go green researchers white paper

7/23/2019 Go Green Researchers White Paper

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Professional Writing

Going Green at USF

By: The Go Green Researchers

Written By: Kiana Bowen, Annalee Caldwell, Swiyyah Woodward, Andrew Baird

Produced for: Dr. Tobienne



Executive Summary

Sustainability and the Going Green movement is growing and more and more

people are starting to spread awareness about how we can decrease our eco footprints.The EPA defines pursuing sustainability as “to create and maintain the conditions under

which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future

generations.” Sustainability is all about bettering and having an impact on our

environment so that humans and nature can coexist. The National Environmental Policy

act was passed in 1969 and today, an even larger amount of people and students are

recognizing going green and sustainability as a way of life.

Practicing sustainability can come in all different forms but we would like to talk

about the practices that students, USF students in particular, have today. Majors that

focus on the environment are now being offered on campus. Alternatives for special

foods and transportation are also being offered. Students are going above and beyond

by starting environmental awareness groups for fellow students. The school is even

coordinating power companies within the community to come up with new and

innovative ways to save two of the biggest factors of sustainability, energy and water.

In this report we will recognize the ways students are already helping our

community and our school, USF, to go green. We will also work to inform others on ways

that they can join in on the journey to healthy and green living for us and well as for our

environment.

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary………. 2

Introduction………. 4

Part One: Sustainability Inside the Classroom………. 5

The Patel College of Global Sustainability

Environmental Clubs

Green Comparative Report Card

Part Two: Sustainability Outside the Classroom……….9

Green Buildings

Green Transportation

Part Three: Sustainability in the Community……….13

Department of Energy

Projects Within the Community

Conclusion……….16

Glossary...17

Bibliography……….18

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Introduction

We believe students, especially students attending the University of South Florida,

play a substantial role in the contribution of ideas and and ways to promote and raiseawareness for sustainability and healthy living. Currently, there aren’t an extensive

amount of green colleges, or colleges that put the bettering of our environment to the

forefront. Green Colleges are important because there are more than 4300 higher

learning institutions in our country alone, and each of those institutions is leaving a

carbon footprint. Each year that an institution adds a green building to their campus or

starts a recycling program etc. our carbon footprint is reduced and we can save energy,

water, money, and reduce waste. According to the Princeton Review, there are 353

green colleges in the country, USF being 1 of them.

The University of South Florida has been named a green school because we have

been making important strives for our community whether that be buying food locally for

our campuses or offering a bike share or carpool transportation alternative. Students as

well as faculties and directors have been working hard to have our school recognized as

an example of sustainability for the rest of the community.

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Part One

Sustainability Inside the ClassroomUSF is offering different ways to study sustainability and the environment in the

classroom as well during extracurricular hours.

The Patel College of Global Sustainability

The Patel College of Global Sustainability is a school within USF that studies the

environment and comes up with new and innovative way to decrease our ecological

footprint. The Patel College of Global Sustainability is continuously expanding and

growing as new students and innovators are admitted into the college. While their

primary focus of the college is the wellness of the environment, the faculty as well as the

students are working hard to tackle problems such as civil society, poverty, hunger,

conflict resolution, and diplomacy. This college is held in high regard in our community

as well as internationally and seen as a sort of “hub” of sustainability.

While studying this major students can take courses that focus on sustainable

water resources, coastal & marine habitat protection and management, environmental

health and many more. There is also a choice of a concentration within the major that

lets students direct their attention toward sustainable water efforts, sustainable energy

efforts, or ecotourism. The college uses the information and data that students collect to

help cities around the world and even developing countries live a healthier and more

sustainable life.

