November 24, 2010
Earning further recognition for its dedication to improving the
environment through sustainability, St. John’s University has
placed fourth in a field of 40 colleges and universities
participating in the first real-time, nationwide electricity and
water-use reduction competition.
Held from November 1 – 19, the Campus Conservation
Nationals 2010 engaged colleges and universities in an effort
to slash energy and water use at their campuses. St. John’s was a
top “campus reducer” with a 12.2% overall reduction in energy. The
other top “reducers” were DePauw University, which cut energy
consumption by 25.8%; the University of British Columbia, 16.3%;
and Radford University, 15.5%.
In
addition, St. John’s placed first among colleges and universities
in a New York regional energy-saving competition. Participants
included New York University, Columbia University and Hamilton
College.
The contest was sponsored by the Lucid Design Group and
the
U.S. Green Building Council. Lucid created “Building Dashboard”
®, a Web-based, real-time electricity monitoring tool colleges used
to compete. St. John’s and other universities use “Dashboard” to
raise student awareness through regular energy-saving contests on
campus.
A Long Commitment to Sustainability
A Catholic and Vincentian university, St. John’s is widely
recognized for its sustainability initiatives. In July, St. John’s
won a
$1 million federal grant for energy conservation through the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. In June, a
student video on campus sustainability won first place in the New
York State Association for Reduction, Reuse & Recycling3
(NYSAR3) /
Alcoa Recycling Video Contest.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg awarded St. John’s a “Gold Star” in 2008
for its leadership in the “
PLANYC 2030 Challenge,” an effort to cut the city’s greenhouse
gas emissions by 30 percent. St. John’s also partners in “
MillionTreesNYC”; the New York State Department of
Transportation’s Clean Air Campus Program; and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s Voluntary Partnership Program.
Placing fourth in the Campus Conservation Nationals “is a big win
for our students,” said Brij Anand, Vice President of Facilities at
St. John’s. “In a short period, our students’ efforts resulted in
our being ranked fourth among the 40 competing universities. I am
extremely pleased with their intense involvement and
success.”
Competing involved an aggressive energy-saving effort in St. John’s
residence halls. An earlier energy-saving contest between residence
halls took place last February, said Thomas Goldsmith, Facilities
Services Director of Environmental and Energy Conservation.
For both contests, the Offices of Facilities and Residence Life
provided cash awards to the winning residence halls — $8 per
student for first place (Donovan Hall by less than one-tenth of a
percent, for a 24.6 percent saving) and $6 per student
for second place (DaSilva Hall, 24.6 percent).
Sustainability on campus represents a partnership of students,
faculty, administrators and staff, said Mr. Goldsmith. He co-chairs
the campus’s Sustainability Committee with
Frank Cantelmo, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biological
Sciences. Mr. Goldsmith also acknowledged the efforts of
Jackie Lochrie, Associate Dean for Student Services and
Director of Residence Life.
Students serving as sustainability coordinators went from room to
room encouraging simple measures such as using natural daylight
whenever possible and shutting off unused equipment, said Erin
Chalmers ‘11Ed, President of the Earth Club. She worked with film
student Chris DeCourt ‘’11C to create a
video for the contest. “This was all part of an ongoing effort
to raise awareness about sustainability on campus,” she said.