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What You Can Do -
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Sustainability Office
Kagin Commons
1600 Grand Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105
651-696-8138
Comments & questions to:
sustainability@macalester.edu
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Campus Sustainability Small Project Fund - The Sustainability Office has designated a portion of its funding to support small on-campus projects that promote sustainability through creative and innovative action, help advance Macalester’s Sustainability Plan, and uphold the core values of Macalester College - academic excellence, internationalism, multiculturalism, and service to society. If possible, projects should encourage collaboration between staff, faculty, and students. An individual or group can apply for up to $1,000 in funding. Applications are rolling but funding is limited. Questions should be directed to Natalie Locke, nlocke@macalester.edu.
Recyclemania - RecycleMania 2010 has begun and will run until March 27. RecycleMania is a friendly competition for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. Over a 10-week period, schools report recycling and trash data, which are then ranked according to who collects the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita, or have the highest recycling rate. With each week’s reports and rankings, we will be able to watch how our results fluctuate against other schools. Help Macalester reduce waste: recycle! If you have ideas for this year’s RecycleMania, or would like to help with the competition, contact Annie Harold: aharold@macalester.edu. Check out www.recyclemania.org.
Minnesota Campus Energy Challenge -
MCEC 2010 began on Monday, February 1. During the month of February, MN schools will compete to reduce their energy use as compared to their own previous February data. Both heat and electricity use are measured. Who is participating? YOU! The energy use of faculty, staff, and students counts. Energy reduction calculations include all buildings on campus: academic buildings, dorms, administrative buildings, etc. This year the winner of the competition gets the MCEC BIKE POWERED BLENDER for the next year! The bike is currently at Mac and open for use at events and to fundraise by any Mac community member. To keep the bike next year, we must win MCEC! For more information, or if you have ideas for MCEC, contact Leah (lplummer@macalester.edu) or Matzke (nmatzke@macalester.edu). Also check out the website to see what other schools are involved and how you can reduce your energy use: www.tinyurl.com/mncec10
Preferred Parking for Carpools and Low-emitting Vehicles -
Macalester has a campus-wide preferred parking program for carpools and low-emitting vehicles (LEV). more»
Macalester Receives Minnesota Waste Wise Leader Award - Macalester College received a Minnesota Waste Wise Leader Award in recognition of the MacFreeSwap, Food Waste as Pig Food, and Move-out Waste Reduction Program, among other sustainability programs. The Minnesota Waste Wise Leader Award is given to Minnesota businesses who have shown true leadership in sustainable business practices including waste reduction, recycling, energy efficiency, purchasing, and employee involvement. More at www.mnwastewise.org.
Macalester Receives Highest Grade from the College Sustainability Report Card 2010 - Macalester has received an overall grade of "A-" for its commitment to sustainability, placing it among the top 26 schools nationally and in Canada. more»
Cost Saving Projects - Macalester College saved over $1 million by implementing sustainability projects that save money. Click here for more more information about these energy recommissioning, recycled products, pig food, and electronic media projects.
Free Coffee for Bike/Walk Commuters -
Bike, walk, or bus to work and meet the Sustainability Office for free coffee at Coffee News!
Who: Any Macalester community member who bikes,walks, or buses to work.
What: A bi-weekly coffee break for those who are reducing their carbon footprint by walking or biking to work. The Sustainability Office will provide each non-carbon commuter with free coffee.
When: Every other Wednesday morning 9-10 a.m., (Nov. 18, Dec. 2, Dec. 16, Dec. 30)
Where: Coffee News (1662 Grand Ave.)
Why: A celebration and a reward for yourself for taking the extra step and commuting to work in a carbon-neutral way. First time bike/walk commuters will also receive a free travel mug.
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Macalester College is committed to addressing climate change by taking responsibility for our institution's carbon footprint, rapidly reducing it, and becoming carbon neutral by 2025 and Zero Waste by 2020. In completing this long-term, strategic, comprehensive sustainability plan, Macalester is proud to be a leader among American colleges and universities in addressing climate change. This plan, the result of a year-long, campus-wide strategic planning process, demonstrates our commitment to living our values and preparing each generation to confront the challenges they will face in the years ahead.
Thank you to the members of the Sustainability Advisory Committee, the students in the 2008 and 2009 Environmental Studies Senior Seminar classes, and to the over 400 participants in the 2008-2009 Sustainability Strategic Planning Process who helped shape this plan.
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The Macalester Sustainability Plan calls for Sustainability Action Plans at the departmental level in 2009-2010 for Campus Life and Operations and in 2010-2011 for Advancement, Academics and Admissions.
The Departmental Action Plans are designed to identify and celebrate projects already underway, identify goals and assistance needed. In this way, we can implement the sustainability plan in the same participatory way as the plan was developed when over 400 people from across campus provided input to the sustainability strategic plan.
view past winners»
Congratulations to Beth Severy-Hoven and Herta Pitman for earning a "Green Star" award for reducing waste and energy in the Classics Department. The Classics Department has reduced waste and saved money by implementing a paperless faculty search this year. Instead of handling at least three cases of paper applications, all committee members with authorized access can view applicant files online. The postage alone saved $123.
In addition, the department prints almost everything double-sided and reuses one-sided paper for printing drafts. They also use real mugs in the break room instead of disposable cups and have a hot and cold water dispenser that filters tap water and dispenses it hot or cold, rather than purchasing bottled water.
The department saves energy by posting notes by the light switches in the common areas that say, "Last out? Lights out! Thanks." In addition, they use a power strip in the copy/break room, turning it off at the end of the day to eliminate that bit of standby energy being drawn overnight.
NOMINATE SOMEONE TODAY»
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Zipride -- is Macalester's new online rideshare board www.macalester.zipride.com. It is open to faculty, staff, students and alumni. Check to see if someone is commuting your way and has an extra seat! If you find a carpool partner, you could be eligible for priority parking. Note, alumni need to use their @alumni.macalester.edu email address.
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sustainability tour (pdf)
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