EXECUTIVE  SUMMARY  

 

The  University  of  South  Florida  is  dedicated  to  the  process  of  becoming  green  

and  creating  a  sustainable  campus.  In  order  to  accomplish  the  objective,  the  university  

has  been  making  progress  by  saving  water,  managing  waste,  green  purchasing,  reducing  

carbon  footprint,  also  involving  and  educating  students,  faculty  and  staff  about  campus  

climate.  For  this  white  paper  project,  our  team  will  focus  on  the  University  of  South  

Florida’s  sustainability  achievements,  efforts,  and  strategies  to  become  a  green  campus.        

In  the  beginning  of  the  paper,  we  will  deliver  various  definition  of  sustainability.  

Follow  by  are  the  reasons  why  we  believe  sustainability  important  and  why  we  care.  We  

are  also  addressed  the  most  current  environmental  issues,  that  the  world  is  facing  right  

now.  Next,  we  will  discuss  about  the  University’s  achievements  and  their  current  efforts  

in  progress  of  creating  a  sustainable  campus  environment.  …………………………..The  

University  of  South  Florida  has  taken  many  steps  towards  going  green.    They  are  

devoted  to  developing  strategies  to  improve  climate  and  energy,  transportation,  green  

buildings,  waste  management,  water  efficiency  and  green  purchasing.  Also,  without  the  

involvement  of  our  staffs  and  students,  our  progress  in  the  going  green  movement  

wouldn’t  be  possible.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

WHAT  IS  SUSTAINABILITY?    

According  to  United  States  Environmental  Protection  Agency  (EPA),  sustainability  is  “everything  that  we  need  for  our  survival  and  well-­‐being  depends,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  on  our  natural  environment.”  (United  States  Environmental  Protection  Agency)  It  also  is  the  broad  collection  of  policies  and  strategies  that  we  use  to  reduce  the  impact  on  ecological  environment  for  future  generations.  It  gives  people  the  capacity  to  gain  an  accurate  and  deep  intuitive  understanding  into  most  aspects  of  the  world  from  business  to  technology  to  environment  and  the  social  science.         In  order  to  practice  sustainability,  building  and  maintaining  the  surrounding  environment  under  which  individuals  and  nature  can  live  in  a  beneficial  way  to  each  other.  “The  University  of  South  Florida  Office  of  Sustainability  coordinates  and  builds  partnerships  for  university-­‐wide  initiatives  that  advance  the  University  of  South  Florida’s  strategic  goal  of  creating  a  sustainable  campus  environment.”  (Patel  College  of  Global  Sustainabilty)    

Why  is  Sustainability  important?  And  why  should  we  care?  –  First  and  foremost,  we  care  about  the  conditions  of  life  including  environmental,  social,  economic,  and  other  impacts,  which  would  affect  present  and  future  generations.  Second,  we  rely  upon  the  

Earth,  on  the  surrounding  environment  to  survive.  We  cannot  give  back  to  the  Earth  what  it  gave  to  us;  therefore,  we  believe  that  we  are  obligated  to  create  a  productive  harmony  relationship  with  the  environment,  the  Earth.  And  right  now,  our  Earth,  our  environment  is  facing  many  challenging  issues  and  it  needs  our  helps.        

The  environmental  problems  that  our  Earth  is  facing  right  now  include  the  increasing  levels  of  

pollution,  global  warming,  widespread  devastation  of  natural  species,  biodiversity  loss,  overpopulation,  waste  disposal,  natural  resource  depletion,  deforestation,  ocean  acidification,  ozone  layer  depletion,  water  pollution,  acid  rain,  public  health  issues,  and  many  more.  These  issues  make  us  becoming  more  vulnerable  to  

disasters  now  and  future  

However,  there  are  still  plenty  of  examples  due  to  increasing  recognition  and  understanding  of  global  issues,  for  instances:  natural  parks  preserved,  efforts  to  save  energy  and  waste  management,  technical  innovations  that  have  helped  the  environment  and  improving  our  life  qualities  as  well.    Sustainability  practices  are  designed  to  help  our  generations,  future  generation,  as  well  as  the  world.  Sustainability  is  more  than  being  green;  it’s  a  way  to  show  our  appreciations.    

Photo  courtesy  of  Jameschawke.wordpress.com  

 

HISTORY  OF  SUSTAINABILITY  AT  USF  

The  University  of  South  Florida  has  been  committing  to  sustainability  goals  and  practices  since  1995.  University  of  South  Florida’s  sustainable  goals  and  practices  have  been  described  and  continuing  updated  in  the  USF  Tampa  Campus  Master  Plan  since  then.  The  commitment  is  also  extended  to  off-­‐campus  local  community.      

