by James Jackson

Winston-Salem’s colleges and universities help lead the charge in sustainability research and planning.

Joel Lassiter Photo

The Winston-Salem Sustainability Resource Center (WSSRC) is a unique collaboration between the City of Winston-Salem and its higher educational institutions to work on the city’s Climate Action Plan. Duke Energy helped its creation by donating $10,000 for start-up costs. Recently celebrating its first year, the center “provides a space where higher academic institutions can come together to collaborate on projects that promote sustainability in our community,” says Shawn Handy, vice president of WSSRC. Part of the collaboration comes from internships that allow students to be involved in research, education, and community service initiatives. Representatives from every local college and university are members of the center’s board of directors and advisory council, so students have an integral hand in the overall education of sustainability in the city. Higher education takes sustainability seriously on campus, too, with each college and university engaged in initiatives affecting life on campus and beyond.

From campus blogs to waste-reduction competitions, no school is doing more to promote sustainability than Wake Forest University. Its numerous activities and programs teach students and faculty to be more conscious about the environment and empower student-led organizations to create a chain reaction to increase participation. WFU’s Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (CEES) unifies various green-minded groups under one cause, using synergy and collaboration. “There were so many diverse areas [of study] that we had this great set of activities…flying completely under the radar,” said Miles Silman, associated professor of biology. CEES allows for better promotion, awareness, and participation.

Winston-Salem State University, which hosts an annual Green Week leading up to Piedmont Earth Day, implemented its Strategic Energy Plan nine years ago. Focusing on energy data management, usage, efficiency, and water management, the plan has helped WSSU’s total energy consumption per full-time student decrease by more than 25 percent as the campus’ square footage has increased by more than 50 percent. “It’s exciting to see students getting involved…and learning how to preserve the environment for the future,” says Angela Young, a sophomore at WSSU who is involved in the green movement.

Forsyth Technical Community College has integrated sustainability into its curriculum by offering a two-semester Sustainability Technology Certificate Program. The program is designed to prepare students for environmental, construction, alternative energy, or manufacturing careers with an emphasis on energy production and waste reduction as it relates to sustainable technologies. “This concept is nothing new,” says Herb Burns, department chair of architecture and construction at FTCC—he says that architects have always taken the larger picture into account—including “the orientation, lighting, along with other factors.” But putting that information into the minds and hands of a broader spectrum of people will have a huge, lasting impact.

At Piedmont Baptist College and Graduate School, sustainability is synonymous with the biblical principle of being good stewards. From upgrading buildings to more energy efficient systems to encouraging digital class notes, Piedmont incorporates this mission across campus. It has a central campus location to collect on-campus recyclables, and student organizations lead community outreach efforts for recycling efforts of specialized items such as printer cartridges and cell phones. “As part of our Christian heritage, we consider everything we have to be a stewardship from God and as such seek to get the maximum benefit with the least waste from all efforts,” says Barry Griffith, vice president of administration.
“In addition, we are tremendously concerned with keeping down the costs of operation in order to provide the best education for the lowest possible price to our wonderful students, whose future lives will determine what heritage we pass on.”

Salem College faculty, staff, and students practice sustainability every time they eat in the dining hall. The college is one of the first in the country to use the Eco-Clamshell, a reusable to-go food container. The teal-blue plastic container can be reused and sanitized at temperatures reaching 180 degrees, cutting down on plastic or Styrofoam takeout containers. Salem students receive the Eco-Clamshell, fill and use it, then return it to the cafeteria for dishwashing and reuse. The containers will be theirs for the entire time they are at Salem. “Last year, Salem College dining services used more than 20,000 Styrofoam to-go containers, all of which are currently in a landfill,” says Anna Gallimore, Salem’s director of administration. “When you realize that it takes up to 500 years for a Styrofoam cup to decompose, it just makes sense for colleges to take the lead in finding an alternative.” Other initiatives include fair-trade coffee at the Grille, local produce, sustainable seafood, recycling used fryer oil, and no more trays, which will reduce food waste and water consumption.

UNC School of the Arts takes a different—and of course, extra-creative—approach to sustainability. For instance, this year a residence hall gathered plastic bottles, which they either made into vases or converted into planters. Other ongoing projects that UNCSA is engaged in are storm water recycling, use of electric vehicles, campuswide recycling, energy-efficient lighting throughout, and new green building requirements.