{"id":9057,"date":"2020-11-18T19:17:50","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T19:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/2020\/11\/18\/furman-recognized-as-top-performer-in-sustainable-campus-index\/"},"modified":"2022-09-07T15:36:21","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T19:36:21","slug":"furman-recognized-as-top-performer-in-sustainable-campus-index","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/furman-recognized-as-top-performer-in-sustainable-campus-index\/","title":{"rendered":"Furman recognized as top performer in Sustainable Campus Index"},"content":{"rendered":"

Furman University has been recognized as a top performer in the 2020 Sustainable Campus Index<\/a>, ranking No. 9 overall among baccalaureate institutions and moving up from last year\u2019s No. 10 slot.<\/p>\n

A publication of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the Sustainable Campus Index recognizes top-performing sustainable colleges and universities overall and in 17 impact areas, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).<\/p>\n

\"Laura<\/a>

Laura Bain, associate director of sustainability assessment.<\/p><\/div>\n

STARS is a voluntary framework used by hundreds of colleges and universities to measure, report and strengthen their contributions to global sustainability. Since 2015, Furman has held a STARS Gold rating.<\/p>\n

The ranking gauges performance from buildings and grounds to campus engagement and diversity and affordability, and everything in between. In the \u201cresearch\u201d impact area, Furman placed in the top 10 among baccalaureates, tying for 6th<\/sup> place.<\/p>\n

Laura Bain, associate director of sustainability assessment at the Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities<\/a>, points to the inclusion of sustainability in academics and curricula \u2013 the seedbed for research \u2013 as driving forces in Furman\u2019s high ranking, and why Furman is the only four-year institution in the top performers representing the South.<\/p>\n

\u201cFurman is the only liberal arts institution in the United States that offers a bachelor of science degree in sustainability science,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd all students, regardless of major, are required to take a course that explores humans and the natural environment. Plus many of our courses include a sustainability topic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also contributing to Furman\u2019s strong showing in the index, Bain says, are Furman\u2019s \u201crobust\u201d outreach and education programs such as the Green Office Program<\/a> for employees and Eco-Reps<\/a> program for students.<\/p>\n

More broadly, she says sustainability is woven into long-term planning beginning with the 2009 Sustainable Furman master plan, which has taken on additional components over the years including diversity initiatives, procurement guidelines and wellness programs.<\/p>\n

With an institutional goal to become carbon neutral by 2026, there\u2019s still much work to be done, Bain says.<\/p>\n

She says there\u2019s room for improvement in campus operations, such as the potential to participate in Duke Energy\u2019s Green Source Advantage<\/a> program, which would allow Furman to source renewable energy, and to partner with Greenlink<\/a>, Greenville\u2019s public transportation system, to provide alternative transportation options. Renovations on the horizon for the South Housing and North Village campus housing areas will create opportunities to boost energy and monetary savings in the long run.<\/p>\n

Talks are underway with a glass recycler to bring that service back to campus, and for the sustainability science practicum. Students in the sustainability science practicum course are working across campus to help draft new policies, including a \u201cthermostat set point\u201d that would help regulate heating, cooling and ventilation systems, and a green-cleaning policy aimed at improving the sustainability of cleaning products used across campus.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Bain says there are many ways students, faculty and staff can help Furman achieve higher sustainability ratings and to snag the elusive STARS Platinum rating, which few universities, none of them baccalaureate, hold.<\/p>\n

\u201cParticipate in programs like Green Office, get involved in Eco-Reps or other outreach and education campaigns. Install UCapture<\/a> on your internet browser to gain carbon offsets \u2013 this one is really easy. Share and edit documents electronically, opt for virtual conferences, conserve energy through reduced lighting, proper temperature settings, and limit personal appliances,\u201d she says. And finally, \u201cReduce, reuse, recycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities will submit another report in spring 2021. Bain\u2019s goal is to continually improve Furman\u2019s rating on the way to achieving carbon neutrality, and, for good measure, to secure that coveted Platinum seal from AASHE.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will take all of us working toward a common vision to meet that goal,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

For more ways to help, contact Laura Bain at shi.institute@furman.edu<\/a>, and 864-294-3656.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Furman University has been recognized as a top performer in the 2020 Sustainable Campus Index, ranking No. 9 overall among baccalaureate institutions and moving up from last year\u2019s No. 10 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":257,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,18,9,30],"tags":[197,217,590],"class_list":["post-9057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-centers-and-institutes","category-shi-institute-for-sustainable-communities","category-sustainability","category-top-stories","tag-aashe","tag-campus-sustainability","tag-stars"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/257"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9057\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}