Month: May 2016 (Page 3 of 3)

This semester, I was tasked with officially certifying the office space in the back of Miller, which houses the Office of Sustainability, Environmental Studies Program, Tufts Institute of the Environment, and grad students in the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program, under Tufts’ Green Office Certification Program. What seemed at the time to be a huge undertaking was actually pretty painless once I sat down and organized the following steps for filling out and submitting the Green Office Certification Checklist.

1. Fill out what you can first!

I first went through the checklist and picked out the credits that I could answer on my own—if our lighting is controlled by sensors, if we have lighting and water use prompts, whether the equipment is ENERGY STAR rated, the accessibility of recycling and compost bins in the space, the recycled content of our paper and letterhead, our copier double-sided defaults, our shared office supplies and dishware, etc.

2. Make a survey to send out to your colleagues

After completing the credits I could on my own, I picked out the credits about departmental policies and individual behaviors. I then developed a survey to send out to everyone who works in our office space with these questions to measure their personal behaviors as well as their awareness of departmental policies. In order to make the experience of filling out the survey a little less inconvenient and annoying to my co-workers, I tried to make the survey funny and engaging. I sent it out with a deadline and continued to send reminders every few days leading up to the deadline. Once it came and went, I sent individualized emails to those who had not filled out the survey. I followed up with them several times until nearly everyone had filled out the survey.

Signed Commitment to Uphold Green Office Values in the Back of Miller Office Space.

3. Commit to sustainability and earn bonus points

At the bottom of the Green Office Certification Checklist is an extra-credit opportunity for colleagues to sign to commit to reducing their footprint and take actions included in the checklist. This not only earns the office extra points on the checklist, but it also helps to generate office buy-in and foster a feeling of responsibility and accountability within the office when it comes to making more environmentally sustainable choices. I placed the sheet for office members to sign in a central location in the office, our kitchen, where it is easily accessible and a frequent reminder to all in the office space. I also sent reminders to sign the commitment in all my emails starting with the original send-off of the survey.

4. Talk to purchasing and commit to changes

Once our survey results were in, I reviewed them and determined where we stood with all the sections of the checklist. I was left with a few options to get us the extra boost we needed to level-up and earn Platinum Certification. I decided to talk to the person in charge of purchasing for our office space. He was on board and committed to buying only shade-grown or organic coffee for the office space to support environmentally and socially responsible companies, reduce our footprint, and make healthier choices for our colleagues.

Taking these steps to complete and submit our Green Office Certification made the process both simple and quick. Thanks to the help and cooperation of my colleagues, our space has been officially recognized with Green Office Platinum Level Certification.

If you’re interested in certifying your own office, you can learn more about the program and download our Green Office Resources ebook on the Office of Sustainability’s website.

In the week leading up to Earth Day (Friday, April 22nd), I participated in the Eco-Reps’ Zero Waste Challenge. After signing up for the challenge, I received a clear bag to collect all of the waste I generate which cannot be diverted from the landfill (i.e. all non-recyclable and non-compostable items excluding biohazards).

Eco-Reps standing with completed Zero Waste Challenge Bags.

During this time, I became aware of some of my more wasteful behaviors. I found that most of the waste I normally produce comes from food packaging. As a student with a meal plan living on-campus, I don’t have the ability to buy food in bulk to reduce my waste. However, there are many ways to produce less waste with the great and convenient options on campus.

1. Eat at the dining halls!

I am lucky enough to have an unlimited meal plan, so I tend to eat most of my meals at the dining halls. I love Carm, because it offers plenty of food options and convenient, nice, cozy place to study. During this week, I realized that when I eat at the dining halls, I do not directly produce any waste. There is no packaging to send to the trash. Leftover food gets donated to Food For Free through Tufts Food Rescue Collaborative and waste gets composted. Carm and Dewick get all their products in bulk which greatly reduces the amount of packaging that would be sent to the landfill. If you have the time, and the meal swipes, head to the dining halls!

Jumbo Mountain collected from Monday through Friday in Houston Hall.

2. BYO containers or mugs to avoid food packaging.

We all have days when dining halls are just not an option. We are heading to class, yet another meeting, or just need to bunker down in Tisch, Eaton, Campus Center, or Halligan. That’s when Hodgdon, Pax et Lox Kosher Deli, and The Rez come in handy! It is easy to forget about the small waste items like straws, plastic seals, and packages for things like dressing, soy sauce, and condiments, but a great way to reduce waste from food packaging is to bring reusable food containers or a mug with you. In fact, The Rez provides discounts when you BYOM (Bring Your Own Mug), for any size you pay for a small. (Extra Special Bonus: The Rez also composts all its used coffee grinds—which are fair trade!) You can also get 20¢ off your purchase through the Mug Discount Program at Mugar Café, Hodgdon Food-on-the-Run, Commons Marketplace, and Brown & Brew Coffee House.

If you forget to bring your reusable food containers with you, some of the packaging at Hodgdon is compostable—the recycled pulped paper containers that come with Quesadillas and Roasters meals.

If you are in a pinch and have to grab a granola bar from Hodgdon, you can hold onto the wrapper and deposit into one of Tufts’ many Terracycle Stations (set up in the Office of Sustainability (in the back of Miller Hall) and in several residence halls) found in the Office of Sustainability’s Eco Map. These wrappers get collected by Tufts and sent to Terracycle which converts them into retail products like bags and lunchboxes.

Yellow compost receptacles can be found all over campus.

3. Compost your food scraps!

The organic food waste I created came from fruit scraps (apple cores, orange peels, strawberry leaves, etc.). But, I realized how abundant composting on campus is. I could either wait until I got home to compost in my residence hall, bring my scraps to the dining halls which compost food scraps, or even deposit my waste at one of many compost receptacles on campus, easily found in the Eco Map. Living off campus? No worries! You can compost at home and bring the full bags to the yellow receptacles scattered across campus.

Zero Waste Week reminded me to keep my eyes open and pay attention to the wasteful behavior that I normally don’t notice.

To the Eco-Rep Zero Waste Week Challenge, I say, “10 out of 10, would recommend and will do again!”