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In addition to the sustainability majors that the Patel College of Global

Sustainability offers, there are a few initiative that the school is involved in as well. Some

of the initiatives include Tampa Bay Clean Cities, Transitioning of Urban Infrastructure,

and an Education Outreach. In the Tampa Bay Clean Cities Initiative, the mission is to getthe Tampa Bay region to use non petroleum based fuels for transportation to improve

the health and welfare of the citizens of the Tampa Bay area. With the Transitioning of

Urban Infrastructure Initiative aims “to develop methods and techniques for the long

term continuous phased change of existing urban infrastructure systems and their

associated governance and financial models, to an optimized future system.” This

initiative is more geared toward the hopes that we can save our environment before 60%

of the population is living in big, polluted cities. The last initiative is the Education

Outreach which is a partnership with Hillsborough County K-12 schools that will helpexpand young minds and make them aware of the issues happening in our environment

today.

Environmental Clubs

One of the biggest ways that students are stepping up to further along the going

green movement is the creation of sustainability clubs on campus. While all of these

clubs focus on different aspects of sustainability, all of the clubs have the same goal of

making USF more of a green environment. SEAS or the student environmental awareness

society is the longest running club at USFSP and raises awareness for environmental

issues, activities that can be done outdoors and just the overall going green efforts. The

Garden club educates students on sustainable urban farming techniques, healthy foods,

and the benefits of shopping locally. The garden club also has a garden on campus for

students who don’t have room for a personal garden but want to further their knowledge

on farming techniques. The Environmental Science and Sustainability club or ESSC holds

the same values and goals of SEAS, the biggest difference being ESSC collaborates with

different companies and gets involved with sustainability projects across the community.

USF even has a formal sustainability committee in place. A few years ago USFSP

enacted the “going green” initiative. Since then there have been a multitude of different

projects, fundraisers and resources provided from and for the students of USFSP. A

green energy fund that has been started where students help to decide on projects to

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make their campus “green,” and USFSP holds a science fair every year that helps to

increase public knowledge about sustainable living

Students at all of our USF campuses are encouraged to join these clubs to find out

more about our environment or even start a club for themselves. Information of theseclubs can be found on the USFSP website.

USF, as stated above is one of 353 green colleges and one of the top green

colleges in Florida. We have decided to compare it to another of Florida’s top

universities,Florida State College, in a green report card.

University of South Florida Florida State

Overall Grade Grade: B+ Grade: C

Administration Grade: AThe University of South Florida has

a formal sustainability policy andincorporates sustainability in the

campus master plan and strategicplan.

Grade: CFlorida State University has an

official sustainability policy signed bythe president.

Climate Change and Energy Grade: BUSF has conducted a greenhousegas emissions inventory and isworking to reduce emissions with

the aid of carbon offsets. Todecrease energy use, heat recovery

systems, lighting systems, andenergy-efficient lighting fixtures havebeen installed.

Grade: DThe university has taken variousmeasures to improve energyefficiency on campus, including the

installation of lighting sensors andefficient lighting, retrocommissioning

of HVAC systems, andimplementation of temperaturesetbacks.

Food and Recycling Grade: BDining services spends 28 percent

of its food budget on local products,and purchases some hormone- andantibiotic-free ice cream products.

Grade: CIn order to reduce waste, the dining

halls have been completely traylesssince 2005. All to-go containersused on campus are made from

biodegradable materials or recycledcontent, and discounts are offeredto students who use reusable mugs.

Green Building Grade: ATwo buildings are being evaluated

for LEED Gold certification, andseveral others meet LEED criteria.

Grade: CFSU mandates that all new buildings

strive for at least LEED Silvercertification.

Student Involvement Grade: AThe campus is home to manystudent sustainability groups,

Grade: CThe university is home to severalstudent environmental groups

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including the USF StudentCommunity Gardens, the StudentEnvironmental Association, and

Emerging Green Builders.

working on a variety of issues suchas recycling and litter cleanup.

Transportation Grade: A

USF offers preferred parking forcarpoolers and is working on alarge-scale ride-sharing program.

Grade: C

The university offers discounted buspasses on Tallahassee public transitfor the entire school community

upon presenting school ID. A freeshuttle service is offered to on- and

off-campus destinations.

Endowment Transparency Grade: AThe university makes a list of all

holdings, as well as a list of votescast on proxy resolutions on acompany-specific level, including the

number of shares, available to thepublic per open records law.

