Once a little heard-of priority, making campuses "green" and sustainable has quickly skyrocketed to prominence on colleges and universities nationwide. With many campuses, such as the University of Maryland, being the size of entire towns, conserving energy and reducing environmental impact have taken on new importance as fuel costs rise and global warming concerns increase.

"We are proud to be engaged with other higher education institutions in campus sustainability," said University of Maryland president C.D. Mote, Jr. "The University of Maryland and many other educational institutions recognize their responsibility to the environment. We serve as sites for education on environmental awareness, dialogue about solutions, best practices and environmental research."

UM Greening

With more than 47,000 students, faculty and staff on 1200 acres of campus, the University of Maryland has developed a master plan that makes the environment a priority. "The university is increasingly focused on specific sustainability initiatives that can have a major impact on and off the campus," said Scott Lupin, associate director in the university's department of environmental safety. "The emphasis on the environment in the master plan has made sustainability an important issue that is receiving support by many faculty, staff and students."

Some examples of the university's sustainability achievements include:

• Greening the campus
• Work has begun on the renovation of the Washington Quad courtyard area to increase green space and reduce the impervious area by more than 30 percent. The first storm water irrigation system on campus will also be installed in the Quad, to capture roof runoff and store it underground to water the Quad's plants. Eco soils created from recycled food waste from Dining Services will be purchased from Chesterfield Farms and used to mulch the new trees.
• Sprawling parking lots are being replaced with garages and trees to reduce runoff and restore landscapes.
• Students have designed a park just outside the north gates that will include an orchard, native grasses, restored stream buffer and rain garden to filter stormwater runoff.


• Protecting Campus Trees
• Students in the university's Urban Forestry program, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, worked with a private company to survey 5500 trees on campus and put the data into a Geographic Information System. The information will help the university keep track of trees and decide when to remove "at risk" trees.
• Long range development of the campus to restore and enhance forest cover.
• Adding unique specimen trees around campus, including at the Smith School and Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center , through private donations.

• Transportation
• All buses in the Shuttle UM fleet run on a mixture of biodiesel fuel, which includes fuel manufactured from waste cooking oil.
• Reduced the number of cars on campus by expanding Shuttle UM service, putting bike racks on buses, offering FlexCar.

• Energy - With an energy bill of more than $50 million a year, the university is rapidly implementing energy efficiency and conservation upgrades:
• Combined Heat and Power plant, completed in 2003, requires 16 percent less fuel than traditional electric power and reduces sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide and 53,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
• An underground thermal energy storage system chills water that is used to cool the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center , Stamp Student Union and Riggs Alumni Center .
• Lower energy light bulbs and automatic power lowering devices for computers and other equipment are being installed and tested.

• Recycling
• The university has increased recycling rates from 17 to 35 per cent since 2003.
• Terrapin Trader recycles and donates used office furniture, lab equipment and electronics from the university and around the region.
• The university is competing in Recyclemania, a college competition to see what campus can recycle the most in a 10-week period.

• Dining and Housekeeping
• Dining Services Green Dining program composts 11 tons of food waste every month.
• Cooking oils are collected to convert to biodiesel.
• On Maryland Day, when 70,000 people visit campus, they will test organic disposable sugar cane based products, including lemonade cups and snow cone cups, the funnel cake plates and the Crab Cake and Pork BBQ Platters, as well as all of the forks, knives and spoons.
• All green cleaning products

• Grounds
• The University Golf Course has been certified as an Audubon International Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Reduction of pesticides, increased use of Integrated Pest Management, organic insect controls.

• Research, Teaching and Outreach
• Many faculty are involved in key environmental research, including the Chesapeake Bay , global climate change, environmental policy, alternative fuels, alternative energy, smart growth.
• For the third time in three competitions, University of Maryland students are designing and building a totally solar-powered home for the U.S. Department of Energy 2007 Solar Decathlon competition.
• The student chapter of Engineers Without Borders has helped build sustainability designed water treatment and storage structures in several low income foreign communities.
• Students have worked with area communities, including Wheaton and College Park to explore sustainability.
• Hosted the second Smart & Sustainable Campuses Conference, April, 2007, joining the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other organizations to sponsoring the event that drew more than three hundred people from colleges and universities all over the U.S. and Canada . This is the third major national campus sustainability conference since 2003 hosted by the University of Maryland. The university won a Campus Ecology award from the National Wildlife Federation in 2003.


• University Commitment
  • President Mote signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment in June, pledging to reduce campus greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The agreement commits the university to complete a greenhouse gas emissions inventory within a year of signing the agreement and develop a plan to achieve carbon neutrality within two years.
  • The university has contracted with the its Center for Integrative Environmental Research (CIER) to evaluate the campus's environmental impact. Following data collection, CIER will use the Campus Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Calculator to generate a report.

More detail in President Mote's letter to the campus