natural awareness campaign crown capital eco management

Belmont Goes Green Launched

In March 2007, those efforts took on a more public face when Belmont launched "Belmont Goes Green" to encourage greater environmental awareness on campus. Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher signed the Talloires Declaration of the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (USLF). In signing the declaration, the university presidents agreed to increase awareness of environmentally sustainable development, create an institutional culture of sustainability and educate for environmentally responsible citizenship, among other efforts.

Since the declaration, Belmont has worked to implement more eco-friendly initiatives. The Belmont Environmental Initiative Council was created to coordinate environmental efforts on campus. Religion professor Dr. Judy Skeen, founder and director of the BEI Council, said, "My goal for the future is that everyone who works and studies on Belmont's campus will learn how to care for the earth, conserve resources, consume responsibly and live in sustainable ways. Belmont's community practices are the best way to gain visibility and begin behavior change."

Current Belmont Goes Green endeavors:

The Randall and Sadie Baskin Center is LEED-certified at the Gold level. Click here to read more. BLINK Level 2 Wall Mount charging stations in the Curb and North Garages. The electric vehicle chargers are free and open to the public. Click here to read more. Belmont puts "green roof" on McWhorter Hall: The only large extensive green roof on an educational facility in Nashville, the green roof serves several purposes including a reduction in the "heat island effect," which refers to the trend of generally higher temperatures in urban areas as opposed to more suburban areas. The green roof lowers air temperatures which helps reduce that effect. Green roofs also provide natural habitats for wildlife (birds, insects, etc.) and reduce pollution by holding pollutants rather than washing into groundwater, sewer or drainage systems. In addition, the green roof can retain some rainwater for irrigation and can reduce the heating/cooling costs by providing lower temperatures around air intake systems. McWhorter Hall is the Project Innovations 2011 Merit Winner for New Construction.

ila D. Bunch Library boiler system upgraded to CREST Condensing Boiler for an average monthly fuel savings of 24.5 percent Belmont University Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) developed a business plan for the nonprofit Spring Back Recycling, which employees homeless and former convicts to recycle mattresses. In the first six months, more than 1,700 mattresses were disassembled and recycled. Read more or view the WKRN-TV report. Sustainability Task Force formed in 2010, bringing together student, faculty, staff and administrative leaders to implement new initiatives to make Belmont a more green, sustainable institution. Reduced electricity usage by 9% over last year across campus Recycling of office paper across campus Removal of bottled water on campus Composting all Belmont yard waste Community garden initiative

Use of green cleaning products in Plant Ops Sodexho's discontinuing use of trays in cafeteria ( for water conservation) and ending use of non-recyclable plastics New construction will include greener heating/cooling temperature control methods and improved water conservation Meters installed in all dorms to track electricity usage Belmont was a lead university in Environmental Protection Agency effort to identify and remediate potential sources of environmental problems on campus. Environmental Management System (EMS) program instituted on campus. (This may be Belmont's single most important initiative in reducing long-term environmental damage.) In partnership with Blessed Earth.org, we have hosted several Christian Faith Development convocations on how to be good stewards of the Creation. Additional recycling bins placed in Belmont apartment complexes; residents are encouraged to take advantage of this and dramatically increase their volume of recycling. New student organization Slow Food Belmont formed to practice and educate about urban gardening and so much more! See Slow Food Belmont's Facebook page for more info. Residence Life sold about $15,000 worth of energy star products to students. They are looking to expand the product offering in the future. Lights in vending machines have been turned off. Belmont was published in the Green Awakenings report on sustainability at Christian universities. The report was done by the nonprofit grassroots organization Renewal, and the Belmont ONE Club wrote the section on Belmont. WeCars are available for students to use. They are located in the parking spaces between the Curb Event Center and Maddox/Wright Residence Halls.