Grade: CThe Florida State University

Foundation makes a list of allholdings available to the public uponrequest. The foundation does not

make its shareholder voting recordpublic.

Investment Priorities Grade: AThe university aims to optimizeinvestment returns and is currently

invested in renewable energy funds.

Grade: CThe foundation aims to optimizeinvestment returns and does not

invest the endowment in on-campussustainability projects, renewableenergy funds, or community

development loan funds.

Shareholder Engagement Grade: DThe university provides itsinvestment managers with generalguidelines that determine its proxy

votes.

Grade: N/AThe university and the foundation donot have the ability to vote proxies,as the entire endowment is invested

in mutual funds.

Part Two

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Sustainability Outside the Classroom

Green Buildings

USFSP has two “green” buildings currently on campus. The buildings are the

science and technology building and the university student center. The college also has

plans for the new Kate Tiedemann College of Business building to be a “green” building.

For a building to meet the “green” classification they must meet LEED gold certification

standards. Features of USFSP’s “green” buildings include: construction pollution

reduction, close proximity to public transportation, water efficient landscaping and 20%

recycled content used in building materials. In addition to having “green” buildings,

USFSP has also taken it a step further by only using “green” cleaning products to clean

the buildings around campus. These products must meet LEED guidelines and must be

proven sustainable products.

As was mentioned before, all of the “green” buildings on campus must meet LEED

gold certification standards. The US Green Building Council divides the certification

standards into six main parts: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy & atmosphere,

materials & resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation & design processes.

Each category has required standards and then they also have additional “credits” that

buildings can earn. Depending on how many credits the building earns that will

determine what kind of certification the building will receive. The project needs between

twenty-six and thirty-two points to become certified. If a project were to earn between

thirty-three and thirty-eight points the project would be silver certified. If a project had

between thirty-nine and fifty-one points, like the buildings at USFSP, the project would be

gold certified. Lastly, if a project were to earn between fifty-two and sixty-nine points,

with the highest points possible being sixty-nine, the project would be platinum certified.

Taking a closer look at the six sections of the certification standards, the

sustainable sites section deals with alternative transportation, storm water management

and erosion & sedimentation control. An example of this at USFSP is its close proximity to

bus stops and the ample bike storage on campus which promotes students to take public

transportation or bike. The water efficiency section deals with water efficient

landscaping, innovate wastewater technologies and water use reduction. Efficient

landscaping is exactly what it looks like. An example of this could be having sprinklers

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that are on timers so that they don’t waste water or using moving equipment that is

battery powered rather than powered by gasoline. The energy & atmosphere section

deals with renewable energy, ozone depletion, and green power. Green power could be

anything from windmills to solar power. The materials & resources section deals with

building/resource reuse, construction waste management, recycled content, and

local/regional materials. An example of this would be USFSP using at least twenty percent

recycled building materials in the Science and Technology building and the University

Student Center. The indoor environmental quality deals with environmental tobacco

smoke control, carbon dioxide monitoring, low-emitting materials, and daylight & views.

An example of tobacco smoke control at USFSP would be that the campus is a smoke

free campus. The daylight & views criteria is talking about how much daylight is able to

light the campus. The more daylight, the less the school is spending on electricity to keep

the school lit. The last section, innovation & design processes deals with innovations

within the design of the building. This section does not have specific criteria for the

project to meet, it is a general category for any additional innovations that the project

has incurred that do not fit in another category.

Green Transportation

Not only does USFSP have “green” buildings, they also have “green”

transportation. USFSP has many energy efficient options when it comes to getting toclass or just making your way through downtown. One of the programs that USFSP offers

is the Enterprise Car Share Program. With this

program students, faculty, and the general public can purchase a membership

and then reserve a car online. USFSP students must be at least 18 years of age to

purchase a membership and non-USFSP students must be at least 21 years of age to

purchase a membership. Prices start at $8.50/hr. and include fuel, basic physical damage

and state-required liability protection. This program is considered part of the “green”

movement because all of the cars used in the program are energy efficient. The programis also environmentally sustainable because it makes it possible for people to not have to

have their own individual vehicle.

