Green Building Links and Projects

You can also help make your campus green by addressing issues like energy management and green building and development. Many campuses have been constructing buildings that use fewer resources and waste less energy. For tips about persuading universities and colleges to build green, please visit the following sites:

Smart Communities
This site includes articles, success stories, tools, networking ideas, and other resources for those interested in green building and development.

U.S. Green Building Council
This website has everything you need to know about green designs, including educational workshops, cost and benefit analysis of green buildings, and chapters near you.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Part of the U.S. Green Building Council, this site provides information about national standards for green design, certification applications, and other important resources.

Relevant Case Studies:

Connecticut College
A group of six students at Connecticut College created a house on their campus where they could promote environmentalism and sustainability by simply living green. This was possible on the Connecticut College campus because the school already had a program allowing for themed housing in certain areas. But after the huge success of the temporary Earth House, the students decided to make it permanent. They worked with their Residential Life Committee and negotiated the permanent use of a small house on campus that would be deemed the Earth House. Each year a committee selects seven students to reside in the Earth House and continue the House’s environmental mission. The chosen students live sustainable lives (using up as few resources as they can) and promote environmentally conscious living by becoming role models. Since its creation in 1994, Earth House has been promoting and coordinating a number of projects. The House’s residents conserve water and reduce waste in many inventive ways, like placing a bucket in the shower when it is in use to trap excess water, which is later used to flush the toilet. The residents also try to eat many meals together because collective meals waste fewer resources. In addition, all of their meals, including meals they prepare for events, are organic. Another of their projects is using flyers or other papers with clean back sides as pages in notebooks. This extends the life of paper and means you waste half as less paper. The best part is that you can recycle your recycled notebook when you’re done using it. Another interesting project on which they are currently working is the cultivation of worms grown for various compost uses. Although Earth House employs many resource-saving methods, it has not yet upgraded to new technologies, such as solar power. Despite seeing the benefits of such technologies, the students have not yet succeeded in implementing them due to the lack of funding.

Harvard University
Recognizing the opportunity to make an environmental difference when their school bought land for development, a small group of students at Harvard University got together to form the Sustainable Allston group. The purpose of their organization was to lobby their school’s administration to commit to sustainable development of the newly purchased Allston area,

Courtesy of Sustainable Allston: tour of a “green” roof.

which Harvard plans to develop over the next half century of more. For the first step in their mission, the group held a green development conference on their campus with the support of  faculty and other environmental groups. The students also developed Sustainability Principles that, when adopted, they hoped would guide Harvard to make sustainable choices in designing, constructing, and managing buildings and landscaping. With enormous support from students, faculty, and the community, the Sustainable Allston group was successful in their mission. The Harvard Administration agreed to campus-wide Sustainability Principles that would ensure sustainable development and planning decisions.

Currently, the organization is working with the Harvard Green Campus Initiative to develop more detailed goals for the Allston project. The Sustainable Allston group has invited expert speakers to give lectures on green construction at Harvard in attempts to keep up the initiative’s momentum. In the spring of 2006, the Sustainable Allston group held a conference on the various sustainable issues at Harvard. One of the major focuses of the conference was on the misconception that building green is more expensive than traditional development. Speakers pointed out that, when sustainability is taken into account during the planning phase, green construction is actually not more expensive. One of the Sustainable Allston group leaders suggests that students who are interested in doing a similar project on their own campus should make an effort to meet as many people on their campus as possible, including members of student groups; administration; staff; housing, dining, and facilities management; and other appropriate departments. Discussing your plans with these individuals and organizations will make your project’s goals clear, and they will be better able to help you through the process.