Greening the campus through service learning

ENVS 3001 - Sustainable Solutions Consulting
Dr. Lisa Barlow, Instructor and projects manager.

Students gain experience in real world problem solving as they work with CU’s professional staff from the Facilities Management, Housing and Dining Services, Environmental Center, and CU Recycling on top priority projects to move CU-Boulder towards greater realization of the University’s goals for sustainability. All projects fill requested needs of operations units at the University. Prereq., any two-semester science sequence. Restricted to junior and senior ENVS majors, or by permission of the Instructor.

Other ENVS Undergraduate Courses

Notable Feedback

"The ENVS 3001 classes have allowed students an excellent opportunity to get hands on experience with actual campus operational issues as they help to advance campus sustainability initiatives. Their involvement has been a significant benefit to our efforts."
  Ed vonBleichert, Environmental Operations Manager, Facilities Management.

2009 Class

Teams in the class produced detailed documents in the following areas:

1. Reducing Bottled Water Use in Dining Services at the University of Colorado at Boulder
Consumption of Bottled Water has been growing on campus, as it has around the U.S. The carbon footprint and other environmental impacts of bottled water are not sustainable. Two filtered water stations installed by Dining Services have not changed bottled water behavior. Why are CU students consuming so much bottled water when Boulder is a first user of Rocky Mountain water? What would help students to kick the bottled water habit? These are some of the questions explored in this report.

Full Report (pdf)
Presentation (pdf)

2. Flipping the Switch: a Study of Lighting and Occupancy in Classrooms at the University of Colorado in Hellems and Education Buildings
Lights are often left on in unoccupied classrooms. Excess lighting in classrooms wastes money, adds unnecessarily to CU’s carbon footprint, and is linked directly to anthropogenically sourced global warming and climate change. Light and occupancy data loggers can help the University prioritize classrooms for installation of light switch motion detectors. Data loggers are used for the first time at CU for this project. Protocol is developed for both data logger use and for strategic classroom prioritization. Behavioral programs for light switch prompts and for use of daylighting can also benefit CU’s lighting strategy.

Full Report (pdf)
Appendix (pdf)
Presentation (pdf)

3. Reusable Mugs for a Greener Campus: Replacing disposable drink containers with reusable mugs at the CU Boulder.
What type of mug best fits the lifestyle of a student living in the Residence Halls at CU Boulder? How do you motivate students to choose to bring their own mug instead of using disposable drink containers? These are the fundamental questions Dining Services asked the Ultimug Team to answer. Through observations, personal experiences, surveying, research and testing, the team developed strategies for Dining Services to move forward in their efforts to make drink consumption more sustainable at CU.

Full Report (pdf)
Presentation (pdf)

4. Continuing Sustainable Bag Use at CU Boulder
In Spring 2008, the ENVS3001 Reusable Bag team developed the ChicoBag Program at the request of Dining Services. At the start of Fall semester 2008, Dining Services provided each Hall Resident on the University’s meal plan with a ChicoBagTM. This included all 5,800 students of the class of 2012. The program resulted in the elimination of approximately 600,000 plastic bags per year from Dining Services, and the class of 2012 never experienced the option of disposable plastic bags. Observations and conclusions regarding successes and areas for improvement are documented and addressed to improve the ChicoBag Program for the future. Additionally, budget conditions prohibit the free distribution of ChicoBags to all incoming students in the Fall of 2009. Thus, a revised program needed to be developed. Dining Services again turned to the students of ENVS 3001, Spring 2009, for help in the second year of the ChicoBag Program.

Full Report (pdf)
Presentation (pdf)

5. Energy Efficiency in Boulder's Rental Properties
Full Report (pdf)
Presentation (pdf)

2008 Class

The class produced a detailed document entitled:

Implementing Behavioral Change in Residence Halls at the University of Colorado at Boulder: Energy Conservation and Reusable Bags

Full Report 66 pages (PDF)
Power Point

The sections of the report:

---

1. The Power to Change: Evaluating energy Usage in Residence Halls at the University of Colorado at Boulder

Students are bringing more electronics with them to the University than in the past. What are they bringing, how many outlets to they need, and how can energy conservation become part of residence hall room behavior. Will smartstrip powerstrips help students to conserve energy. These are some of the questions explored in this report.

Report (PDF)

Presentation (PDF)

---

2. Sustainable Bags for a Sustainable Tomorrow: A pilot study for replacing single-use plastic bags with reusable bags in all Dining Services venues at the University of Colorado at Boulder

The popularity of Grab-n-Go meals has steadily increased on CU campus, and so has the proliferation of single-use plastic bags from those venues. This report explores the feasibility of replacing plastic bags with reusable bags from economic, environmental, social, and student and staff behavioral points of view through a 500 bag pilot study.

Report (PDF)

Presentation (PDF)

2007 Class

The class produced a detailed document entitled: Sustainable Solutions for Grab-n-Go Packaging at the University of Colorado at Boulder

Full Report 66 pages (PDF)

The sections of the report:

---

1. Lifecycle Analyses of Packaging Options in Grab-n-Go Dining Locations

Piazanos is the only natural/organic dining venue on campus. Its popularity has increased dramatically since it first opened its doors in the spring of 2006. Currently, it serves over 2,300 students per day. Among the challenges it now faces is the amount and type of packaging used for the take out items. The goal of this report is to assess the cradle-to-grave environmental impact of current and alternative materials using lifecycle analysis data in order to determine the most sustainable option for the Grab-n-Go operation.

