CAMPUS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLEMENTATION FORM
Presented by: Kay Coots

Operating Environmental Policy - (Your Administrative Unit’s Name)

Purpose: To establish an operating policy for (Your Administrative Unit’s Name) in conformance with the University of Oregon’s Comprehensive Environmental Policy (CEP).

Goals and Strategies:

3.1 Commitment to Environmental Education

(Your Administrative Unit’s Name) recognizes that environmental excellence requires education and will provide the availability of on-going education for members of the (your unit’s name) regarding the importance of environmental responsibility and the provisions of the University’s policy. This will include: (Choose one or more of the following, or create your own)

  1. Make the University community aware of the Comprehensive Environmental Policy and support environmental education in the curriculum. This includes making all members of the administrative unit aware of the CEP, the University’s Paper Policy and the unit’s sub-policy.
  2. Set up Departmental communication on campus environmental issues; create an environmental/recycling information area for posting information.
  3. Establish a Recycling/Environmental coordinator within the unit to serve as a contact point for recycling/environmental issues and information.
  4. Dedicate 10 minutes (or more) a term to have someone speak to a faculty meeting regarding campus recycling/environmental issues.
  5. Involve students in campus environmental/global issues through projects.
  6. Integrate an environmental perspective into courses as they apply to course work.
  7. Utilize environmental practices in the classroom; model good environmental stewardship (e.g., encourage students to turn in assignments double sided on recycled paper, use the internet for assignments, etc.)

3.2 Environmentally Responsible Purchasing Policies

(Your Administrative Unit’s Name) recognizes that one of the primary methods of exercising our commitment to environmental responsibility is through our purchasing choices. (Your administrative unit) will strive to obtain the maximum value for it’s expenditures and will work towards obtaining the "best value" by balancing short- and long-term costs, maintenance, life cycle, and relative environmental costs in purchasing goods and services. This will included: (Choose one or more of the following, or create your own)

  1. Adhere to the guidelines of the University's Paper Policy.
  2. Purchase products that minimize waste products from packaging; eliminate to the greatest extent possible unrecyclable products/packaging.
  3. Consider life cycle, maintenance and warranty issues when purchasing goods and services.
  4. Purchase items made of recycled materials whenever possible.
  5. Take advantage of re-use opportunities, such as the University’s Recycled Office Supply Exchange, the Recycled Furniture Exchange or the Recycled Chemical Exchange.
  6. Purchase products that demonstrate maximum durability, biodegradability, reparability, energy efficiency and non-toxic when possible.

3.3 Efficient use of Energy, Water and Other Resources

(Your Administrative Unit) recognizes the importance of conservation efforts and efficient use of resources as the primary method to be used to reduce resource consumption at the University. This will include: (choose one or more of the following, or create your own)

  1. Encourage members of the unit to identify and report waste such as automatic lights that don’t turn off or lights that cannot be turned off because of switch location, faucets that leak, heat that cannot be adjusted. Educate your members to know proper reporting systems for such issues.
  2. Dedicate one half hour of training to unit members regarding available conservation efforts.
  3. Commit to including lighting sensors to all space remodels.
  4. Minimize consumption of energy, water, and other resources by eliminating wasteful practices and promoting efficient use. Examples include turn off lights when you leave the room, turn off the computer monitor when you leave your workstation, keep exterior doors and windows shut when a room is unoccupied, dress for the weather rather than adjusting thermostats, and shut classroom windows when the class is finished.
  5. Maximize energy efficiency in existing building, renovations, and new construction.

3.4 Minimize Solid Waste Production

(Your Administrative Unit) recognizes the importance of minimizing solid waste generation. We will strive to reduce solid waste generation; first through reduction, secondarily through reuse and finally through recycling. This will include: (choose one or more of the following, or create your own)

  1. Appoint a recycling coordinator to help facilitate recycling efforts, evaluate most efficient location of recycling stations and educate unit members on the value of recycling.
  2. Decrease intra-departmental notices and publications in hard copy format in favor of electronic format.
  3. Reduce solid waste generation through reuse of materials.
  4. Reduce solid waste production through recycling; use products already made of recycled materials.
  5. Establish a waste food composting station, if feasible, in your area.

3.5 Minimize Hazardous Waste and Toxic Materials on Campus

(Your Administrative Unit) acknowledges the importance of safe management of hazardous materials. The top waste management priority is to reduce the amount and toxicity of hazardous waste generated. Reduction, reuse and recycling of hazardous materials will be priorities prior to final disposal. This include the following: (Choose one or more of the following, or create your own)

  1. Post information regarding need for proper disposal of materials.
  2. Evaluate products currently in use to determine if less toxic alternatives exist (e.g. marker pens without solvents, digital vs. mercury thermometers, etc.).
  3. Rotate stock of materials to ensure that products are not wasted due to poor rotation practices.
  4. Utilize Environmental Health and Safety’s chemical exchange.
  5. Investigate alternatives to current practices that will decrease the use of chemicals.
  6. Train all workers on the importance of proper waste disposal.
  7. Call Environmental Health and Safety to pick up any chemicals that are no longer being used.

3.6 Environmentally Responsible Campus Design and Planning Principles

(Your Administrative Unit) recognizes the importance of environmental implications in the development and operation of campus infrastructures. This includes the following: (Choose one or more of the following, or create your own)

  1. Make employees aware of design and planning principles in place, as they relate to environmental issues.
  2. Ensure that information regarding existing alternative transportation modes are provided within the work area. e.g. LTD schedules, Saferide, bicycle-parking maps, shuttle to Salem.
  3. Do trip planning to assure that carpooling is used for out-of town meetings.
  4. Consider the train rather than a car for meetings in Portland and Seattle.
  5. Consider telecommuting.
  6. Support the use of the Internet for distance learning, submission of class assignments via computer or fax when such use will reduce the amount of traffic coming to campus.
  7. Provide Departmental space to hang wet clothing, change clothes for bicycle users.
  8. Encourage use of flextime, when feasible, and when it will reduce the amount of travel required to work.
  9. Monitor campus-planning decisions to insure that new buildings take advantage of daylight, solar heating and passive cooling without crowding older buildings or blocking access to solar light and breeze.

3.7 Follow up, Review and Update

(Your Administrative Unit) will periodically review and evaluate our progress toward these environmental goals. At a minimum this review will be done biannually, in consultation with the Office of Environmental Health and Safety.