Partner Profile

University of Southern Maine
Location	Portland, ME
Organization Type	Education (Higher)
Percentage Green Power	7%
Organization-wide Purchase	Yes
Environmental Web Page
Partner Profile The University of Southern Maine (USM), established in 1878, is a comprehensive metropolitan university offering associate, baccalaureate, graduate and professional degrees within the University of Maine System. USM is committed to purchasing at minimum three percent green power as well as developing a plan to become "carbon neutral". The University's green power purchase helps it achieve certification for their new buildings under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The purchase of more than one million kWh of green power represents approximately seven percent of the total electricity consumption. "Students, staff and faculty are more hopeful about the future because the University of Southern Maine demonstrates through its purchase of clean power that human needs can be met without burning fossil fuels", says Dudley Greeley, Sustainability Coordinator, University of Southern Maine.