THE neW SCHOOL ANNOUNCES GREEN CAMPUS INITIATIVES
Efforts Strengthen University's Commitment to Environmental
Responsibility and Education
New York, October 23, 2008—The New School has embarked on major new initiatives to green its campus and lessen its environmental impact. The announcement follows today’s press conference celebrating the first year of the Mayor's Challenge to Universities, developed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to encourage local universities to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2017. At the start of the challenge, The New School had the lowest levels of any participating institution. The new initiatives focus not only on further reducing emissions, but also on conserving water, managing waste, increasing resource efficiency, and improving indoor environmental quality.
“Responsible citizenship is a core value of The New School, and we are aggressively studying and implementing ways to reduce our overall energy consumption,” said Bob Kerrey, president of The New School. “Most recently, we acquired renewable energy credits from wind power to offset carbon emissions for 100% of electricity purchased directly from utilities.” In addition to the Mayor’s Challenge, Kerrey recently signed on to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, which encourages universities to implement sustainable practices into educational programs and facilities.
The New School has made several large steps to date toward greening the campus, including: conducting an EPA audit of all facilities; implementing a campus-wide recycling program that includes recycling of all e-waste; printing 90% of marketing and collateral materials on FSC certified paper with FSC certified vendors; providing biodegradable cutlery and plates in dining halls; installing waterless urinals; replacing bottled water coolers with water filters; using Green Seal™ certified cleaning products; reducing the number and radius of food deliveries; and instituting day cleaning schedules to save light and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) energy.
The school plans to make additional progress in these areas by retrofitting lighting fixtures to reduce energy consumption, further increasing the percentage of local and organic food purchased for cafeterias, growing the existing composting program to include post-consumer food waste, testing and implementing low-flow faucets and showerheads, replacing school-owned or leased vehicles with hybrids, and developing a campus-wide educational campaign that will encourage more efficient energy use throughout the university community. To help to implement these initiatives, the university recently hired an Assistant Director for Operations and Sustainability, who will work closely with students from environmentally conscious campus organizations to develop a long-term plan for environmental responsibility.
New academic initiatives also illustrate the school’s commitment to sustainability. The New School recently received approval from the New York State Department of Education for new BA and BS programs in Environmental Studies. The innovative programs are among the first to bring together urban ecosystems and sustainable design, pioneering a new frontier of environmental education. The programs, administered by the Tishman Environment and Design Center, will engage students with the New York City community to address critical environmental problems. The curriculum will enable students to take a variety of studio, laboratory, and seminar courses offered at both Parsons The New School for Design and Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts. For more information, please visit www.newschool.edu/environmentalstudies.
This commitment also comes at the grassroots level. In 2006, a group of students and faculty founded the Sustainable Design Review, a group dedicated to fostering awareness and sparking dialogue about sustainability. The group organizes an annual competition which, working with eco-friendly companies like Kiehl’s, challenges students to draft sustainable solutions to a variety of design problems. For more information, please visit www.newschool.edu/sdr.
ABOUT THE NEW SCHOOL
Located in the heart of New York’s Greenwich Village, The New School is a center of academic excellence where intellectual and artistic freedoms thrive. The nearly 9,400 matriculated students and approximately 5,280 continuing education students who attend the university’s eight schools enjoy a disciplined education supported by small class sizes, superior resources, and renowned working faculty members who practice what they teach. For more information, visit www.newschool.edu.
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