UA increases sustainability efforts
Environment
Taniah Tudor
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: News
Next year, the bookstore will be providing recyclable and biodegradable materials, Sadeghi said.
Bookstore officials plan to increase the number of small-carbon footprint products - which are recyclable products that use much less energy to produce - and products that are produced locally to cut back on the energy used to ship them.
They also plan to start using biodegradable bags, Sadeghi said, after using all the plastic bags.
Students will also be able to take alkaline batteries and toner cartridges to the bookstore for recycling, he said.
Bins for no longer in-use textbooks are already provided outside the bookstore. The books collected are sent to the Better World Corporation, which funds literacy programs and supports the environmental sustainability.
These efforts to create a more sustainable campus are part of a larger force that began on campus in the last several years. The UA is in the early stages of developing a 12-step Environmental Stewardship Mission and is establishing a UA Sustainability Council to oversee and implement that mission, according to a Jan. 15 UA press release.
The council will be formed early in the spring and will draw members from student, staff and faculty organizations.
The Environmental Stewardship Mission and the Sustainability Council will address short- and long-term goals in an effort to help fulfill the Presidents Climate Commitment signed by Chancellor John White in February 2007. The commitment calls for the UA to be "climate-neutral" by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions on campus, according to the press release.
This follows a trend of universities across the country to become "greener," according to the Grist Web site, which is dedicated to environmental news and commentary.
Of the top 15 schools listed on the site for sustainability efforts, 11 reside in the U.S.
There is a lot of awareness and cooperation among university bookstores in regard to sustainability, Sadeghi said.
The focus is on the commitment to the community made by the UA and the UA Bookstore, Sadeghi and Mueller said.
"We are changing our behaviors and our habits in a way to provide a safe environment for generations to come," Sadeghi said.
Bookstore officials plan to increase the number of small-carbon footprint products - which are recyclable products that use much less energy to produce - and products that are produced locally to cut back on the energy used to ship them.
They also plan to start using biodegradable bags, Sadeghi said, after using all the plastic bags.
Students will also be able to take alkaline batteries and toner cartridges to the bookstore for recycling, he said.
Bins for no longer in-use textbooks are already provided outside the bookstore. The books collected are sent to the Better World Corporation, which funds literacy programs and supports the environmental sustainability.
These efforts to create a more sustainable campus are part of a larger force that began on campus in the last several years. The UA is in the early stages of developing a 12-step Environmental Stewardship Mission and is establishing a UA Sustainability Council to oversee and implement that mission, according to a Jan. 15 UA press release.
The council will be formed early in the spring and will draw members from student, staff and faculty organizations.
The Environmental Stewardship Mission and the Sustainability Council will address short- and long-term goals in an effort to help fulfill the Presidents Climate Commitment signed by Chancellor John White in February 2007. The commitment calls for the UA to be "climate-neutral" by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions on campus, according to the press release.
This follows a trend of universities across the country to become "greener," according to the Grist Web site, which is dedicated to environmental news and commentary.
Of the top 15 schools listed on the site for sustainability efforts, 11 reside in the U.S.
There is a lot of awareness and cooperation among university bookstores in regard to sustainability, Sadeghi said.
The focus is on the commitment to the community made by the UA and the UA Bookstore, Sadeghi and Mueller said.
"We are changing our behaviors and our habits in a way to provide a safe environment for generations to come," Sadeghi said.
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