The schools were recognized by Second Nature, a non-profit sustainabilitiy advocate that is the lead supporting organization of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment, the effort to achieve climate neutrality on college and university campuses. Institutions eligible for the award are more than 600 institutions whose presidents have signed the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). The awards were announced last month at the 5th annual ACUPCC Climate Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C.

The awards were distributed in four categories: associate college, baccalaureate, master's and doctorate-granting. The institutions recognized:

• Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. The school was honored for efforts such as a sustainability mini-grant program to support initiatives that incorporate sustainability into existing courses or that help Bunker Hill work toward climate neutrality. Projects include an urban garden and a print management program. The school also has established a cabinet-level position of Director of Sustainability and created a web site to highlight Bunker Hill's sustainability initiatives.
• Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. Through efforts such as a 24 percent decrease in fuel oil consumption and a 33 percent decrease in paper use, Colgate reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent in 2010. The university used 23,000 tons of locally grown wood chips to provide heat and hot water on the campus. A wood-fired boiler displaced more than 1 million gallons of fuel oil and saved more than $2 million in energy costs. Colgate has established an electronic waste recycling program with 18 sites on campus, has begun a composting program and expanded a campus bike-sharing program.
• Delaware State University, based in Dover, Del. The university works with the city of Dover to reduce energy costs through a newly built solar park. Energy performance contracts are being used to upgrade campus facilities and reduce Delaware State's carbon footprint. A new Delaware State University Arboretum will have more than 100 different tree species to improve the school's outdoor educational resources.
• Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Md. The university's green initiatives include a wind and solar energy system that powers a small building on campus. Frostburg State also is building a Sustainable Energy Research Facility that will generate its own electricity from wind and sunlight and use solar and geothermal energy for heating and cooling. All new campus buildings must meet at least LEED-silver specifications.
• Green Mountain College, based in Montpelier, Vt. Construction of a biomass plant, numerous energy-efficiency projects, purchase of carbon offsets and collaboration with a local utility has enabled Green Mountain to become climate neutral. The climate action plan calls for an additional 10 percent reduction of carbon emissions within nine years.
• Montgomery County Community College, based in Blue Bell, Pa. Its sustainable practices include using compact-fluorescent and LED lamps and motion sensors in lighting fixtures, restoring natural grass areas on campus, composting, installing virtual servers in IT, expanding recycling efforts, and using environmentally friendly products. The college purchases 100 percent of its energy from wind power. To reduce commuter traffic, the school runs a Wi-Fi-equipped shuttle that makes the 30-mile trip between the College's Central and West campuses several times per day.
• Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner, Mass. Two new wind turbines are expected to generate 97 percent of the institution's electricity needs. Together with biomass heating and solar-energy systems, the green initiatives have put Mount Wachusett on the way to becoming a zero-net-energy campus. Over the past decade, the college has increased in size to 450,000 square feet and nearly tripled the number of computers, but annual electrical consumption has dropped by nearly half--from 9 million kilowatt hours per year to 5 million.
• University of California, Irvine. The school's commitment to sustainability includes installation of a solar energy system on the roofs of 12 campus buildings. The university projects that the system will produce more than 24 million kilowatt hours over 20 years. In addition, UC-Irvine's transportation system includes free shuttle service, incentives for carpooling and car sharing, and programs to encourage bicycle commuting and sharing.
• University of Maine in Orono. Campus greenhouse emissions decreased 16 percent from 2005 to 2010 by switching from fuel oil to natural gas and by improving its steam distribution network. Installation of a high-efficiency natural gas boiler and other heating plant improvements have reduced emissions further. The university also operates a free campus shuttle to ease traffic congestion and a parking shortage.
• University of Maryland, College Park. It was recognized for decreasing greenhouse gas emission by 8.5 percent between 2005 and 2009. The university also purchased 66,000 renewable energy credits in 2010, which equates to a 14 percent reduction of its 2009 carbon footprint.

• 10: The number of higher-education institutions that were removed on July 1 from the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) network. The institutions failed to meet requirements for ongoing public reporting on their progress toward reducing greenhouse emissions.

Source: American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment

COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING: As schools and universities continue on the green cleaning journey, one underutilized opportunity for reducing the impacts associated with cleaning is the cleaning personnel. Although training typically is provided, it often covers only the minimum required by law...Many workers could benefit by spending more time on training with a greater focus on "effective" cleaning....Read the entire Green Cleaning column.

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