Another program offered at USFSP is the Bike-A-Bull program. With this program

students can use their university ID to rent a bike for twenty-four hours. Students are

required to sign an agreement waiver when they rent the bike and are given two lights, a

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helmet, and a lock. This is a good “green” transportation option for students because

bikes do not give off toxic emissions like cars do. Not to mention that it is also a good

option to help students who want to stay active through biking, but do not have the

equipment to do so. Bikes can easily be rented at the Waterfront between 11 a.m. and 5

p.m.

In addition to the Enterprise Car Share Program and the Bike-A-Bull program,

USFSP also offers electric car charging stations on campus that are free for students,

faculty, and the general public to use. These car charging stations have been donated tothe campus by Nissan the Duke Energy SunSense program. The charging stations at the

St. Petersburg campus have the capability to fully charge a vehicle in a little as thirty

minutes. These charging stations were installed to fulfill the school’s goal of eliminating

greenhouse gas emissions. The school also has priority parking for these electric vehicles

and other low-emission vehicles throughout the campus.

Another great program for “green” transportation that the campus offers is the

PSTA U-Pass Program. With this program the university pays PSTA a flat rate every year

so that the USFSP students, faculty, and staff can ride any of the 200 PSTA busses and

any of their trolleys. All students, staff, and faculty have to do is simply show their USFSP

ID when they board.

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Part Three

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Sustainability in the Community

Department of Energy

Energy.gov shows how different colleges are making strides in going green. One

student Eric Barendsen is an Energy Technology Program Specialist. He states that,

“Energized students on campuses across the United States are learning at a young age

just how much money and energy that they can save by taking some easy, energy-saving

steps.” Me for an example, even though I don’t own any part of Usf, I also make strides to

reduce energy cost. Students can do things as simple as turning of the light in the

restroom if no one’s in there. They can also help by printing work on both sides of a

paper instead of one-sided sheets, and using the recycle bin to throw away soda cansand water bottles. There are so many bins on campus. Eric also states that students have

been entering into contest for the last four years to see which dorm can save the most

energy. It is called, “Kill-a-Watt.” Eric states that, “Students are doing things like turning

the air-conditioner down when they are not home and using power strips with small

appliances and electronics to cut off electric equipment that use power even when

turned off.” Students win scholarships and prizes for being energy efficient. There has

also been a contest called, “America’s Greenest Campus.” Which challenged students in

many states to compete to reduce their carbon footprints. Students learned valuable

energy saving tips gotten from this challenge. And prizes up to 5,000 were awarded to

different colleges that had the most participants. Eric states that, “on the west coast,

twelve California Universities and three community colleges have built a student-led

initiative that educates and engages students to save energy, to get green job training,

and to improve the overall energy awareness of their student bodies. The Green Campus

program was apart of the Alliance to save energy’s outreach efforts.” It is good that one

College in Indiana provides training for green jobs. It is called a free

weatherization-training course and it gives students of different races an ability to jump

onto those jobs in the clean-energy economy. Some employers will want to hire a

student that has this experience to show how their company can make more money by

going green. David Blais says, “I think when you introduce them to some of the theories

and practices that we’re promoting, it’s an wakening.” He is a professor at Ivy Tech.

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Students also learn team building and how to interact and cooperate with people in

different roles from their own. But the main goal of the program is to prepare

contractors to be able to work of Recovery Act-Funded homes and teach them the

expectations of the weatherization program. Ivy Tech Community College trained 1,557

students in 2009 in their weatherization courses. He stated that these courses brings to

light that energy is limited and we have to be mindful of how we spend and conserve it.

