橘子视频

National Sustainability Recognition

橘子视频 is nationally recognized for its leadership in sustainability. From energy efficiency and waste reduction to academic innovation, our commitment to environmental stewardship has earned multiple awards and honors from top organizations in higher education and government.

Waste

Waste Reduction, Waste Diversion, and Reuse are major focus on Georgia Southern鈥檚 Sustainability efforts. The University has a robust recycling program that recycles batteries, paper, plastic, and aluminum. Recycling bins are located in every building on campus, as well as all residential complexes, and are serviced daily. In FY 2013, we recycled approximately聽134.2 Tons of Cardboard, 133.2 tons of office paper, and 15.42 tons of plastic and cans.聽For a list of recyclable items, or to learn more about the program, click here.

Southern Sustainability also hosts Waste Audits where the volunteers go through a building鈥檚 waste to track the amount of contamination in the recycling. The Waste Audits is Southern Sustainability鈥檚 new program which originated as Recycle Mania. Originally Recycle Mania was a competition program to have the campus compete to collect the greatest number of recyclables. There are also less frequent events that support reuse like the thrift store that eco-reps runs during Southern Sustainability week students donate clothes or food in exchange for access to other student鈥檚 donated clothes.

Energy Management

Another critical focus in Sustainability at Georgia Southern is Energy Management. Energy Management is overseen by the Physical Plant Department. The Energy Management staff manages campus energy usage and projects future energy needs for the University. The department develops effective strategies to manage energy consumption. In addition, they initiate projects to decrease energy usage across campus. Energy savings are in turn recycled into more energy reducing projects.

To help with Energy Management:

When designing New and Renovated Building Design :

• Design with Energy usage/cost of operation in mind

Facility operations and use of building space:

• Thanksgiving and Christmas and Spring Break Campus shutdowns
• Energy Management System/Controls in Buildings
• 38 Buildings 鈥� 10000 + points controlled or monitored
• Efficient Use of Building Space/Building scheduling

Purchase of Energy and Cost Avoidance:

• Selecting best power rate purchase for campus
• Use of electricity or natural gas for energy source

Building

According to the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), in the U.S., buildings account for a high proportion of resource use and waste generation. Therefore at Georgia Southern we believe in green building practices and adaptive reuse to help reduce energy use, CO2 emission, water use, and solid waste. The University accepts and recognizes LEED green building standards and in 2006 built its鈥� first LEED accredited building. This building addition is a 135,000-square-foot, $31-million addition to the student Recreation Activity Center (RAC), nearly doubling the original facility, adding 10 new indoor multipurpose courts and five new racquetball courts, a 23,000-square-foot, fitness center, weight/fitness rooms, and indoor 11-lane competition pool and diving well. New outdoor venues not included in the building鈥檚 square footage total added 20 acres of lighted sport fields, two lighted basketball and two lighted sand volleyball courts, as well as a one-mile walking trail, multipurpose outdoor pavilion, band shell and leisure pool.

Georgia Southern has received national coverage for this initiative and many requests to help other institutions to develop this program.

Gaining LEED certification at the RAC included using local and regionally manufactured and harvested material in construction. This lowered greenhouse emissions associated with transportation of construction materials. The more efficient building envelope, lighting and mechanical design of the expansion is calculated to be 27 percent more energy efficient than minimum energy code requirements. An ENERGY STAR roof reduces the heat-island effect. Increased ventilation effectiveness improves occupant comfort and helps ensure a good mix of indoor and outdoor air. Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were eliminated to reduce the impact on ozone. Improved indoor air quality was achieved through the use of low- and no-volatile organic compound containing materials in construction, finishes and furniture.

In 2011, the University broke grounds on the Biological Sciences Building. This will be a new LEED Silver Building Designed for minimum impact on the environment. The building will include faculty labs, lab support rooms, classrooms, teaching labs and administration and faculty offices.

Adaptive Reuse

With the growth of the campus older residence halls have been renovated into office space.

Hendrix Hall, formerly a residence hall, was converted to an office and classrooms building in 2010. Energy upgrades included replacing windows and HVAC equipment.

Water

The University and Statesboro community were recently united in a project to significantly reduce up to 250,000 gallons of drinking water used each day on campus for irrigation.

According to William Cone, Physical Plant project coordinator, the facility鈥檚 employees worked in conjunction with the City of Statesboro to install pipes across almost 50 acres of athletic fields including Allen E. Paulson Stadium and the RAC. The water supply originates from Bird鈥檚 Pond, a city retention pond on Langston Chapel Road.

鈥淕eorgia Southern picked up the city鈥檚 reuse supply main near Paulson Stadium, and extended the supply main and an irrigation main along Malecki Drive, crossed Akins Boulevard, and terminated in one of the existing ponds near the RAC,鈥� said Cone. The RAC pond was then converted from storm-water detention to a reuse water supply for irrigating approximately 30,000 square-feet of University fields. According to landscaping manager Brian Hooks, the project enables the campus to reduce its water usage by at least 30,000 gallons per day.