According  to  the  Office  of  Sustainability,  the  major  concept  of  sustainability,  which  the  University  focused  in,  is  Smart  Growth.  In  the  first  10  years  of  1995  plan;  over  2,000  trees  had  been  planted.  In  order  to  reduce  sprawl,  traffic,  and  level  of  air  pollution,  the  University  carried  out  a  free  off-­‐campus  shuttle  system,  which  powered  by  biofuel  technology.  Moreover,  the  University  provided  bike  lanes  and  sidewalks  to  improve  pedestrian  and  bicycle  access  as  well  as  safety.  The  University  took  recycle  and  waste  management  seriously.  Around  the  campus,  there  are  recycled  trash  bins,  which  are  sectioned  for  regular  trash,  aluminum  and  plastic.  For  the  purpose  of  reducing  green  house  gas  emission,  USF  only  purchases  Energy  Star  certified  products,  which  are  energy-­‐efficient  appliances.  Plus,  the  office  of  Campus  computing  offers  a  more  eco-­‐friendly  environment  to  reduce  carbon  footprint.  They  have  done  so  by  taking  strong  responsibilities  in  disposing  and  recycling  computer  parts,  promoting  saving  energy  in  the  classroom,  and  also  purchasing  recycled  paper  and  recycling  

used  paper.  Energy  conservation  has  also  been  a  priority  of  the  University.  Energy  intake  has  been  decreased  by  approximately  3%  even  though  there  is  a  growth  in  energy  demand.    Early  this  year  -­‐  2015,  the  Solar Battery Project  has  been  installed on the top deck of USFSP’s garage  for  energy  conversion  as  well  as  research  and  study  purposes.  Recently,  several  buildings  of  University  of  South  Florida  have  qualified  the  LEED  certified.  The  new  Kate  Tiedemann  College  of  Business  at  St.  Petersburg  campus  is  expected  to  be  another  green  building  on  campus.    

In  2006,  Dr.  Linda  Whiteford,  Professor  of  Anthropology,  has  been  chosen  as  Associate  Vice  President  for  Academic  Affairs  and  Strategic  Initiatives.  The  position  is  responsible  finding  target  areas  for  development  and  investment  by  recognizing  sustainability  around  campus  and  local  community.  In  2007,  the  Sustainability  Initiative  Steering  Committee  was  founded.  In  April  2008  University  of  South  Florida  President  Judy  Genshaft  signed  the  ACUPCC  during  the  “Going  Green  Tampa  Bay  EXPO”.         In  2010,  the  Patel  College  of  Global  Sustainability  has  been  established.    The  school  promotes  the  development  of  sustainable  urban  communities  and  environments  through  collaborative  research,  education  and  community  involvement.      

 

   Dr.  E.  Christian  Wells  Director  of  the  Office  of  Sustainability  

 USF  OFFICE  OF  SUSTAINABILITY  

   

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mission:  to  coordinate  and  builds  partnerships  for  university-­‐wide  initiatives  that  advance  the  University  of  South  Florida's  strategic  goal  of  creating  a  sustainable  campus  environment  (Patel  College  of  Global  Sustainabilty)  

The  Office  of  Sustainability  encourage  students,  alumni,  faculty  and  staff,  also  local  community  and  partners  to  join  the  effort  of  transforming  the  University  of  South  Florida  into  a  “Green  University”,  “where  decision  –  structural  and  routine  –  consider  both  individual  and  collective  impacts  to  our  campus,  economy,  community,  and  environment.”  (Patel  College  of  Global  Sustainabilty)  

The  University  of  South  Florida  has  become  one  of  the  small  numbers  of  universities  whose  determination  is  to  create  a  green  campus  and  advance  sustainability  efforts.  The  school  has  earned  a  “GOLD”  rating  from  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Sustainability  in  Higher  Education  –  the  nation’s  leading  advocacy  group  for  the  green  campus  movement(Chachere).  Plus  University  of  South  Florida  is  one  of  the  nation’s  tops  Green  Colleges,  based  on  Princeton  Review.    

“The  gold  STARS  rating  USF  received  proves  that  we  are  truly  “green”  and  gold.  The  STARS  system  helps  us  track  our  sustainability  efforts  and  allows  us  to  find  our  weak  spots.  While  the  Office  of  Sustainability  is  only  500  days  old,  we’ve  managed  to  address  most  of  the  easy  targets,  like  increasing  recycling  and  changing  the  light  bulbs.  Now  we  need  to  focus  on  the  bigger  picture,  what  a  sustainable  campus  should  look  like  over  the  longer  term.”  (Chachere)  

 

Works  Cited  Chachere,  Vickie.  "Sustainability  Gold."  University  of  South  Florida  News  (2011).  Patel  College  of  Global  Sustainabilty.  Patel  College  of  Global  Sustainability  -­‐  Office  of  Sustsainability.  2010.  17  11  2015  <http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-­‐office-­‐of-­‐sustainability/usf-­‐office-­‐of-­‐sustainability/history>.  United  States  Environmental  Protection  Agency.  EPA.  21  9  2015.  17  11  2015  <www.EPA.gov>.