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Sustainability News
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SUSTAINABILITY SUCCESSES AT UNH Arrow

“Sustainability is now recognized as one of UNH’s core identities and strengths as faculty, staff, and students from across colleges and departments are working together in new and innovative ways to advance a common goal.”
-- UNH President Mark Huddleston

Read UNH President Mark Huddleston's "Embracing Sustainability" (April 2008)

Committed to being a Sustainable Learning Community

UNH is nationally recognized as a Sustainable Learning Community -- a land grant, sea grant, and space grant university that unites the spirit of discovery with the challenge of sustainability across the university’s Curriculum, Operations, Research and Engagement (CORE) through four foundational systems of sustainability -- biodiversity, climate, food, and culture.

Successes in Sustainability

 

Overall

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Curriculum

Educating citizen-professionals to advance sustainability in their civic and professional lives

 

UNH has a wide variety of curricula related to sustainability - including but not limited to undergraduate and graduate coursework in atmostpheric chemistry and climate change, energy and the environment, earth sciences, marine sciences, sustainable engineering, complex systems, environmental policy and economics, art and society, the Classics, liberal arts, environmental psychology, ecotourism, women’s studies, organic agriculture, organic dairy management, hospitality, public health, nutrition, and more. (Click here to see all of UNH's academic departments and programs.) Below are just a few curricular highlights...

During the 2007-2008 academic year, new courses were also developed by faculty from the Institution for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space and from the UNH Environmental Research Group -- including faculty who lead Carbon Solutions New England™ -- to involve students in researching "wedges" -- greenhouse gas emissions prevention or reduction strategies -- for New England. In “Building Wedges: Testing Strategies to Reduce Carbon Emissions in New England,” students havelooked into wedges such as biofuel for home heating, solar hot water, and moving freight by rail instead of truck. The work of the class was done in conjunction with, and will eventually be integrated into, the efforts of Carbon Solutions New England™—a public-private partnership that is working to promote collective action in New England to achieve a low-carbon society. The ultimate goal of the class is to incorporate the student-calculated wedges into CSNE’s computer web model and inform decision makers on the relative effectiveness of different strategies to bring regional emissions down, at three percent per year, to 80 percent of their current levels by 2050—the “3% solution.”

Other course examples:

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Operations

Embodying first principles and best practices of sustainability

Components of this initiative include:

  1. Use of cage-free eggs, local honey, and fair trade coffee in all dining areas.
  2. Buying produce grown by the UNH Organic Garden Club for use in on-campus dining areas. UNH Dining also plays an active role by purchasing locally and regionally available processed food and fresh produce. Their produce supplier is committed to sourcing from local farms as much as possible and has buyers dedicated to developing the local market. UNH Dining is currently assessing the quantities of regional and local foods consumed on campus in order to set future targets.
  3. An annual "Local Harvest" campus/community feast that showcases locally grown food, is open to the public, and is held at a UNH dining hall. Initiated in 2005, the event attracted over 1,600 diners and organizers its first year, and in its second year won a 2007 Loyal E. Horton Bronze Dining Award for a residence hall/theme dinner at a large school! Nearly 3,700 people attended the 3rd annual Local Harvest Feast in September 2007, the largest turnout yet.
  4. Installation of waterless urinals in Holloway Commons, Stillings Marketplace, and Philbrook Hall. (UNH Dining replaced a total of 17 traditional urinals with waterless ones, saving an estimated 765,000 gallons of water per year and $20,000 in annual water and sewer costs. Because the new urinals eliminate flushing valves, maintenance costs are also less.)
  5. In 1998 , UNH began a program to compost food waste from several locations on campus and in the wider Durham community. Since the program's inception, over a half million pounds of food waste have been diverted from the waste stream. While the compost program was begun by the UNH Office of Sustainability, UNH Dining Services has taken over compost pickup and drop off. The windrows are maintained by the UNH College of Life Sciences & Agriculture and Kingman Farm. Learn more by reading the December 2006 cover story in BioCycle magazine (PDF).
  6. Under the mantra “Local - Sustainable - Fresh,” UNH Hospitality Services (UHS) revamped the UNH Dairy Bar to feature local foods, a nutritious and delicious menu, and sustainable operations. Dairy Bar highlights include:

