What is Guilford Doing?

Congratulations Guilford! Guilford College has received a 95 on a 60-99 scale from the Princeton Review!!

""Princeton Review developed its Green Rating criteria and institutional survey in 2007 with ecoAmerica (www.ecoamerica.org), a non-profit environmental organization that continues to participate in this project.  The criteria for the rating cover three broad areas: 1/ whether the school’s students have a campus quality of life that is healthy and sustainable, 2/ how well the school is preparing its students for employment and citizenship in a world defined by environmental challenges, and 3/ the school's overall commitment to environmental issues.  The institutional survey for the rating included ten questions on everything from energy use, recycling, food, buildings, and transportation to academic offerings (availability of environmental studies degrees and courses) and action plans and goals concerning greenhouse gas emission reductions."

- Published in a press released from the Princeton Review

Installation of Solar Hot Water Heater on the roof of Shore, photo by Grace Boyle

Photo of Archdale Hall awaiting renovations and LEED certification. Photo from facilities website.

Waterless urinals installed by facilities. Photo from facilities website.

Facilities: Many of the environmentally sustainable projects going on on campus can be directly attributed to facilities. Facilities is the home of the Environmental Sustainability Office, and one of the main sites for infrastructural changes that employ conservation efforts. In the past few years, facilities has installed a solar hot water heater on the roof of Shore Hall, a student dormintory on campus, worked to furnish all dormitories and almost all other academic and office buildings on campus with dual-flush valves and low flow sink and showerheads, purchased and arranged waterless urinals on campus, and agreed to implement LEED silver certification for all future building's construction and major renovations, including the current renovation of Archdale. When finished, Archdale will have one of the most energy efficient chillers on the market, a grey water system, and will have undergone a renovation in which many construction waste products were recycled or reused. Facilities has also created an Energy Star Purchasing Policy, which requires that all new electronic purchases be Energy Star or equivelant and requests that students bring only Energy Star or equivalant appliances to use on Guilford's campus.

Facilities has also connected with other environmentally sustainble efforts on campus. Many facilities staff participated in the Greenhouse Gas Inventory for the President's Climate Commitment, including facilites director Jon Varnell and Environmental Manager Rex Harrell. Along with other volunteers from the Environmental Studies Department and the student body, facilities helped to gather data and write the final Greenhouse Gas Report. Facilities is also represented on the Sustainability Council through Jon Varnell, Gerald Little, Rex Harrell, and Jim Dees.

Facilities is one example of how sustainability at Guilford is reality rather than rhetoric. Facilities is a major and necessary piece for environmental sustainability at Guilford College.

Dining Services: Meriwether Godsey is Guilford's new dining services provider. They have worked and are continuing to work hard in order to maintain both their mission to environmental sustainability and Guilford's mission of environmental sustainability. Meriwether's chefs have worked to use as much local, organic food as possible, using local business resources like ECO (Eastern Carolina Organics). They are also possible, using local business resources like currently creating a composting system for both pre-consumer composting and post-consumer composting. To learn more about MG's commitment to sustainability, visit their website.

President's Climate Commitment: Kent Chabotar, Guilford's President, recently signed the President's Climate

Student art project from Environmental Sculpture.

Commitment, a first step in making Guilford College carbon neutral. Guilford has already completed a Greenhouse Gas Inventory, and is now working on an action plan for the college. To learn more, visit our ACUPCC page.

Sustainability Council: The Sustainability Council is a council made up of staff, students, and faculty. The council has a budget, and funds many environmentally sustainable projects around campus, including environmentally sustainable events like Earth Day. The Sustainability Council meets monthly to discuss potential environmentally sustainable projects for funding, and welcomes student, faculty, and staff submissions for review.

The Environmental Studies Program: The Environmental Studies program at Guilford “is an interdisciplinary program that emphasizes the relationship between humans and the environment”.  A double major is required for an Environmental Studies major and there are classes available in Art, English, Anthropology, Geology, Psychology, Math, Biology, Philosophy, Business, Economics, and more that can count towards an Environmental Studies Major or minor. If you are interested in Environmental Science, the best idea is to double major in Environmental Studies and one of the sciences (Biology, Geology, and Chemistry).

Library: Since the summer of 2005 Liz Wade from Guilford's Hege Library has worked to recycle more than 2.8 tons of books.