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The Environmental
Assistance Office for Small Business at UNC Charlotte 9201 University City Blvd. 258 Cameron Building, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28233-0001 Phone number: 704-687-3968 Fax number: 704-687-3115 (Link to EAO Newsletter Archive) |
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In partnership with Mecklenburg County
LUESA Air Quality and Solid Waste Divisions, and
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities Mecklenburg Utility Sponsored by the Environmental Assistance Office (EAO) for Small Business at UNC Charlotte, The Environmental Corner is designed to serve as an environmental management and pollution prevention resource.
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Why you should read this issue? As a small business operator, you should read this issue to become more familiar with sustainable practices. Did you know that sustainable practices can help the environment and save you money? Sustainability is an up and coming issue in our society and if it is not in your vocabulary now, it will be soon. This newsletter provides examples of sustainable practices for small businesses. We will highlight UNC Charlotte’s campus and the work that is underway on becoming a more sustainable campus and regional leader in sustainable practices. If you have not visited the UNC Charlotte campus in the past couple years, it might be time for a visit. There are a number of new buildings and the Student Union is due to open in the spring of 2009. In fact, the design and construction of the Student Union building highlights sustainable construction, energy and lighting, and water use. We will highlight what UNC Charlotte is doing to be a leader in the region for sustainable practices through its many activities proposed and undergoing. We would like to hear from your business and your efforts on sustainability so that we can highlight your business in an upcoming issue. Please send us an email at Eaoforsb@uncc.edu.
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Sustainability Defined |
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Sustainability is defined from the World
Commission on Environment and Development as “development that
meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs”. With approximately 6.7 billion people on
Earth, sustainability is a great challenge for Americans who
consume more per person compared to any other person on the
planet. Did you know
that we would need 4 more Earths if everyone on the planet
consumed as much as Americans do?
Yes, we have the technology and the knowledge to bring a
change, but we must also have the individual desire and
willpower to bring about the change as well.
Environmental sustainability refers to the environmental actions
or impacts of what we do.
As we move towards sustainability,
we are attempting to reduce our ecological footprint or to tread
more lightly on the Earth.
By reducing the amount of resources we use and buy, the
waste we produce, and the emissions we produce, we can become
effective in reaching the goal of sustainability. |
In this Issue: Sustainability Defined The Three Components of Sustainable Development Sustainability at UNC Charlotte LEED Certification and Sustainability Fuel Sustainability Renewable Energy Use Central Piedmont Community College practices Sustainability |
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http://www.how-things-work-science-projects.com/first-grade-science-projects.html |
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The Three Components of Sustainable Development |
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| Sustainability at UNC Charlotte |
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UNC Charlotte’s Office
of Sustainability has a vision to “be the regional model of
sustainable stewardship through the social, economic, and
ecological legacy we create.”
We are
privileged to have a number of groups and programs at the
university whose mission is to promote sustainability within our
institution.
Such organizations are Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling
(OWR&R), Environmental Academy, the Environmental Assistance
Office, Student Earth Club and our Environmental Sustainability
Task Force. The university
administration has also shown commitment to the sustainability
field by funding a Sustainability Coordinator position on
campus. David
Jones, has been involved in sustainability for 8 years here in
the US and also in the UK. |
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http://studentunion.uncc.edu/su-webcam |
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We are currently undertaking a comprehensive sustainability assessment of UNC Charlotte and via this process it has become clear that there are a wide number of sustainability activities taking place on campus. For sustainability to be practiced in a holistic manner at UNC Charlotte it needs to be embedded in the core competences of the university; education, research, outreach and partnership and operations. To date, sustainability efforts have occurred within all the areas mentioned above with our most visible efforts within the operations arena. Some of these efforts are described below.
Green Buildings UNC Charlotte is constructing its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), building, the Bio-Informatics Building Located at Charlotte Research Institute. The New City Center building that is in the planning stage is also slated to be LEED certified. The new student Union although not LEED certified has incorporated sustainable design features. The Students at UNC Charlotte passed a referendum during fall of 2007 to collect one dollar per fee-paying student each semester to improve UNC Charlotte’s energy or resource efficiency and use of renewable energy sources which is named the Charlotte Green Initiative (CGI). The Charlotte Green Initiative will be administered by the UNC Charlotte Green Fee Committee, a student led committee The
Green Fee Committee will meet frequently to select projects
submitted from the university community and ideally other
students that aim to improve UNC sustainability performance.
Conservation Efforts
UNC
Charlotte’s dining services vendor Chartwell’s are proactive in
the “greening of our dining services” operations. They
have implemented the following programs |
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Project Clean Plate:
The concept behind Project Clean Plate is to create awareness
among students about unnecessary food waste at each meal and to
encourage students to significantly reduce the amount of food
waste at their campus. As food waste reduction goals are
met, food donations of several pounds to several hundred pounds
are provided to local food banks or charities in need of food
donations. Chartwells partners with American’s Second
Harvest
http://www.secondharvest.org/.
The two cafeterias,
Crossroads and RDH, are currently running this semester
promotion now! |
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Tray-less Dining:
UNC Charlotte's Crossroads Cafe has joined an increasing number
of colleges and universities that have shed their cafeteria
trays. These programs conserve water and energy by
lightening the load on dishwashers.
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Project Green Thumb: A
Recyclable Mug Program conserves resources by encouraging
students to reuse and refill their mugs.