“We are working on partnerships with the Organic Gardening Club and the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture (COLSA) to grow fresh produce for the Dairy Bar,” adds Rick MacDonald, assistant director of UHS Support Services. “The menu was developed by Ralph Coughenour, UNH Dining Director of Culinary Services, with much help from a team of dietetic interns from COLSA. A team of professors from Animal and Nutritional Sciences served as consultants to the project. The goal was to create a healthy, nutritious and delicious menu.”

  1. Silver-LEED Equivalent Policy: In November 2007, UNH committed to establishing a process to ensure that all new construction and major renovation projects achieve the equivalent of LEED silver standards. A formal process to achieve this was put in place and will be applicable to all new projects initiated once the UNH Construction and Repair Standard has been modified. Prior to this, all UNH new construction and renovation designs already had to use energy efficient systems and components and to consider environmental impacts. The replacement of DeMeritt Hall is a perfect example of this. The DeMeritt Design Team (Architerra Inc.) estimates that its 2008 replacement will be comparable to a Silver LEED building. What's more, the upcoming renovation of James Hall (starting in 2008) will include designs and renovation that foster energy efficiency, emissions reduction, water conservation, and beyond. The James Hall Renovation has been officially registered with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to seek LEED Certification.
  2. Nationally recognized energy program: Ranked by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) (PDF) in the top 5% of universities in its peer group for energy efficiency, UNH has conducted an on-going energy efficiency program for over 30 years. As a result of this energy efficiency, on average UNH saves over 520,000 MMBTU per year - or approximately $4 - 5 million per year at Fiscal Year 2007 energy prices. Learn more...
  3. U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR Buildings: In May 2006, UNH was awarded the first U.S. Environmental Protection agency ENERGY STAR rating for residence halls in the country to Congreve, Lord, and McLaughlin. In April 2007, UNH received five more EPA ENERGY STAR Building Awards for residence halls Randall-Hitchcock, Sawyer, and Jessie Doe, for buildings P, Q and R of the Woodside Apartment Complex, and for administrative building Taylor Hall.
  4. Efficient Lighting: UNH has used energy efficient compact fluorescent lighting (CFL's) for several years. In combination with T-8 and T-5 fixtures, UNH uses CFL's as a matter of routine on new construction and major renovation projects. UNH has also done some specific lighting upgrade projects using this technology. It is UNH Facilities policy to remove all incandescent lighting through attrition and replace this lighting with CFL's. What's more, no new purchases of incandescent bulbs (unless specific conditions are required that cannot be attained through CFL's) are allowed.
  5. Efficiency Retrofits: Several million dollars have been invested in retrofit projects across the UNH Durham campus, including high efficiency lighting, motor, heating, and cooling, control systems; window upgrades; conversion of electric clothes dryers to natural gas dryers in residence halls; and conversion of domestic hot water conversions from electricity to natural gas.
  6. Proper Use of Equipment: Just installing energy efficiency equipment is not enough to save energy, however. UNH Facilities staff play a crucial and role in properly maintaining and operating systems and equipment.

Related achievements include:

