Public Safety’s six vehicles are hybrids. The grounds crew just replaced gas-powered mowers with propane mowers and switched to biodegradable, non-synthetic chemicals for weed control.
Similarly, the night cleaning crew switched to all-green cleaning products, which are just as effective as and less toxic than the previous supplies. Facility Ops now uses paint and carpet glue containing few or no volatile organic compounds, which also eliminates the chemical smell, says Kohl. All new carpet includes recycled materials, and the vendor recycles the old carpet.
DePaul’s careful attention to using recycled or sustainable products and recycling old materials was one reason the university received a gold LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for the Monsignor Andrew J. McGowan Science Building.
“We’re hoping for gold certification for the Arts and Letters Building (opening in January 2012) and silver for the new Theatre School building (opening in 2013),” says Bob Janis, vice president for Facility Ops.
Power in numbers
Some sustainable practices involve the entire campus community. SGA paid for water-bottle refill stations to be installed in areas with high student traffic. Each station includes a counter that shows a running total; it’s not unusual for refills to exceed 1,800 a month.
“I’ve seen a lot less plastic water bottles being used,” says Alfano, adding that students love the stations.
In addition to widely deployed recycling containers, the university uses a bagging system that enables its trash hauler to more easily separate recyclables from waste. In the first six months of 2011 alone, the university’s trash decreased 2 percent while recycling increased 27 percent over the same period last year.
“Recycling is a wonderful premise … but it counts on the cooperation of students, faculty, staff and the public,” says Kohl. “We put containers everywhere, and we empty them religiously, but we can only do so much. The rest is up to the people.”
SGA and Facility Ops are exploring new projects ranging from digital bulletin boards to dual-flush toilets. Often it’s just a matter of time before technological improvements and price reductions make a project viable, says Kohl: “As soon as an idea matures, we’re on it.”
Sustainability at DePaul
DePaul’s approach to sustainability involves more than just operations. The Sustainability Initiatives Task Force (SITF) coordinates the university’s approach to sustainability through its curriculum, research and community engagement, as well. For example, SITF is working with faculty and staff members to deepen DePaul’s involvement with community gardens (see page 14) through a coordinated array of course work, service projects and research. SITF is developing a university-wide sustainability plan that will guide administrators as they create DePaul’s next six-year strategic plan, spanning 2013-18. A cross-functional team that includes faculty members, staff and students, SITF is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. It is using the organization’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System to accurately gauge the university’s progress.
For more information about SITF, visit mission.depaul.edu/Programs/Sustainability/Pages/default.aspx.
St. Vincent and Sustainability
What’s the connection between St. Vincent de Paul, a 17th century French priest, and “sustainability,” a concept that was first coined in 1987?
St. Vincent famously said, “It is not enough to do good. It must be done well.” His intent was that service be not only effective, but also sustainable. He devoted himself not just to serving the poor, but to finding innovative ways to relieve and reduce poverty. He persuaded governments and the nobility of his time to treat people who were poor or marginalized humanely and established prototypes of sustainable social service, education and health care agencies.
Today, a number of sustainability challenges are exacerbating the issues faced by impoverished communities like those St. Vincent served. The world’s poor are more likely to live in areas hardest hit by drought, flood and famine and are less able to deal with it. They’re more likely to live and work in areas where diminishing natural resources cause conflict and are more likely to raise their families near toxic wastelands. Even in developed nations like the United States, low-income people often live far from fresh food sources or in the shadow of polluters, such as coal-fired power plants.
DePaul reflects St. Vincent’s commitment to social justice by harnessing the expertise and enthusiasm of its faculty, staff, students and alumni to pursue environmental justice, improve the lives of disadvantaged people and reduce its own carbon footprint.
DePaul Makes the “Green Lists”
- The Sierra Club ranks DePaul No. 46 in its 2011 list of the top 100 greenest universities in the country.
- The Princeton Review’s “Guide to 311 Green Colleges,” published with the U.S. Green Building Council, features DePaul University for the second year in a row.