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Trim Trax: Compass Group has developed Trim Trax, a food waste reduction program and green initiative. It is designed to be implemented and executed by staff to increase engagement and operational efficiency, as well as create awareness about the environmental impact of food waste by keeping track and measure food waste costs at college cafeterias. For more information on any of these projects please contact Shaunna Bagnell Sbagnell@uncc.edu |
| Housekeeping: Facilities and Residence Life Housekeeping continue to investigate and implement green cleaning processes through: |
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Use of
microfiber cloths
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Water
reduction mopping systems
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Controlled chemical dispensing systems resulting in a reduction
of chemical and water used
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Using
water and energy efficient cleaning equipment |
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Recycling and Waste Reduction: UNC Charlotte has a well established and award winning recycling program. Started by students, recycling began with a can collection program. Not long afterwards, Witherspoon Hall became the first residence hall to take part. In 15 years the program has grown to 14 employees and now recycles over 40 different types of items. UNC Charlotte operates a composting program, an award winning construction and demolition recycling / re-use program, and environmental education programs located on and off campus.
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LEED Certification and Sustainability |
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The
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green
Building Council (USGBC), provides a suite of standards for
environmentally sustainable construction.
LEED
certification validates the "greenness" of building design
and construction practices. The
U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Green Building Rating
System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for
developing high-performance, sustainable buildings where
they can earn LEED certification. |
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READ MORE INFO ON LEED HERE |
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UNC Charlotte has taken a proactive approach to water
conservation planning; here are a few actions that have
taken place:
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Fuel Sustainability |
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The Institute for Sustainable Energy’s
focus is on issues related to energy efficiency and
conservation, the protection of environmental resources, and
helpful information on energy alternatives and
sustainability.
The use of
alternative fuels is at its highest level of demand than it
has ever been.
Today, the traditional energy fuels that are used are fuel
oil, diesel oil, and gasoline, along with wood based and
natural gas fuels.
Alternative fuels
include biodiesel, electricity, hydrogen, and more.
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latimesblogs.latimes.com/bottleneck/2008/06/ |
| READ MORE ON BIODIESEL HERE |
Electricity is unique among the alternative fuels in that
mechanical power is derived directly from it, whereas the
other alternative fuels release stored chemical energy
through combustion to provide mechanical power. Electricity
is considered a fuel when it is used to power vehicles
commonly provided by batteries.
The production of electricity using fuel cells takes
place without combustion or pollution.
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http://www.greencarsite.co.uk/GREENNEWS/free-parking-for-electric-cars.htm |
| Biomass can be used to provide heat, make fuels, and generate electricity. Biomass can be converted into liquid fuels that help us in transportation, its most common fuels being ethanol and biodiesel. Ethanol is an alcohol that is produced by a formation process similar to brewing beer and is used as a fuel additive to reduce a vehicle’s carbon monoxide and other dangerous emissions. Biodiesel is an ester that is produced using vegetable oils, animal fats, and even recycled cooking greases and can be used as a diesel additive to reduce a vehicle emission and can even fuel a vehicle in purest form. |
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Read More About Biomass Here |
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Renewable Energy Source |
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Small businesses are not any different
than larger businesses or corporations in that both have an
energy expense.
The U.S. Department of Energy suggests
that small businesses can reduce their energy expenses and
raise their profits by incorporating energy efficiency into
the way they do
business.
Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy offer a consumer guide to
energy efficiency and renewable energy that contains vital
information whether you are remodeling, starting new,
purchasing “clean electricity” and other ways to use
renewable energy. |
| READ THE CONSUMER GUIDE HERE |
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Have you ever heard of “green power” or “clean power”? According to the US DOE, at least 50% of customers have the option to purchase renewable electricity directly from their power supplier, and all customers have the option of purchasing renewable energy certificates. There are programs where you can purchase clean power. |
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http://tn-ipl.org/images/TIP&LLogoGreen3.jpeg |
| CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT “GREEN POWER” |
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RENEWABLE ENERGY |
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UNC Charlotte
continues to implement energy saving measures such as load
shedding, conducting energy audits, upgrading our HVAC
systems and educating the campus community on energy saving
measures that can be taken on a micro level such as using
compact fluorescent lights and switching off lights when not in
rooms.
New buildings have state-of-the-art
Building Automation System (BAS) controls. New and
existing building control systems will be evaluated and
adjusted for optimum energy usage. |
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| Central Piedmont Community College practices Sustainability |
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We are also highlighting Central Piedmont Community College
(CPCC) and their Center for Sustainability.
CPCC was recently awarded one of the 2008 Non-profit
Educational Programs of the Year by the Charlotte Business
Journal in their green efforts over the past year.
Created in 2007 to join the powerful and growing
trend of environmental sustainability, CPCC created its
Center for Sustainability for research and to educate
others.
Here are
their goals:
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| http://web.eenorthcarolina.org/files/ |
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Environmental Assistance Office (EAO) for Small Business The Environmental Assistance Office for Small Business provides non-regulatory, client-confidential pollution prevention assistance to small businesses in the greater Charlotte region. The EAO is designed to assist regional businesses in their efforts to voluntarily prevent pollution. The EAO staff can provide timely assistance for pollution prevention planning, including information about industry-specific case studies, waste-specific case studies, and new technologies. The office provides links of resources to needs between the region's business community, government, municipality, and university. If there is a particular issue or question you would like to see in an upcoming edition, please send an e-mail to EAOforSB@email.uncc.edu Contact Information: Environmental Assistance Office for Small Business: 9201 University City Blvd. 258 Cameron Building, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28233-0001 Phone number: 704-687-3968 Fax number: 704-687-3115 Email: EAOforSB@email.uncc.edu Services: · Assistance with Air Permits - Assistance for small businesses in completing paperwork for EPA air permits. · Educational Materials - Educational pamphlet, brochures, flyers, and other materials to relate facts on pollution prevention. · Educational Outreach - Develop educational outreach campaigns and presentations for the public or employee training. · University Resources - Library information, faculty expertise, student projects and research at both graduate and undergraduate levels.
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