The University鈥檚 responsible stewardship and cost-saving strategy of conserving the local drinking water supply effectively promotes environmental awareness among the campus and the community, said Cone.

鈥淐hanging the irrigation supply from potable in these high consumption areas will reduce the ever-increasing burden on our groundwater table and drinking water aquifer, and this aids Georgia Southern in reducing its impact on the environment.鈥�

Reuse water is highly treated waste-water that has been treated through several processes to remove organics, solids, and pathogens. Also known as reclaimed water, recycled water, or non-potable water, reuse water provides an economical and environmentally responsible alternative.

Transportation

Transportation is one of the biggest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions; therefore 橘子视频 is always looking for ways to make the University a pedestrian friendly campus, where the quality of student life and overall air quality is improved by keeping vehicles on the perimeter of campus. To help meet this goal, in 2005 the University rolled out a public transit system. The transit system has two bus routes departing the Paulson Stadium parking lot every 3-4 minutes from 7 a.m. through 4 p.m. on weekdays. The buses begin with diesel buses then switched to cleaning burning Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Operators generally say they are quieter, have lower maintenance cost, longer life cycle emissions and vehicle exhaust emissions are substantially cleaner than conventional fuel.

The University also has a campus cycle program!

The Campus Cycle program is designed to reuse abandon or donated bicycles from campus and beyond to establish a bicycle membership program. This program is designed to support and promote self-propelled transport on campus and within the city of Statesboro.

Benefits include:

• Hassle-free parking
• Enhanced Wellness
• Enhanced fitness
• Decreased stress
• Social development
• Broaden social awareness
• Decreased carbon and ecological footprint
• Lead a trend to a move bicycle and pedestrian friendly campus and city
• Free maintenance and repairs throughout the semester
• Bicycle education and safety training

Grounds

By implementing the following goals:

The campus landscaping and grounds department uses lawn mowers equipped with mulching kits to enhance moisture retention on lawns and reduce the amount of irrigation. In addition, drip irrigation is used in most of the flower beds to reduce water loss due to overspray and evaporation. Plantings are indigenous species adapted to survive local heat and drought conditions.

The Goals of our Grounds Department include the following:

• Reduce Pervious Area By 40%
• Reduction of Heat Island Effect
• More Efficient Design/Circulation Than Existing Lot
• Mostly Drip Irrigation
• Native Grasses & Perennials
• Designed To Capture & Absorb First Rain Flush
• Eliminated Flooding That Previously Occurred During large Rain Events
• In existing lots Pervious Pavers Designed To Capture & Absorb First Rain Event Flush
• Adding Bioretention Basins In Existing Low Areas To Intercept Runoff Before reaching Drainage Structures

In the fall of 2010, and Energy Task Force (ETF) was established by President Brooks Keel with the charge of providing recommendations that will enable 橘子视频 to reduce its energy consumption by at least 15% by the year 2020 below 2007 levels on a BTU per square foot bases. Recommendations have been submitted to the President and will be implemented in phases.

Food

In Fall 2015, Eagle Dining Services, the Center for Sustainability and the Nutrition and Food Science department hosted 鈥淗omegrown: Made in Georgia鈥�, a three-day event promoting the benefits of eating local foods and choosing healthy, sustainable meal options. The program consisted of several promotions including 鈥淓at Local鈥�, a tabling spearheaded by nutrition students offering samples of healthy snacks and recipes. The Center for Sustainability held informational sessions outside of Dining Commons to promote the campus garden and food waste management projects, as well as hosted a microgreens demonstration during the finale dinner. A mini-farmers market was held to give local vendors a chance to showcase their locally-made foods. A special dinner at Dining Commons wrapped up the event featuring locally-grown ingredients in several creative dishes.

The University Wellness Program and the Center for Sustainability began a partnership with the Main Street Farmers Market in Fall 2011 to create the Campus Farmers Market. The purpose was to bring fresh local produce to campus such as honey, milk, grits, baked goods, meat, dairy products, fair trade coffee and much more. The Campus Farmers Market hosts many farmers that use environmentally sustainable practices including fewer pesticides, no antibiotics or growth hormones and raise their animals outside on pasture. Find them at the Russell Union from 4 p.m. 鈥� 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays starting in early September through late October.

Eagle Dining Services, at 橘子视频, supports sustainability by offering several vegetarian meals in its dining facilities and is looking into more ways to incorporate sustainable menu items. Additionally, both Dining Commons and Lakeside offer dining without the use of trays, which reduces waste water and energy consumption, while also leveraging reusable/washable utensils, glasses and plateware to reduce waste in landfills. Currently, EDS is offering a reusable drink bottle free to all Blue and Gold dining plan holders, and at a price of $20 to everyone else. It鈥檚 available to use at Dining Commons, Lakeside and Gus Mart in the Russell Union. Restrictions apply.