Greening CDes
The need to Green CDes
There is a problem. If we consider the issue of our resource consumption and waste generation there is a lot we need to do to change practices.
There is a real opportunity. Leadership in this realm is an opportunity at the national level, local level and in terms of the profession.
Sustainability is a design problem. Design education represents a unique opportunity to address sustainability, and an appropriate cause to be taken up by two of the important design professions.
Sustainability presents excellent opportunities for fundamental intellectual inquiry. Through research, teaching and design around critical questions can be examined: How can processes be revealed/made visible? How can waste become a design imperative?
The effort to Green CDes is an excellent opportunity to build community within the college. As we discover the impacts of what we do and figure out what we can do about it we are likely to strengthen the network of the community faced with a common cause.
Sustainable practices at the University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota is a large institution with 37,000 students and 80,000 people on the U of M Twin Cities Campus everyday. According to the Sustainable Campus Initiative at the University of Minnesota, roughly 8000 tons of municipal solid waste are generated every year of which about 5000 tons are disposed of as trash. In 1999, 1,774,000,000,000 BTU's of energy were used on the Twin Cities Campus. The University has a large impact. There is a growing recognition of the fact that serious efforts will have to be made to examine the impacts that the University has on the environment and implement necessary changes in current practices. To that end there are a number of promising efforts underway.
In 1989 a Waste Abatement Committee was formed and they have been promoting waste reduction, reuse and recycling on campus since. In 2000 a Sustainable Campus Initiative has been launched at the level of the University to develop an ecological footprint for the University and restore a wetland on St. Paul Campus. In 2000, a Dean's Council on Environmental Science and Policy was formed including deans of 11 colleges to initiate efforts to change curriculum and policy. These initiatives demonstrate that there is both awareness as well as an intention to move the University in a sustainable direction. Yet these efforts will be effective only if supported by constituent units, the colleges, departments, individual faculty, staff and students.
Greening CDes Goals
The College of Design has been making headway in the realm of sustainability. The CDes Compact FY 2001-2002 establishes "The Green College" as one of the six priority areas it will pursue in the coming years.
The goals of the project are to further the implementation of the intention to make CDes a model of sustainable practices at the University of Minnesota through addressing three critical areas: Curriculum & Research, Operations & Practice, and Living Labs. The possibilities are many as can be seen from the list of topics a serious greening effort can encompass:
-Institutional Mission and Structure
-Student Opportunities
-Outreach and service
-Faculty staff Development and Awards
-Decision-making
-Community
-Built Environment
-Purchasing
-Energy
-Water
-Solid Waste and Recycling
-Landscaping
-Transportation
-Hazardous Waste
The process of defining priorities and setting targets is ongoing with a strong emphasis on participation of the CDes community -- students, staff and faculty.
For further information or suggestions please contact:
Center for Sustainable Building Research
Virajita Singh
1425 University Avenue SE, Suite 115
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Tel: 612 625 3447
Fax: 612 626 7424
Email: singh023@umn.edu