Sustainability Integration Office
Welcome to the Middlebury College
Sustainability Integration Office "Solutions for a green campus and a sustainable future"
Check out the news items below for new site content. To explore the site, use the links on the left and right navigation bars. If you would like to submit an item for the site, or have a comment or suggestion send them to:
Jack Byrne, Director, Sustainability Integration Office: jmbyrne@middlebury.edu
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September 30, 2008
The Middlebury College Environmental Council announced its request for proposals today. We are seeking proposals from students, faculty and staff that will advance the College's efforts to create a more sustainable campus and that will help advance its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality.
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July 18, 2008
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — The Middlebury College board of trustees approved the most far-reaching and environmentally progressive campus master plan in the college’s 208-year history at their annual May meeting. The plan, which was built on a foundation of sustainability principles, will guide the college’s growth and development for the next 50 years.
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May 23, 2008
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — At a dedication ceremony on Friday, May 23, Middlebury College’s environmental center was renamed the Janet Halstead Franklin ’72 and Churchill G. Franklin ’71 Environmental Center at Hillcrest. The afternoon event took place in the Orchard, the lecture hall on the first floor of the center. A reception followed the half-hour ceremony.
The dedication included remarks from Middlebury College President Ronald D. Liebowitz, who recognized the Franklins for their longtime service and commitment to Middlebury, and noted the importance the environmental center has for the college. "It is a reflection of our determination to incorporate environmental stewardship into every part of our curriculum and all of our practices on campus," said Liebowitz.
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May 15, 2008
Sustainability grants are latest effort to make study abroad a "green" experience
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. ― Middlebury College has added a new incentive to keep students thinking about environmental sustainability as they study abroad. The college awarded its first-ever sustainable study abroad grants this spring to assist students with research and projects related to sustainability. The program is co-sponsored by the college’s Office of International Programs and Off-Campus Study, and the Office of Environmental Affairs.
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April 14, 2008
The MiddShift Implementation Working Group recently produced a short Guide to Carbon Neutrality at Middlebury College. The eight page document provides an overview of the the College's carbon footprint, its goal to be carbon neutral by 2016, why it set this goal, and how it is approaching the development of a roadmap for achieving it.
April 12, 2008
On April 19th-21st, 2008 hundreds of high school and college students from across Vermont will converge on Middlebury College 's campus for the Power Shift Vermont conference. On Monday, the group will subsequently travel to Montpelier to demand climate solutions from legislators in the statehouse and Governor Douglas' office!
Power Shift Vermont 2008 will focus on providing Vermont college and high school students with the knowledge and tools they need to take action and find climate solutions. Through informative panels, interactive workshops, intense discussions, speeches by distinguished leaders, and our Action Day in Montpelier , we will take important steps towards a securing clean energy future and continuing sustainability efforts in the Green Mountain State .
February 07, 2008
In keeping with its leadership in sustainability, Middlebury’s Vice President for Academic Affairs, Alison Byerly, announced that the College has adopted a
policy to use 100% recycled content (aka post consumer waste – PCW) , process chlorine free paper (PCF) in all printers and copiers and outsourced publications. The College has begun purchasing 100% PCW-PCF paper in place of the 30% PCW-PCF that it previously used for printers and copiers. The shift will see Middlebury reducing its consumption of trees, water and electricity by 300% compared with the 30% recycled content paper it has been using. The increase in cost would be as little as $100. This small difference in cost could be easily offset by a 1.5% decrease in current usage.
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January 08, 2008
Originally the vision of a former student, the Food Mapping Project is a cooperative effort between the Environmental Studies Department, Geography Department, Dining Services & the Middlebury College Organic Garden. The primary goal of the project is to help people visualize connections of their food system to the environment and help understand that the choices they make during meals everyday has an impact not only on the environment but also the local and national economy.
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October 28, 2007
The Environmental Council is seeking proposals from Middlebury College students, faculty and staff for projects that will advance the College's efforts to create a more sustainable community. Proposals can be for as little as $25 and as much as $2,500. Any sustainability related proposal is welcome.
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October 19, 2007
From Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 25-27, several events will take place to celebrate the newly opened Hillcrest Environmental Center. Renovations to the building were completed in June, and the facility provides a new permanent home for the college’s environmental studies program and office of environmental affairs. All events, including lectures, panel discussions and receptions, are free and open to the public.