  1. Planning and construction that promotes sustainable transportation: Three current capital construction projects highlight UNH’s commitment to creating a sustainable learning community that is accessible to all and climate-friendly:
  1. Benchmarking and Standards: UNH collects data on its transportation systems (transit, vehicle fuel consumption, mileage) and community transportation needs and behaviors as a way of benchmarking and tracking progress in its sustainable transportation system goals. This data collection is permitting UNH to measure effectiveness versus peer institutions.
  2. Expansion of transit offerings: UNH boasts the state’s largest public transit system. In 2008, UNH WildCat Transit won the Federal Transit Administration "Success in Enhancing Ridership Award" in the 50,000 to 200,000 population category. Wildcat Transit was recognized for its efforts in getting at least 5% more passengers per year over a two-year period; UNH has used better traveler information, nicer bus shelters (with solar power lighting), a website with regularly updated transit and parking information, and new biodiesel transit buses to increase ridership by 21 percent. Highlights include the following:
  1. Transition to using alternative fuels and clean technology in transit and non-transit vehicles: UNH is transitioning its entire fleet of diesel vehicles to the use of low sulfur B20 biodiesel. In fall 2006, the UNH transit system began use of B20 in eight new CARB certified low-floor diesel buses. UNH has six compressed natural gas (CNG) shuttle buses, four bi-fuel CNG/gas-powered pickup trucks, UNH's first all-electric non-transit utility van, and over $2 million worth of low emission diesel transit buses to be fueled with biodiesel (B20) to UNH’s growing fleet of alternative fuels and clean technology vehicles. In August 2006, UNH President J. Bonnie Newman, New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, and officials from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (DOT) officially opened a new DOT biodiesel fueling facility on the Durham campus.
  2. Promotion of bicycling: Managed by UNH Transportation Services, the Cat Cycles program allows any member of the university community to sign out a bike at the UNH Visitor Service Center and have sole use of the bike for up to a week. All the bikes are durable, single-speed "cruisers" equipped with a lock, fenders, and a cargo basket.
  3. Carpool lot and program: Designated, select parking for UNH parking pass holders who carpool is available on campus.
  4. Hybrids in the on-campus Enterprise rental fleet: In 2006, the UNH Durham Campus and the Durham Enterprise Rent-A-Car office signed a voluntary agreement to offer gas-electric hybrids in the Durham rental fleet. These vehicles are available for a $5 daily or $20/weekly surcharge over similar gas vehicles. The UNH Durham Enterprise Office currently has three hybrids: a Saturn Vue, a Ford Escape, and a Toyota Prius. The entire UNH community is strongly encouraged to select these hybrid vehicles for their rental needs.

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Research

Serving society with engaged scholarship that responds to the most pressing issues of sustainability

  1. In 2006, UNH Cooperative Extension and Kingman Farm, part of UNH's College of Life Sciences & Agriculture, began a pilot research effort with a local farmer on a pilot sunflower project to test the feasibility of small-scale oil pressing and biodiesel production. The project will measure the yield of oil that can be processed into biodiesel for use on farms, the feed value of the meal that remains after the oil has been pressed from the sunflower seeds, and the food quality of the oil.
  2. Relatedly, in September 2006, UOS - along with UNH's College of Life Sciences & Agriculture, UNH's College of Engineering & Physical Sciences, and the UNH Environmental Research Group - sponsored a public presentation and series of faculty, staff, and student research discussions with biocrop, biofuel, and biolubricant expert Dr. Duane Johnson of Montana State University's Agricultural Experiement Station.
  3. In 2006, local business MBP, Bioenergy, LLC, won a New Hampshire Industrial Research Center $40,000 matching grant of $40,000 to help fund research collaboration with College of Engineering & Physical Sciences faculty and students to research automating its patent-pending biodiesel microprocessor.
  4. Other biodiesel research on campus includes that of the UNH Biodiesel Group and other faculty in the UNH College of Engineering & Physical Sciences.
  1. Bedrock Bioremediation Center, specializing in multidisciplinary research to address national groundwater and bioremediation problems resulting from hazardous waste disposal at military bases, industrial sites and landfills.
  2. UNH Contaminated Sediments Center, which seeks to find sustainable management methods for contaminated dredged materials from ports, harbors and waterways.
  3. Coastal Response Research Center, focused on developing new approaches to spill response and restoration in marine and estuarine environments.
  4. UNH Stormwater Center, which conducts independent scientific testing on devices or designs for stormwater management.
  5. New England Water Treatment Technology Center, a hub for water treatment.
  6. Recycled Materials Resource Center, which conducts research to ensure that recycling of materials in roads will be free of unexpected long-term environmental consequences