Energy.gov also shows how individual students are deciding to go green. Some

students buy mini-fridges for less than 100.00. Student’s are buying those fridges that

have an energy star-label attached. Appliances with these labels meet a specific set of

energy-efficiency standards that’s saving students hundreds of dollars per year on

electricity. Students are also reminded to replace that incandescent bulb in their flexible

desk lamp for a brand new LED. Energy.gov states, “Ten percent of energy costs in a

home can be attributed to lighting, and you can save plenty of that electricity by

switching from incandescent light bulbs to more energy-efficient types like LES’s.” Also I

know students can save by cutting off the light each time they leave the room. My step

dad is always telling us to cut off lights even when we’re in the room to save on the

electric bill. At one time the electric bill was 450 dollars. We had to

pay it even though many customers were complaining that Duke energy was ripping us

off. Energy.gov states, “The largest benefit of LEDs over CFLs and incandescent are the

longevity and impact on the environment. LEDs actually can last over 25,000 hours, which

is 25 times longer than traditional light bulbs. LED bulbs also are 6-7 times more efficient

than incandescent bulbs.”

We have also found energy.gov has teamed up with the University of Florida,

Florida State University, and the University of Central Florida to design, build and operate

solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient and attractive. In doing so

Usf learned how to make any building energy efficient.

Energy.gov mission is to ensure American’s security and prosperity by addressing

its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science andtechnology solutions. Their mission speaks to all sectors of the economy. Whether your

expertise is science, technology, engineering, national security, international affairs or

business.

Projects Within the Community

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The projects around the community have such a huge impact here at USFSP. Duke

Energy Florida recently awarded USF St. Petersburg (USFSP) a one million dollar grant

through the SunSense® program to research the integration of storing solar energy in

new battery systems. These projects are allowing us to take steps in the right directionand decrease our carbon footprint. This research is really opening up our eyes to the

efforts that are going around us and giving us the ability to step up and help this

movement.

Conclusion

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Directors, Students, and Staff are working so hard and making major strides to

make our campuses as well as environment more sustainable and livable. Whether we

are broadening our sights and trying to collect data for developing countries and cities

across the world or just using the bike share program and utilizing the recycling binsaround campus. Every single action helps.

Glossary

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Sustainability- The rates of renewable resource harvest, pollution creation, and non-renewable

resource depletion that can be continued indefinitely. If they cannot be continued indefinitely

then they are not sustainable.

Incandescent- Emitting light as a result of being heated.

Integration- The action or process of integrating.

Bio-refinery- A biorefinery is a facility that integrates biomass conversion processes and

equipment to produce fuels, power, heat, and value-added chemicals from biomass. The

biorefinery concept is analogous to today's petroleum refinery, which produce multiple

fuels and products from petroleum.

LEED Gold Certification- LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a

green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and

practices. To receive LEED certification, building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn

points to achieve different levels of certification.

Ozone Depletion- Ozone depletion describes two distinct but related phenomena

observed since the late 1970s: a steady decline of about 4% in the total volume of ozone

in Earth's stratosphere (the ozone layer), and a much larger springtime decrease in

stratospheric ozone around Earth's polar regions.

Toxic Emissions- Poisonous chemicals discharged to air, water , or land.

Weatherization- The practice of protecting a building and its interior from the elements,

particularly from sunlight, precipitation, and wind, and of modifying a building to reduce

energy consumption and optimize energy efficiency.

Bibliography

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http://en.mimi.hu/environment/water.html

http://en.mimi.hu/environment/air.html

http://en.mimi.hu/environment/discharge.html



College of Business Staff (8/15/2013) Tips for Going Green and Saving Green. [On-line] Available:

http://www.usf.edu/business/documents/about/staff-council/tips-saving-green.pdf This website gave a list of ways

that Usf has gone green.

Jacqui Cash (5/5/2010) Usf One of Nation’s Top Green Colleges. [On-line]

Available: http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=2295

This site goes into detail about how Usf has been recognized for going green. It compares Usf efforts to efforts by

Universities across the nation.

Learn About Sustainability." Learn About Sustainability . EPA. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.

<http://www2.epa.gov/sustainability/learn-about-sustainability#what>.

This source gave general information about what sustainability is and why it is important. I also talked about what our

government does to promote sustainability. This is a good source to get some basic information on the topic.

Shaik, Brandon. "USF Electric Car Owners Get a Boost." The Oracle. The Oracle, 25 Feb. 2015. Web. 4 Nov.

