Anything from an on-campus laboratory to an MSU student’s dorm room has a chance to earn Green Certification from the Office of Campus Sustainability.
The Green Certification program recognizes campus units that make efforts to reduce their environmental footprint, and that includes departments, offices, kitchens, laboratories and even entire floors of student residence halls within the university.
“People go online and rank themselves based on tasks like recycling, waste diversion or the water and energy consumption in their workspace,” Assistant Director of Sustainability Ann Erhardt said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s two people or 20 people — anyone can apply.”
The Office of Campus Sustainability is notified when departments score high enough to be certified, Erhardt said.
“If they don’t qualify, we’re here as a resource,” she said. “We can answer anyone’s questions or review their space to see if we can help them be more green.”
The Green Certification process was launched in October 2009 after a series of pilots, said Sustainability Education Coordinator Lauren Olson, who helped develop the program.
“The certification technology has morphed over time, and the characteristics have evolved based on feedback and changes at MSU,” Olson said. “The residence hall room certification has morphed into a student green pledge. The proglmram has been successful in helping (campus) units understand what practices they can do to achieve sustainability within their department.”
There are hundreds of units certified on campus right now, including the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, and the Business Library in the MSU College of Law. Additionally, several floors in Akers, Hubbard and Wonders halls and a number of departments at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center.
The Kellogg Center collects recyclables from rooms and makes efforts to turn off lights in unused rooms.
“We’re into conservation and have been for a long time,” Kellogg Engineering Service Manager Alex Vaszily said in a statement. “Once you get into it, it doesn’t seem like you’re doing any extra work, yet you’re drastically helping out the environment.”
Certifications last two years, Erhardt said, and students can definitely do their part.
“We do promotion through Residential and Hospitality Services, but I’m not sure this is something many students are aware of,” Erhardt said. “The pledge is just a starting point, and hopefully this will be a transitional year — we’d like to get more students involved.”
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