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Engagement

Collaborating locally to globally with extension and outreach

1. “Powerdown” educational campaigns over Thanksgiving and winter breaks. UNH encourages everyone to powerdown -- turn off and unplug office equipment and other electronics -- over weekends and breaks. In 2005, the UNH Thanksgiving and winter break powerdown resulted in over 147,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) and $20,000 in energy costs saved and greenhouse gas emissions prevented equivalent to removing 30 cars from the road for one year. In 2006, through this annual Thanksgiving powerdown initiative and UNH’s first ever Student Energy Waste Watch Challenge, UNH faculty, staff, and students saved over 159,000 kwh of energy, $22,721 dollars in energy and water costs, and over 50 metric tons of emissions of carbon dioxide equivalents. These emissions savings are the equivalent of 116 barrels of oil or not driving 11 passengar cars for one year. (Learn more about the Fall 2006 Challenge and Thanksgiving Powerdown.) In 2007, UNH faculty, staff, and students saved more than 51,800 kwh, more than $7,000 in energy costs, and emissions reductions equivalent to 53 barrels of oil or not driving five passenger cars for one year during the 2007 Thanksgiving break powerdown.

2. UNH’s annual Student Energy Waste Watch Challenge! The Student Energy Waste Watch Challenge is part of UNH's experiential learning for students in how to lessen their ecological footprints while living and learing on campus. During the four week Challenge competition - typically held in either the Fall or Spring semesters - residence halls and on-campus apartments compete against themselves to see who can lower their energy and water use by the greatest percentage. The top three winning halls and apartments win money for their hall funds, bragging rights, and peace of mind. The first place winner also receives the Challenge trophy - an Earth hand-made by volunteer "Energy Captains" in each of the halls and apartments who educate and motivate their fellow students to live more sustainably. The combined savings of the October 25 - November 22, 2006, Challenge and the March 20 - April 17, 2007, Challenge by all UNH residence halls and apartments was 299,193 kilowatt hours in electricity and $40,000 in energy and water costs. These savings are equivalent to reducing 189 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents - or the emissions reduction equivalent of not driving 41 passenger cars for one year or of 440 barrels of oil. The Fall 2007 Challenge saw all UNH residence halls and apartments save a combined 227,600 kwh and 1,669,000 gallons of water during the October 24 to November 21 competition. These savings translate into $45,000 less in energy and water costs and emissions the equivalent of 272 barrels of oil or not driving 25 passenger cars for one year. (Equivalency calculations were made using the U.S. Climate Technolgoy Cooperation Gateway's Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.)

Examples of this work include the following:

  1. Four Hands, One Heart: The UNH University Office of Sustainability, the UNH Arts and Society Program, and UNH Dimond Library, in partnership with Ken Browne Productions and the Currier Gallery of Art, collaborated in making the documentary film entitled "Four Hands One Heart," which celebrates the lives and art of former UNH faculty Ed and Mary Scheier. The film was broadcast on over 100 PBS stations throughout the country. The video is available for loan at Dimond Library or can be purchased on DVD through www.4hands1heart.com or through New Hampshire Public Television. In addition, the University collection of the Scheier's work is on display at Dimond Library.
  2. Wildcat Sculpture: In September 2006, a new Wildcat sculpture was installed outside the UNH Whittemore Center -- the first public art on the campus that followed UNH's Public Art Guidelines. Commissioned by the UNH Committee for Campus Aesthetics and the UNH Art Program Committee in collaboration with the UNH Alumni Association and the UNH Parents' Association, this sculpture is being funded by donations from the UNH Alumni Association and the UNH Parents' Association. See the new Wildcat sculpture for yourself and learn more about its commission and design.
  3. Celebrity Series: Chief Sustainability Officer Tom Kelly serves on the planning committee for the UNH Celebrity Series, which brings world-class theater, dance, and music to the UNH campus every year.

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