• Future Students
• CC to GV Programs
• Our Commitment to Sustainability
• The Apiary at the Meijer Campus
• Meijer Campus Information
• Other GVSU Campuses
• Request Information
• Our Photos

Meijer Campus Sustainability Champion

Date: October 17, 2011

On Friday, October 14^th2011, Dan Broersma (Environmental Specialist at Herman Miller and Liberal Studies major) was recognized by Grand Valley State University’s Sustainable Community Development Initiative as a Sustainability Champion. Dan has served as a community representative on the Grand Valley State University Meijer Campus in Holland Green Team (comprised of students, faculty and staff) for nearly 2 years. During this time, Dan has been instrumental in encouraging the committee to explore ways to expand our campus commitment to sustainability. For example, last year he worked closely with campus operations to modify recycling practices.  Now, instead of paying a hauler, the Holland Rescue Mission collects the Meijer Campus recyclables, sorts items as part of their job training program, and uses the profits to fund their programs. This new initiative is a concrete example of the triple bottom line – it nurtures economic, environmental and social vitality.

More recently, Dan has helped lead the charge in implementing a new waste management program at the Meijer Campus. This program is modeled after a Herman Miller program in which individual trash and recycling containers were removed from offices and common spaces and replaced with centralized hubs that allow individuals to dispose of waste appropriately in by recycling and composting.  To kick off this new initiative at the Meijer Campus, Dan, along with other members of the Green Team, did a dumpster dive and sort to determine how much of the campus’ waste could be disposed of in a more sustainable fashion. This gave us a baseline with which we can measure the success of our new waste management program.

Dan Broersma’s efforts have significantly accelerated the Meijer Campus in Holland’s progress toward becoming a zero waste facility and Grand Valley State University is proud to recognize him as a Sustainability Champion.

See all news