What's New
EAC Announces Paper Chase Winners (April 2011)
- Greatest cost reduction: Health Science, Education and Wellness Institute (HSEWI)– 24% reduction
- Lowest Cost per FTE – Institute for Business and Information Technology (IBIT) - $2.10 per FTE
- For making significant reductions in both categories we have elected to also highlight the work of Social Science who reduced cost by 18% (25% reduction per FTE) and had a total cost of $3.06 per FTE
- Paper Reduction Innovation Challange - April Ibarra for Student Services reduction ideas and the":Sustainability Care Package"
For more details about the winners see the Great BC Paper Chase web site.
The Great BC Paper Chase is on! (January 2011)
The Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) would like to challenge the campus to come up with new and innovative ways to do better with less - specifically less paper! We'd like to ask everyone to think more about the paper they use and make an effort to reduce their personal (and classroom) paper use by 25% this winter quarter (and into the coming year). As part of that challenge the EAC has organized three activities for you to participate in - a BC Paper Pledge, a paper reduction challenge and an innovation competition. Visit the Great BC Paper Chase web site for details.
Sign the Paper Pledge and work to reduce your paper use and see the list of those who have signed so far. and check out our list of tips for saving paper.
BC Captains of Sustainability meet at the "Hall of Justice" to help promote sustainability (January 2011)
The Sustainability @ Bellevue College team, has been creating an employee advocacy program called “Captains of Sustainability.” The program raises awareness by recruiting members in every work team and office area to communicate with their colleagues about sustainability issues and take on small projects to strengthen and move forward campus conservation goals.
The Captains, like superheroes, work together by focusing on one theme every quarter, where issues are identified and strategies are implemented to reduce the impact of our campus community and improve sustainability. This quarter’s theme is paper reduction. The Captains of Sustainability will join hands with the Environmental Advisory Committee on the “The Great BC Paper Chase”. With the help of staff, faculty, and exempt employees we can make BC a more environmentally and financially sustainable college. Visit the captains on MyBC (BC internal site).
Do you want to be a hero? Contact Deric Gruen and Terri Ramsey (terri.ramsey@bellevuecollege.edu) to learn more about the Captains of Sustainability program and sign-up to get our updates.
BC Welcomes our new Sustainability Coordinator / Resource Conservation Manager - Deric Gruen! (October 2010)
Deric Gruen has joined the BC "sustainability team" as BC's new Sustainability Coordinator / Resource Conservation Manager. Deric comes to us with significant community, academic and research experience in public policy and sustainability, including being a research consultant for the Sightline Institute and an economic development intern for the Puget Sound Regional Council. He recently completed his Masters in Public Administration from the Evans School of Public Affairs, where among other projects, he worked on transportation issues at colleges and schools across Washington State. In 2009, Deric was a recipient of the Bonderman Travel Fellowship, which took him on an 8 month bike trip to the Middle East, South Africa and South America. Feel free to contact Deric at deric.gruen@bellevuecollege.edu or stop by his office in K100. We are all very excited to have Deric on board!
This position is funded by a combination of student funds (SESF funding), a grant from Puget Sound Energy, and contributions from the college.
The BC Climate Action Plan is Released - We Want Your Thoughts (September 2010)
In 2007 President Jean Floten signed the American Colleges and University President's Climate Commitment, which pledges to strive for carbon neutrality (BC press release). In 2009, BC completed the its first carbon audit and found that we release over 36,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent each year (download the report as a pdf file). In 2010, the EAC was tasked with producing a Climate Action Plan detailing how we would reduce our carbon emissions and minimize our environmental impact.
This summer, the plan was reviewed by President's Staff and submitted to the ACUPCC. It is a working plan and we are anxious to hear your response to the proposed strategies. Download a pdf version of the BC Climate Action plan and feel free to send us your feedback. See the BC Climate Action Site for more details.
Students fund sustainability projects on campus through the SESF (Student Environmental Sustainability Fund) (June 2010)
In 2008, BC Students assessed themselves a fee to pay for sustainability projects on campus. Find out more about the SESF, including info on how to apply for funds and the history of how it all came about.
Sustainability Task Force Recommends "Sustainability Institute" at BC (May 2010)
In Fall 2009, BC's president formed a task force - the Substantiality Task Force - to research and provide advice on how to diversify, strengthen and better incorporate sustainability into the BC curriculum. The committed released its report in March 2010, and stressed the importance to creating a Sustainability Institute on campus to coordinate sustainability initiatives across the curriculum. The final report is included here as a pdf file. Please let Kent Short (Sustainability Task Force Chair - kshort@bellevuecollege.edu) know if you have any feedback on the findings.
Sustainable Food at BC (April 2010)
Did you know? There are sustainable food options in the cafeteria, including grass-fed beef, organic salad greens, and sustainable sushi? Or that the cafeteria installed a new cooling system in the refrigerators that saves over 10 million gallons of water a year? Or that the Student Science Association is working with the cafeteria to begin a composting program? Find out more about what is happening in the cafeteria and what projects are in the works at the EAC Sustainable Food at BC web page.
Reducing Paper Use at BC (March 2010)
Did you know? Bellevue College prints on 250,000 pieces of paper in N250 in the first two weeks of each quarter! That’s approximately 21 trees and 45 miles of paper laid end to end, and by some accounts can cost the college $250,000 (taking into account purchasing, paper management, printer upkeep, waste management, etc.). Find more information on reducing paper use here.
| Do you know how many copies BC makes each year? in 2009 we made 8,156,214 copies at Bellevue College. Even if every single copy was double sided, that is still over 4 million sheets of paper. If even 1/2 of these copies were double sided, the 6 million sheets of paper we use, laid end to end, would run uninterrupted from Seattle to Topeka, Kansas. At that rate, in 2 years our paper would cross the country and in 17 years it would circle the Earth. |
Building Sustainability Resources (February 2010)
The EAC is working to build several sustainability resource pages over the coming year. We plan to release one new page a month (starting with reducing paper use in March 2010, and campus food sustainability in April 2010). Keep checking back for the latest information!
The New Face of Sustainability at BC (February 2010)
This spring the EAC is gearing up a new communication campaign to (1) let the community know what is happening on campus and (2) provide helpful guidelines and tips for making your own life more sustainable. Please join us at one or more of the following e-locations to receive regular updates:
- BC Sustainability Blog - Read personal experience with sustainability at BC from your colleagues
- BC Sustainability Twitter Page - Keep up to date on the latest sustainability@BC info and events
- BC Sustainability Facebook Page - Be our sustainable friend!
- BC Sustainability LinkedIn Page - Keep up with the latest sustainability@BC developments
- New Email - sustainability@bellevuecollege.edu
