College of St. Benedict (CSB) and St. John’s University (SJU)
http://www.csbsju.edu/

Contact: Dr. Derek Larson
Associate Professor of History and Environmental Studies
The College of St. Benedict/St. John's University
Collegeville, MN 56321
dlarson@csbsju.edu
320-363-3247

Both institutions are signatories of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). Both are members of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and of the National Council on Science and the Environment (NCSE), and both are EPA Energy Star partner schools.

When planning renovations and new construction, both institutions follow Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines in all their building policies including water use efficiency, energy use efficiency, and content of material used. All future construction at CSB will follow guidelines to achieve a silver or higher LEED rating by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). SJU is building a LEED silver community center.

Each campus has an independent stewardship committee, appointed by their respective presidents, that is charged with coordinating all campus sustainability efforts. This stems directly from the ACUPCC, which these committees also oversee.

The colleges help students make the connection between the operation of the college, climate change, and Catholic social teaching explicitly through the environmental studies curriculum (introduction to environmental studies, environmental ethics, God and nature, etc.) as well as the subject of campus co-curricular events such as guest lectures. Specifically, the colleges utilize their built campuses as the subject for a course entitled Sustainability Workshop; a colloquium focusing on current environmental issues that includes service learning and field study components.

The operations of the St. John’s Arboretum (http://www.csbsju.edu/arboretum) help the colleges educate the local community, primarily, and others about the connections among the operation of the college, climate change, and Catholic social teaching. St. John’s Arboretum hosts approximately 10,000 off-campus guests annually, about 60 percent of which are K-12 students who learn about college stewardship programs and values.

Both schools have active recycling programs, electronic waste management programs, and encourage source reduction by students and employees. The colleges hired an independent third-party to audit these waste reduction programs to ensure efficient performance and compliance with the colleges’ environmental goals.

The food service operations of both institutions are independent; not corporate; and purchase significant amounts of local foods. Food waste is not composted, but rather is sent to a local farm as hog feed. The use of disposables is minimized and they have been experimenting with "tray-less Tuesdays" as a way to reduce water and energy use while reducing food waste.

The two colleges share one academic program with students attending classes together on campuses that are 4 miles apart. A shuttle transit system moves students, faculty and staff between campuses that are also connected by walking trails through forest, wetland and prairie landscapes. Preferred parking is available for carpools at St. John’s. Both motor pools include hybrid vehicles, and the CSB president drives a hybrid car and a scooter averaging about 70 miles per gallon of gasoline.