Case Study
Company: Seattle Pacific University
Business Sector: Educational Facilities
Published: June 2008
Highlights:
- In less than 10 years, Seattle Pacific University increased the percentage of their waste stream that is recycled from 17% in 1999 to an outstanding 67% in 2007.
- Seattle Pacific cut per capita water consumption by 22% and per capita natural gas consumption by 8% from 2003 to 2007 while at the same time adding buildings and increasing the university's student population.
- The University also conducted a carbon footprint analysis and the footprint ranked in the top 10% of colleges and universities nationwide.
- Through an extensive food waste recycling program, the University has cut garbage service in their primary dining facility by 50%.
Background
Founded in 1891, Seattle Pacific University has a long and distinguished history in Christian higher education. The University has grown their resource conservation programs by leaps and bounds since their formal recycling program started in 1991.
Going Green
The resource conservation program at Seattle Pacific has grown to include food waste collection and composting; increased materials recycling, water, and energy conservation; and a recent calculation of the University's carbon footprint.
Recycling Food Waste
The University began collecting food and other compostable scraps from their cafeterias in January 2007. The program includes their primary cafeteria, Gwinn Commons, Subway sandwich shop, and Pura Vida coffee stand. In addition to food scraps, the University also composts yard waste from their landscaping services. Diverting these materials from the trash has allowed the University to cut garbage services in their primary dining facility in half!
Reducing Waste
In addition to food scrap composting, the University has an extensive recycling program including the usual suspects of paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, and metal, as well as materials from their auto-mechanics courses such as car batteries, anti-freeze, and oil. Recent additions to the program include ink and toner cartridges, fluorescent bulbs, cell phones, computers, and clothing.
Seattle Pacific also provides and encourages recycling in their residence halls and has expanded this program to include paper products, corrugated cardboard, cans, bottles, printer cartridges and fluorescent light bulbs.
Water Conservation
The University has retrofitted campus bathrooms with water-efficient, low-flow fixtures, and despite increases in the number of buildings and student, has realized an actual decrease in per capita water consumption of 22% over the past four years.
Energy Efficiency
In addition to the reduction in water use attributed to these low flow fixtures, using less hot water contributed to a decrease in the amount of natural gas used to heat the water. From the period 2003-07, the university lowered its per capita natural gas consumption by 8%, with a concurrent increase in student population and number of campus buildings. In addition, the Facility Management team began the Electric Fleet Program which began replacing its university auto fleet with electric vehicles.
Sustainable Building Practices
The Seattle Pacific University Science Building was one of the first buildings in Seattle certified by the U.S. Green Building Council to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver status due to sustainable design and construction practices. Of the waste generated from the construction of the building, 93% was recycled. Going forward, plans are in the works to add educational signage and real-time metering displays to make the building itself an educational experience.
Carbon Footprint
Working with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the University is participating in a 2008 pilot program to develop a formal classification system for campus sustainability. As part of this Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS), Seattle Pacific utilized an existing carbon footprint calculator and found their carbon footprint was smaller than many universities across the country. The University's greenhouse gas inventory showed an annual emission of 5,428 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), or 1.2 tCO2e per full time student/staff member. The University hopes to reduce that number by maintaining and expanding their resource conservation programs and continuing to set an example for universities nationwide.
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