...click here to read the complete press release
October 18, 2007
Middlebury College has signed an agreement with
ZipCar, the world’s largest car-sharing company, starting a program on campus designed to expand the transportation options available to students, faculty and staff.
June 08, 2007
The Middlebury Board of Trustees set a new carbon reduction goal for the College at its May 4, 2007 meeting: to become carbon neutral by 2016. The
resolution challenges the entire College community to actively participate in efforts to achieve the new goal. The Trustees' resolution also states that the preferred approach to carbon neutrality be through a combination of energy conservation and efficiency, renewable fuel sources, technology innovation, educational programming and learning, and, as a last option, purchase of carbon offsets.
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May 16, 2007
A new crop is growing in Addison County. The College recently planted 10 acres of farmland to the west of campus with willows in an experiment to see if willows are a good choice for a sustainble supply of wood fuel.
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March 21, 2007
Welcome to the new environmental affairs website! Poke around a little to get a feel for the new organization - we hope it will be more intuitive than the old site. Check back here often for news about new content, upcoming events, and more. Feel free to contact us with questions, concerns, and suggestions about new or missing content.
March 01, 2007
Located in the basement of Adirondack House, the Middlebury Bike Shop is a student-run, college-owned facility dedicated to promoting cycling on campus and teaching bicycle maintenance. Support for the shop has been provided by the Environmental Council, Public Safety, and Facilities Services.
All members of the Middlebury College community are welcome. After three FREE skills classes you'll be ready to start working on your own bike or any of the 100 that have been abandoned on campus over the years. Fix one up and it's yours to keep!
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February 19, 2007
Soon, Middlebury's preemminent Environmental Studies program will have a new home which it will share with the college's Department of Environmental Affairs and Community Based Environmnetal Studies program. Instead of constructing a new building for its environmental programs, the College will create a model of resource and energy efficiency through the adaptive reuse of Hillcrest, an 1875 Italianate-style Vermont farmhouse. Middlebury will for the first time test the feasibility of third-party certification for its sustainable building practices by registering for LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).
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January 31, 2007
Once again, we are putting our reputation on the line as a waste reducing, recycling leader by competing in RecycleMania. Last year we competed with 100 colleges and universities in this EPA sponsored contest. We finished first in food waste composting and placed in the top ten of five other categories. We were also #1 in four of 7 categories in our athletic conference (NESCAC).
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January 01, 2007
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Middlebury College Director of Environmental Affairs Nan Jenks-Jay announced today that the college will proceed with its plan to construct a biomass plant, which will cut the college's greenhouse gas emissions by almost 12,500 metric tons annually with power generated from wood chips rather than fuel oil. Her announcement followed a meeting of the Middlebury board of trustees, where the board approved the recommendation by administrators to build the facility.
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December 21, 2006
The National Ski Area Association has confirmed that the Middlebury College Snow Bowl is the first carbon neutral ski area in the United States. Beginning in the 2006-07 ski season, the Middlebury College Snow Bowl will be a carbon neutral ski facility. To achieve carbon neutrality, the college purchased carbon offsets its operations in the amount of $7,138 to compensate for a total of 679.9 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The college bought the offsets from Charlotte-based NativeEnergy, a privately held renewable energy company that helps reduce CO2 emissions by funding Native American owned and operated wind turbine farms and family-owned farm methane projects.
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November 30, 2006
In response to strong support from Middlebury students and the Student Government Association, all residence halls on campus had their building thermostats lowered by two degrees from 70 to 68 F this winter and last. This is one of a number of steps being taken to become more energy efficient and to lighten our ecological footprint.
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November 15, 2006
Middlebury College is one of 11 American universities and colleges that are part of the new Terra Madre University Network which is linked with the Slow Food University Network.
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November 01, 2006
Our 10 kWh (kilowatt hour) wind turbine project is spinning along after being installed and tested in August 2005. The turbine is located adjacent to our recycling facility and provides power forthe lights and machinery in the building.
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October 31, 2006
Middlebury College has switched the fuel used in furnaces around campus to B20 bio fuel - a mixture of #2 fuel oil and 20% vegetable oil. Previously, the college was using a B5 blend (5% vegetable oil).
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