Colleges & Universities in New England

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For more than a decade, EPA New England has led a College & University Initiative, working to improve environmental performance at the more than 300 institutions of higher education in New England. The ultimate goal of the Initiative is to promote long-term, sustainable practices and create a mentoring network among colleges and universities for sharing information and resources. The Initiative, through a three-phased integrated strategy, combined its enforcement activities with a proactive assistance program.

Elements of the Integrated Strategy include:

• Energy Conservation
• Best Management Practices (BMP) Catalog
• Environmental Management Systems (EMS)
• Audit Initiative (now closed)
• Compliance assistance (e.g. workshops, guidebooks)
• Regulatory inspections

The Best Management Practices (BMP) Catalog, updated in 2007, is a collection of case studies that presents successful strategies for promoting environmental stewardship at colleges and universities. Answering such basic questions as "How do I get started establishing a recycling program?" or "What are the potential cost savings of an energy efficiency effort?", the Catalog can be a useful decision-making tool. It can provide the practical information needed to convince administration, faculty, or staff to move forward on a project. Associated with the Catalog are Resource pages that provide additional information on a particular topic.

View the Catalog’s wide range of case studies and other information on such topics as as preparedness and security, energy and waste management.