GVSU Sustainability Week: Shaping Our World

In West Michigan, sustainability is catching on, and the world is taking notice. Fast Company magazine recently lauded Grand Rapids as America’s greenest city, while Grand Valley State University was honored by the U.S. Green Building Council for its campus-wide sustainability programs, and it was the only Michigan school listed in the Kaplan College Guide 2009 as one of 25 “cutting-edge green” colleges and universities.

For the fourth year in a row, Grand Valley State University will celebrate its commitment to environmental, social and fiscal responsibility with its annual Campus Sustainability Week. This year's Campus Sustainability Week runs October 22–25. The theme for the festivities is “Shaping Our World.” The week's activities will include speakers and presentations, displays and demonstrations, awards and recognition, exhibits and community projects .

Sustainability relates to the environmental impact of human activity, the enhancement of social systems and the improvement of economic prosperity — a triumvirate of factors commonly known as the "triple bottom line." The recognition of the required balance among these three issues has been characterized as sustainable growth.

As an institution of higher education, as well as a public university supported by tax dollars, Grand Valley’s administration has chosen to make the university a leader in practicing sustainable growth. Some of Grand Valley’s sustainability initiatives that have garnered national attention include:

• Eliminating trays in the Fresh Food Company dining area: That move reduced food waste by 960 pounds of food per week — or 28 pounds of food waste per customer annually. Weekly, the change has saved 1,040 gallons of water, 15 pounds of detergent and 15 gallons of sanitizer.

• Encouraging Rapid Bus ridership: Bus ridership has increased from fewer than 40,000 rides per month in 2002 to more than 275,000 rides per month in 2007. A record number of students — 18,856 — rode the bus the first day of classes in 2008-09. In the first week of classes, there was a record 87,800 student rides, up by nearly 30 percent from the same time the previous year.

• Building LEED: The new Niemeyer Learning and Living Center  and Laker Turf buildings were built to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Muskegon’s MAREC is certified LEED Gold; Lake Ontario Hall is certified LEED Silver; and Kennedy Hall of Engineering is also LEED certified. LEED certification is pending for renovations and additions to Kirkhof Center and Mackinac Hall. The university is also pursuing LEED certification for its entire Allendale Campus.

• Signing commitments: Grand Valley has signed the AASHE President's Climate Agreement, which is a high-visibility effort on part of institutions of higher education to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions that is beginning to set the pace for Grand Valley to lower its carbon footprint. The university also signed the Talloires Declaration, an official statement of commitment to environmental sustainability in higher education.

Each day of Campus Sustainability Week has a different theme. Monday and Tuesday are dedicated to student engagement and leadership; Wednesday is dedicated to health and wellness. Thursday is Sustainable Career Day and Friday is Green Your Space Day. Saturday, members of the Grand Valley community will participate in Make a Difference Day, which is a national day of service, promoted by USA Today.  

Events are free and open to the public, and media coverage is encouraged. Presentations and activities are scheduled at various times throughout the week on both the Allendale and Pew Grand Rapids campuses. See www.gvsu.edu/sustainability for program information. Some highlights of the week include:

• Farmers Market, Wednesday, October 22, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Kirkhof Center, Allendale

• Sustainable Business Practices, Wednesday, October 2, 6 p.m. in Loosemore Auditorium, Grand Rapids. This roundtable will feature Sanjay Dutta (vice president at Cascade Engineering), Win Irwin (CEO of Irwin Seating), Tom Reardon (executive director, Business & Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association), and Cortland Overmyer (sustainability manager for the City of Grand Rapids).

• Green Vendor Trade Fair, Thursday, October 23, Kirkhof Center (Allendale) and DeVos Center (Grand Rapids), 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Sustainability Champions Awards Breakfast, Friday, October 24, 7:30 a.m., Grand River Room, Kirihof Center

• Ravine Clean-Up, Saturday, October 25, contact Danielle at [email protected] for more information

• GVSU Home Football Game vs. Ashland Saturday, October 25 at 7 p.m.: To help support breast cancer research, the Sustainability Initiative will have recycling stations around tailgating areas and concession stands to collect beverage containers