Winter/Spring 2009 Update on the University's Environmental Stewardship

Columbia continues to make strides in our mission to become more sustainable in how we live and work. This is a long-term effort that involves the entire University community: Our faculty, peers and students are in many ways putting their commitment to environmental stewardship into measurable action.  This edition of the Sustainable Columbia E-news update is filled with milestones from this past winter and new activities this coming spring.

As always, please be sure to share your ideas and efforts with us through the contacts provided below.

Robert Kasdin

Senior Executive Vice President

Lamont's Comer Building Named "Lab of the Year"

Columbia'sGary C. Comer Geochemistry Building on the Lamont Campus in Palisades, N.Y. won Research and Development magazine's annual Lab of the Year award.Completed in late 2007, the 70,000 square-foot building, part of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, houses extensive lab space directly supporting research and development to advance the understanding of climate change. Designed by Payette of Boston, the building overlooks the Hudson but is camouflaged to minimize its visual impact. The dramatic setting offers an abundance of natural light and invigorating river valley views while deftly addressing the practical needs of a high-technology laboratory.  This is a nice acknowledgement of the University's commitment to both high quality architectural design and environmentally sustainable building. The Comer Geochemistry Buildingis also the University's first to be designed according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards (LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark for design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings). It is expected to receive LEED Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Knox Hall and Geothermal Energy

Knox Hall, located at Columbia affiliate Union Theological Seminary on 122nd Street and Broadway, will soon be the home of several Arts and Sciences departments. Knox Hall's renovations include four 2,000-foot deep geothermal wells to create a projected energy savings of 50 to 60 percent.  These innovative geothermal wells, each eight inches in diameter, will provide heating and cooling by drawing ground water from the earth. Knox joins the new Interdisciplinary Science Building; McVickar Hall, home of the new Columbia Alumni Center; the new Comer Geochemistry Building at the Lamont campus; and Faculty House as Columbia buildings currently pursuing LEED certification. Knox Hall's renovations are projected for completion in the fall.

EcoReps Video Wins Green Building Competition

Late last semester, Columbia's student EcoReps created a YouTube video that won a national competition sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council. The EcoReps are a group of student employees working to publicize and facilitate campus projects that will reduce the University's ecological footprint. Their video promotes the use of a Building Dashboard system, which displays energy data on a website to track real-time energy usage.  The Office of Environmental Stewardship, EcoReps, Columbia University Information Technology, Information Technology Facilities, University Facilities and Housing are now exploring the technical requirements for installing a Building Dashboard system in three dorms.

"GreenBorough" House Provides Model for Earth-Friendly Living

A brownstone at 604 W. 114^th Street will be the site of a new special interest house known as the Columbia GreenBorough. Thirteen students and a graduate student resident assistant will live in the brownstone and work to reduce their environmental footprints by focusing on energy efficiency, recycling, sustainability, composting and general environmental stewardship, and sharing their knowledge and experiences with others.

All-Ivy Environmental and Sustainable Development Career Fair

More than a thousand students from eight Ivy League schools gathered on Friday, March 6 at Columbia's Low Library to learn more about green job opportunities. The 4^th annual All-Ivy Environmental and Sustainable Development Career Fair drew approximately 65 organizations from both the public and private sectors, including government, corporations and nonprofits.  The event was organized by the Earth Institute's Office of Academic and Research Programs.  The career fair attracted substantial media coverage, including TIME magazine, Voice of America, GreenWire, CBS News and Vault.com, a leading career resources site.

Kicking Off the Energy Challenge

On Feb. 12, the EcoReps launched the student green energy challenge with an event in John Jay Dining Hall, where students were asked to take an energy efficiency pledge. The challenge runs all semester and consists of a competition among students to reduce their energy usage. The Office of Environmental Stewardship in conjunction with Facilities is collecting weekly metering data for 13 residence halls. A new Facebook page will post the results. Between now and March 27, the eligible dorm with the largest proportion of its residents to join the group and take the Energy Challenge pledge will win a pizza party in a secret location. The dorm with the least energy usage at the end of each month of the competition will win.

New York City Panel on Climate Change Issues First Report

On Feb. 17, Columbia researchers joined with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to discuss the projections developed by the New York City Panel on Climate Change. The panel is part of Bloomberg's PlaNYC effort to assess the threats of climate change and develop appropriate adaptation responses; it is co-chaired by Cynthia Rosenzweig, a researcher at the University-affiliated Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the Center for Climate Systems Research (CCSR), part of the Earth Institute. Scientists Klaus Jacob, with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and Vivian Gornitz, with CCSR, are on the panel with Rosenzweig.  Columbia joined the mayor's PlaNYC 2017 challenge nearly two years ago, enlisting with other local universities in pledging to cut its carbon emissions by 30 percent within a decade.

Recycling Building Materials and Creating Jobs in Manhattanville

The University is creating an opportunity for new jobs and job training from disassembly and recycling of building materials in Manhattanville.  In coordination with the Institution Recycling Network and NYC's Build It Green, Columbia intends to reuse or recycle more than 90 percent of the site's building materials while training and employing local minority workers.  Meanwhile the University is sharing its growing expertise in sustainable practices. The Clean Construction Workshop, hosted in January in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency for some 100 colleges and universities, explored strategies, tools, technology and incentives for reducing construction-related diesel emissions.

