At College of the Atlantic we view sustainability as investigating and improving the relationships between human beings and our social and natural communities. Sustainability is a core part of our study of human ecology, helping us to solve problems that challenge communities everywhere.
Sustainability at College of the Atlantic does not stem top-down from the office of the president, the sustainability coordinator, or from pressure from the students. Sustainability at COA is a systemic effort that flows from every member of our community: from the kitchen to buildings and grounds, to the courses faculty teach, to the community the students uphold. We encourage it of each other.
Sustainability is not only a matter of practice but also an educational journey. And it needs the efforts of all to be achieved. It would be a failure for us to have come so far, to have worked to make our practices more sustainable and to have others not understand how, or why it is important.The following pages will explain some of our successes, deliberations and practices. We believe that if we are to engage in a conversation about sustainability, being transparent about our process is essential in order to remain honest and create a conversation larger than that of our own community. We certainly don't have the answers; you might not either. If we work together, sharing our efforts, our ideas and our struggles, we will go further, sooner. Our own sustainability is directly related to the ability for others to do the same.
COA's journey to carbon neutrality
