Green Campus: Sustainability in Practice

Sustainability is a core, university-wide commitment. WSU is a first-year signatory of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment. As a direct result of this commitment, we have a strong and vibrant sustainability committee made up of faculty, staff, community members, and students.

Housing

Starting in Fall 2012, 10 students will live in a Sustainability Theme House close to campus. The house itself has been renovated to be as sustainable as possible within the confines of the budget. Residents of the Theme House will be supported in their efforts to maintain and promote a high standard of sustainable living.

Dining

WSU Campus Dining Services takes sustainable practices and sustainable food systems seriously, offering Fair Trade, organic, shade-grown coffees, cage-free eggs, and local pork products from Winona Farms. They make sure the "Lights are Off" during non-serving hours and they recycle fryer oil for biodiesel. They use compostable paper products and reduce unnecessary food waste by having the students go trayless. These and many more sustainable dining practices really add up.

Transportation

Today's volume of transportation emits significant carbon into the atmosphere. WSU offers numerous transportation solutions to our students and staff in an effort to lessen harmful emissions and increase fun ways to travel.

Campus Vehicles include electric trucks in our Facilities Fleet and hybrid cars in the WSU Motor Pool for official school business. The electric trucks cost about 2 cents per mile to operate and have zero tailpipe emissions.

Planning

The 2010 WSU Campus Comprehensive Plan (PDF) lists Creating a Sustainable Campus as one of four themes identified as being crucial to supporting WSU's mission and values. As such, the plan includes numerous initiatives supporting WSU becoming a "green" campus and climate neutral.