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UO boasts two Champions of Sustainability in Community Award-winning programs
Connections between university and community organizations are honored
EUGENE, Ore. -- (Sept. 29, 2008) -- The University of Oregon has extended its leadership in sustainability-related operations, research and community programs with another national honor.
Two UO programs -- Climate Master and designBridge -- have been honored as Champions of Sustainability in Communities by the Sustainable Endowments Institute. This follows the recent announcement by The Princeton Review that the UO joins only 10 other universities on its "Green Rating Honor Roll."
Climate Master, a registered trademark and program from the UO's Institute for a Sustainable Environment, is one of only five winners of the new Champions of Sustainability in Community Awards that was established to recognize cooperative efforts in sustainability between campuses and local community organizations.
Climate Master aims to increase climate literacy with knowledge sharing and community outreach. The program consists of a 30-hour, train-the-trainer program, which participants pay for with an equivalent amount of volunteer outreach. Their volunteer time consists of conducting climate consultations, tabling, public speaking and other activities to educate and motivate individuals at all levels of interest towards climate action.
During its pilot year, Climate Master resulted in average annual greenhouse gas emission reductions of two tons per person through increases in regular use of alternative transportation, energy efficient purchasing and reduced use of disposable items.
"We're extremely proud of the Climate Master program because it was developed in collaboration with local leaders in government, utilities, non-profit organizations and businesses," said Sarah Mazze, program director. "The project was developed to serve as a model for other communities and the early results are being noticed and recognized nationally. The program is also personally impactful for the participants who say it changed their lives and added a 'climate filter' to their decision-making process."
Awards were given to campuses with community partnerships that demonstrate the impact of collaboration in achieving sustainability goals based on the following criteria: project uniqueness; campus involvement; impact of outcomes; project longevity or sustainability; and potential for replication.
UO's designBridge program, a student-run organization that offers environmentally friendly, community-based design-build services to the local area, was named as one of four honorable mentions. designBridge utilizes resources from the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts, other campus departments and Eugene/Springfield community businesses to work on a variety of service projects, including a seedling greenhouse for Northwest Youth Corps and a bike shelter for Edison Elementary School in Eugene.
The Sustainable Endowments Institute, based in Cambridge, Mass., also announced the new "College Sustainability Report Card 2009." For the second consecutive year, UO was recognized as a "Campus Sustainability Leader."
"Being named as a Campus Sustainability Leader is something the university is very proud to accept on behalf of the faculty members engaged in important research discoveries, the staff members working to green campus operations and the students who are always pushing us to do more," said Steve Mital, UO's director of sustainability. "Of course there are some areas for improvement in our sustainability efforts and we're hoping for even better grades next year."
Full-page profiles of nearly 300 schools can be found on the GreenReportCard.org Web site and includes "A" to "F" letter grades in the following categories: Administration; Climate Change and Energy; Food and Recycling; Green Building; Student Involvement; Transportation; Endowment Transparency; Investment Priorities; and Shareholder Engagement.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of 62 of the leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. Membership in the AAU is by invitation only. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.
Contact: Julie Brown, 541-346-3185, julbrown@uoregon.edu
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