St. Norbert College – De Pere, Wisconsin
http://www.snc.edu/

Contact
Mark Bockenhauer, Chair, Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee (ESAC), St. Norbert College, Department Number: 13, 100 Grant Street, De Pere, WI 54115-2099; 920.403.3445; mark.bockenhauer@snc.edu OR Lew Pullen, Manager, Mechanical Systems (Member, ESAC) St. Norbert College, Department Number: 38, 100 Grant Street, De Pere, WI 54115-2099; 920.403.3194; lew.pullen@snc.edu; http://www.snc.edu/green/

St. Norbert College (SNC) President William J. Hynes signed the Association of College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in 2007. The SNC Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee (ESAC) advises the President and President’s Cabinet on sustainability issues, and is working to meet the ACUPCC objectives of greenhouse gas emissions inventory (completed 12/15/08) and "campus action plan" (due in 2009).

SNC considers various options for energy efficiency: passive solar heating, daylight optimization for space lighting, special windows to reduce UV and save on heating and air conditioning, solar water heating, high tech building operations controls to optimize heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) use, and energy-efficient lighting. SNC incorporates environmental heat wheel recovery systems in their HVAC systems and designs new buildings to be correctly positioned to take advantage of passive solar heating and natural lighting. In 2007-2008, the college began purchasing desktop computers rated gold by Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). In computer labs, monitors turn off after 30 minutes of inactivity, and computers hibernate after 60 minutes of inactivity. CRT monitors are being replaced with more energy-efficient flat panels.

The quality of the indoor environment is also of importance to SNC. Most cleaning supplies including floor and carpet cleaners and waxes as well as laundry soaps are approved through The Green Seal and Environmental Choice certifications; the most stringent standards. When renovating buildings, SNC considers the content of material it uses and the quality of the campus indoor environment, emphasizing recycled fiber carpeting, renewable bamboo flooring materials, and recycled plastic and rubber products.

The recycling program at SNC began in 1995 and was one of the first programs on a college campus in Wisconsin. The college employs two full-time staff exclusively dedicated to recycling and waste management. SNC properly recycles office equipment, electronics, batteries, compact fluorescent light bulbs, waste oils, cooking oils, paper, metals, glass, and plastics. Students also compete in Recyclemania each year.

Waste is also reduced through several other initiatives. Duplexing (printing on both sides) is programmed in all Technology Support Services areas. Many departments use intra-office e-mail instead of paper memos. In 2008, the Copy Center began to replace printers and copiers with multi-function device (MFD). The MFD's were manufactured of approximately 95% recycled plastic, and use 95-100% recycled toner cartridges. All MFD's meet the U.S. Energy Star guidelines for efficiency and use up to 75% less electricity. Many of the papers used throughout campus are produced with different percentages of recycled paper. At the same time, the Copy Center began providing departments the option of using Xerox's High Yield Business Paper. It uses 90 percent of the tree versus only 45 percent for normal Bond paper. In addition, the paper requires less water and chemicals and is produced in a plant using hydroelectricity to partially power the pulping process. This process reduces fossil fuel use and results in up to a 75 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions according to Xerox. Almost all toners used in SNC copiers are biodegradable. In addition, SNC collects from students at the end of the academic year food, housewares including cleaning supplies, appliances, clothing, carpet, loft wood, and small furniture from students which is delivered to social service organizations in the De Pere community instead of the local landfill.

SNC has installed stormwater detention systems which collects stormwater run-off and allows water to infiltrate rather than carry pollution and sediment in runoff to the Fox River.

With student leadership and campus food-service staff, cafeteria food waste is collected daily and taken to the community composting facility. SNC has gone "trayless" in its cafeteria (which greatly reduces water, detergent, and energy use in washing), and is reducing other cafeteria waste, such as single-napkin dispensers. In 2008, students were able to purchase for a one-time cost of $5 a reusable to-go container to be exchanged after each use for a new properly cleaned and sanitized container. Although SNC has found it difficult to buy enough local, seasonal foods to provide for all cafeteria meals, some local, seasonal foods are purchased.

To reduce transportation-related emissions, carpooling is encouraged, staff is working with the local transit authority to increase bus services on campus, and gasoline vehicles used on campus are being replaced with small, fuel-efficient personnel carriers.

The Peace and Justice Center (PJC), work to foster "stewardship, care of creation, and sustainability" in a campus-wide manner. It coordinates the celebration of Earth Week annually and organizes other campus-wide events like the National Teach-In on Global Warming Solutions on February 5, 2009. These are designed, in part, to help students, faculty and staff make connections between the operation of the college, climate change, and Catholic social teaching.

Likewise, SNC attempts to make the connection between the operation of the college, climate change, and Catholic social teaching with parents, alumni and the civic community through distribution of the Peace and Justice Center newsletter and While primarily for the campus audience and distribution, our PJC newsletter, the St. Norbert College Magazine and by conducting some functions open to the wider community. For example, the theme for the Summer 2009 magazine was Caring for Creation (see http://www.snc.edu/communications/magazine/ ) In March 2009, its Conversations from St. Norbert television show featured an interview with Dr. Robert Gronski, senior policy coordinator for the National Catholic Rural Life Conference on global climate change.