"Green Scene" Showcases Arts Grant Winners

The Arts Initiative at Columbia University and the Office of Environmental Stewardship have awarded Green Scene grants to three student art projects that promote campus environmental awareness. The grants, provided by the Gatsby Foundation, were given to the following projects: a green roof produce garden constructed to resemble a cityscape, a recycling program for campus event playbills and a public information poster campaign to promote energy efficiency. The projects will be showcased at Postscrypt during this April's Earth Week activities to help spark new ideas for future Green Scene submissions.

Columbia Engineering Launches the Green Agenda
The Columbia Green Agenda is a new program to help local residents, public school students, small businesses, and community-based organizations monitor their energy usage and make long-term improvements in energy efficiency and sustainable business practices. The Green Agenda is organized by Columbia's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences through the Center for Technology, Innovation and Community Engagement (CTICE) and the Columbia-Harlem Small Business Development Center. The Green Agenda will expand CTICE's current workforce development programs, which prepare unemployed and underemployed local residents for careers in information technology by training residents to conduct energy-use consultations and green business practice evaluations for local businesses, organizations and buildings. The Green Agenda will foster collaborations with local enterprises, business associations, and government agencies to promote sustainable economic development in Upper Manhattan. The program builds on the Engineering School's pioneering community-based learning programs, which enhance technology skills in Harlem public schools, businesses and not-for-profit groups. For more information on the Green Agenda, contact Rebecca Rodriquez (rr2037@columbia.edu).

Weekly Textile Recycling Launches This Spring

Following the successful coat and clothing collection at the end of last semester, which gathered 1,400 pounds of textiles in five hours, the Office of Environmental Stewardship is setting up a biweekly collection to coincide with the Farmers' Market on Thursdays.  The collection will be at no cost to the University and should make a measurable difference in the amount of waste going to landfills. It will also replace the recycling system that was tried in Lerner last year.  The collection launched March 12 and will run every other Thursday from noon to four.  Look for it on College Walk.  For more information visit the Office of Environmental Stewardship's website.

Reusing Surplus Furniture and Equipment

In the last year, the Office of Environmental Stewardship has developed its Columbia Surplus Reuse Program, which seeks new homes for furniture and equipment displaced by new developments and refurbishing.  The program, run in coordination with other departments such as University Facilities, helps identify leftover furniture and equipment and then matches them with other departments or local nonprofit organizations. More than 90 tons of furniture has been kept out of landfills in a few short months. With the help of Housing and Dining Services, the program also sent kitchen equipment from Faculty House to a job-training school, as well as residence hall beds to an orphanage in Central America. Though still a work in progress, the program will eventually include a website that functions like an internal "Craigslist." The result is both cost savings and a reduction of the waste stream.  If you have or need surplus furniture or equipment, contact Helen Bielak (environment@columbia.edu).

Business School "Greening" Open House Event

Columbia Business School is transforming its annual Open House into a more eco-friendly event.  For two days some 350 admitted students will sit in on classes and meet faculty members, prominent alumni and current students.  This year's Open House will emphasize waste reduction by using clearly labeled paper and plastics recycling bins and, for the first time, distributing free gifts in reusable tote bags instead of disposable plastic and paper bags. The student-run Green Business Club has certified Open House with its "Go Green" seal of approval for campus organizations that make sustainable choices for their events. The Green Business Club has also kicked off the annual recycling bin audit of Uris and Warren Halls. Once the audit is complete, the Office of Environmental Stewardship will work with the Green Business Club and University Facilities to move and replace the bins.

Columbia Participates in Earth Hour, Saturday, March 28

As part of its commitment to achieving environmental sustainability, the University encourages members of its community to conserve energy. This year, Columbia is taking part in the World Wildlife Fund's third annual Earth Hour, a global campaign to raise awareness about climate change. Columbia invites students in residential halls to take part by shutting off their lights on Saturday, March 28, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., as part of the Earth Hour campaign. Essential lighting across the University will be kept on for safety reasons. To learn more about Earth Hour, visit www.earthhour.org/action/. For tips on conserving energy at work and at home, visit http://www.environment.columbia.edu/. For more information and to find out how to participate, contact Nilda Mesa (nmesa@columbia.edu).

Greenspiration Event Commemorates Earth Week

From April 17-26, more than 30 religious, cultural, political, and environmental groups from Columbia, Barnard and Teachers College are planning events related to environmental issues. The planners have received a $1,000 grant from MTV, which may include Greenspiration in its television coverage. The programming includes educational panels, opportunities for activism, and social events. Highlights include a panel discussion with noted author Bill McKibben, gardening at Columbia and in Harlem's community gardens, an interfaith panel on climate change, a Pete Seeger concert at Teachers College, and a Green Folk Festival Fair. Check http://www.environment.columbia.edu/ for more information as the dates approach.

New Carpooling Bulletin Board

The Office of Work-Life bulletin board, launching this week, will feature a car-pool section. Commuters interested in sharing rides and saving on gas can find others also interested by logging on to http://worklife.columbia.edu/forum.

Don't Forget to Share Your News and Ideas

 Help us promote your own efforts to help Columbia become more sustainable. Please e-mail Nilda Mesa, assistant vice president of environmental stewardship, with your ideas at environment@columbia.edu.

Please share information about what you and your office are doing to support a sustainable Columbia by sending your news and updates to Clare Oh in the Office of Communications and Public Affairs at clare.oh@columbia.edu.