2015. <http://www.usforacle.com/news/view.php/861720/USF-electric-car-owners-get-a-boost>. This webpage

explains one way that USFSP is specifically promoting sustainability. The article talks about how USFSP has installed

electric car charging stations around campus and their plans to have these charging stations free to the public. This

also mentions the university's Climate Action Plan and the Student Green Energy Fund.

"Sustainability." University of South Florida St. Petersburg . University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Web. 4

Nov. 2015. <http://www.usfsp.edu/sustainability/>. This web page is a good source to see what USFSP is currently

doing to promote a green and sustainable campus. The website talks about the million dollar grant that USFSP was

just awarded and what they plan to do with that money. The website also gives information on how USFSP promotes

a green campus with regards to basic things like transportation and waste disposal.

"USF St. Petersburg Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF)." USFSP Connect

. USFSP Connect, 2013. Web. 4

Nov. 2015. <http://www.usfspconnect.com/usf-st-petersburg-student-green-energy-fund-sgef/>. This webpage

describes in more detail what the USFSP Student Green Energy Fund is. The page is also talks about sustainable

projects that USFSP has already completed and also gives websites where more information on more projects could

be found.

Cash, Jacqui. "USF One of Nation's Top Green Colleges." - University of South Florida. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.

http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=2295 USF has been recognized by the Princeton Review’s guide to 286

Green Colleges as being one of the top sustainable college in the country. USF ranks second in Florida and in the top

30 of the country in the Recyclemania competition to minimize waste. We have 5 environmental student groups that

do various activities throughout campus. “USF Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) were named regional champions for

the third time in five years with a launched the first School of Global Sustainability, it’s purpose is to prepare students

for “green collar” jobs.

Hagen, Sarah. "USF Graduation Gowns Made of Plastic Bottles." 10NEWS. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.

http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/local/2015/03/25/water-botle-grad- gowns/70441424/

November 2015

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http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=2295

http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=2295

http://www.usf.edu/business/documents/about/staff-council/tips-saving-green.pdf

http://www.usf.edu/business/documents/about/staff-council/tips-saving-green.pdf



This is a short article on one way that USF is being environmentally friendly. In this article they discuss how USF made

their graduation gowns out of 100% recycled plastic from water bottles. This is really cool and the gowns look

identical to ones made out of traditional materials.

Shaik, Brandon. "USF Electric Car Owners Get a Boost." The Oracle. The Oracle, 25 Feb. 2015. Web. 4 Nov.

2015. <http://www.usforacle.com/news/view.php/861720/USF-electric-car-owners-get-a-boost>.This webpage explains one way that USFSP is specifically promoting sustainability. The article talks about how USFSP

has installed electric car charging stations around campus and their plans to have these charging stations free to the

public. This also mentions the university's Climate Action Plan and the Student Green Energy Fund.

"LEED Checklist." LEED Checklist. U.S. Green Building Council. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

<http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Nk4EDNIKeTcJ:www.usgbc.org/redirect.php?DocumentID

=1096 &cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us>.

This spreadsheet gives detailed information about what criteria must be met for a building to become LEED Certified.

This document is the actual checklist that is used when buildings are evaluated for LEED certification. This document

breaks down each section of the certification and explains what is required.

"Sustainability and Green Buildings." Sustainability. University of South Florida- Saint Petersburg. Web. 18

Nov. 2015. <http://www.usfsp.edu/sustainability/green-buildings/>.

This website gives information on the current green buildings as well as plans for future green buildings. The website

gives detailed information about what specifically makes the green buildings on our campus green.

"Sustainability and Transportation." Sustainability. University of South Florida- Saint Petersburg. Web. 18

Nov. 2015. <http://www.usfsp.edu/sustainability/transportation/>.

This website gives information on the sustainable transportation efforts made by the college. This is a good resource

for students to check out sustainable and wallet friendly transportation options. Programs that are explained in detail

are the Enterprise Car Share Program, the Bike-A-Bull Program, the U-Pass program and the electric vehicle charging

stations.

November 2015

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