Report (PDF)

Presentation (PDF)

---

2. Biodegradable Plastics

The University of Colorado is considering biodegradable alternatives to conventional plastics in their Grab-n-Go venues. Consideration of the effects that biodegradables have on conventional recycling streams, landfills, and waste disposal systems is crucial when deciding on packaging options. The objective of this project is to review the current standards for biodegradable and compostable plastic products as they relate to food packaging and bags.

Report (PDF)

Presentation (PDF)

---

3. Fostering Sustainability at Piazanos: An Education and Outreach Campaign

Based on observations, there is a large percentage of students who improperly dispose of recyclables. A comprehensive study by CU Recycling found a recycling rate of 10-14% for students living on campus. These are the primary customers of Piazanos. The lack of recycling in the student body made it essential to research and develop an education and outreach program as part of Piazanos’ waste reduction plan.

Report (PDF)

Presentation (PDF)

---

4. Sustainable Initiatives for Grab-n-Go Packaging at Other Colleges and Universities

Over the past ten years, Grab-n-Go take out venues have become a popular meal plan option on university and college campuses. The growing demand and convenience of this option has brought with it a whole new waste stream of post-consumer packaging. One avenue of research is to identify successful initiatives at other universities and colleges, present them for consideration, and recommend those initiatives that would be well suited for CU.

Report (PDF)

Presentation PDF

---

5. Summary of Recommendations

By introducing an innovative sustainable Grab-n-Go plan, CU can lead the way in realizing University and community goals of carbon neutrality and zero-waste. After all of our research and discussion, we have developed both short-term and long term strategies to help Dining Services move towards their goal of sustainability.

Report (PDF)

Presentation (PDF)

2006 Class

The class produced a detailed document entitled:
Meat, Seafood, Plants and Chemicals: Sustainable Choices for the University of Colorado at Boulder

Full Report 66 pages (PDF)

The sections of the report:

---

1. Organic/Natural Dining Options for Beef, Pork and Poultry at the University of Colorado at Boulder Dining Services

Requested research and purchasing guidelines for natural and organic beef, pork and poultry. Extensive research on a guideline for the term “natural” is found here. Some guidelines were adopted in 2006, and others are under consideration.

Report (pdf)
Distributor List (xls)
Presentation (ppt)

---

2. Sustainable Seafood Guidelines for University of Colorado at Boulder Dining Services

Requested research and purchasing guidelines for sustainable seafood. Sustainable seafood recommendations were developed using Monterey Bay Aquarium and Oceans Alive guidelines and customized for CU needs.

Report (pdf)
Presentation (ppt)

---

3. Xeriscaping Spreadsheet: A Tool for Sustainable Groundskeeping Department of Housing-Grounds

Requested an in-house updatable electronic database of xeric plant options which could be used to support new and long term xeriscaping projects. The spreadsheet is specific to xeric plants for this region, and contains links to images for all plants.

Report (pdf)
Spreadsheet (xls)
Presentation (ppt)

---

4. Greening our Cleaning: Custodial Responses to Green Cleaners

Following years of evaluation of green chemicals, Facilities Management and the Department of Housing were ready to field test the best green chemicals with Housing custodial staff. This report outlines a strategy for introducing new cleaning products to those in the front line of chemical exposure: custodians. Appendix B includes web resources on Environmental Justice: Custodians, Cleaning Products, and Enviromental Health.

Report (pdf)
Survey (xls)
Presentation (ppt)

2005 Class

The class produced a detailed document entitled:
Sustainability in the University of Colorado Dining Services: Offering and implementing sustainable events, food, and chemicals for the CU population.

The sections of the report:

---

1. Green Cleaning for Dining Hall Kitchens Dining Services

Requested recommendations for green cleaners that would meet the sanitation, degreasing, and safety needs of kitchen staff. Materials Safety Data Sheets, as well as guidelines for substances to adopt and to avoid are reported here.

---

2. Global Jam as a Zero Waste Event

Global Jam is a fall kick-off event that brings over 5000 students on the meal plan to one large picnic, and is a perfect venue for a zero waste event. This report combines research on best practices as well as biodegradable picnicware options. Global Jam was converted to a zero waste event within four months of the presentation of this report.

---

3. Organic/Natural Product Options in CU Convenience Stores

Consumer preference surveys resulted in recommendations to Dining Services Convenience Stores on organic and natural snacks and essentials for residence hall living.

---

4. Fair Trade Organic Shade-Grown Coffee at the Emporium and Hardrive Café

Extensive research on the agricultural and human rights practices of conventional vs. fair trade, shade grown coffee.

---

5. Activities at Other Universities (organic/natural food in dining halls)

Three programs are highlighted: Yale University, Penn College, and UC Santa Cruz, includes recommendations for action on the CU campus.

---

6. Farm to Fork Program Dining Services

Requested an assessment of the feasibility of initiating a Farm to Fork program at CU. Report covers issues any campus of CU’s size would encounter, and evaluates regional distributors for Colorado.

Undergrad Program: