USF Sustainability White Paper

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The Green Bulls

Volume One, March 2011

USF is Green
The Green Bulls
Krystin Leeseberg, Writer and Editor Kristi Horrocks, Writer and Researcher

Professional Writing USF Spring Semester Professor Francis Tobienne

Sustainability for USF
The Green movement is sweeping the nation and is demanding a better future for our planet. Going green is not a fad that will eventually go away as it has offered solutions to businesses in cutting back spending and becoming more profitable. It has helped residents in communities save valuable income on their utility bills and has left our population more conscious of recycling efforts and pollution ruining our beautiful communities. Everyone is “going green” these days and the University of South Florida is not so different from the rest of the population. The University has been making efforts of the past few years to reduce its own carbon footprint meanwhile consuming fewer resources along the way. The University worked sustainability efforts into the “USF Tampa Campus Master Plan and its continuing updates since 1995” (University of South Florida). With sixteen years of their program underway the University has not only impacted their campus but also the communities in which they are a part of. This white paper will focus on the efforts the University of South Florida has made toward going green and the meaning of those efforts for the students, faculty and administrators, and the communities that the University of South Florida resides their campuses in.

USF Office of Sustainability
Mission: The 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. http://usfweb2.usf.edu/Sustainability/

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Table of Contents
Evolution of a Green University………….....3 LEEDing the way…....7 Student Organizations foster green alternatives on campus……….……8
Student Environment Awareness Society, St. Pete………………..…….….8 Emerging Green Builders, Tampa………………….…..9 Student Environment Association, Tampa…….…9 Students in Free Enterprise…………….........9
Fig. 1. Creative Contractors, Inc. The University of South Florida’s Science and Technology building is located at the St. Petersburg Campus, the first of the University’s buildings to be LEED Certified and received the Gold Award. The building was designed by Reynolds, Smith & Hills and was completed in 2009.

Go Green, Go Bulls………….…10 How Does USF Compare……………10
University of Pennsylvania…10 University of Maryland……..11 University of South Florida...11

Yogi Goswami brings solar power plant to USF……………….........12 Executive Summary.…..13 Works Cited……………15 Bibliography…………...16

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Evolution of a Green University
Green initiatives have become a growing force in our Nation with a demand from the public to make better decisions concerning the environment, energy consumption, and education.
The University of South Florida has reacted to the demand of their community to implement more conscious consumption of resources, better waste management processes and being an innovator to increase awareness across the campus. We will discuss the strides and accomplishments the University of South Florida has made over the past ten years and what their strategic plan will be for the future to help gain understanding of this “green” University in our backyard. In 1995 the University of South Florida began their mission to go green and developed a team dedicated to achieving their goals. The Office of Sustainability is focused on educating the faculty, staff and students to make better decisions and encourages those that are passionate to become involved in several programs that they have developed that engage them in innovative projects, creating better solutions for the campus. During the past ten years the University has “planted 2,000 trees, implemented a free offcampus shuttle system, negotiated free regional transit use for students, and substantially increased the quantity of on-campus residence halls” (University of South Florida). With plans in place to improve the campus there is also a plan to help the surrounding community by offering recycling options to residents. Currently, the University of South Florida is a ranked college for their green efforts in the Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges with words from the director of the USF Office of Sustainability Christian Wells, “’Our inclusion is a testament to the hard work and steely dedication of numerous students, staff, faculty, administrators, and alumni over the past few years to make USF a cleaner, greener place to live and work’” (Cash). With streamline focus and determination of each member of the University community their efforts will continue to grow and be recognized nationally.

Fig. 2. Students from all over the world attend the University of South Florida and are a critical role in the University’s strategic planning for implementing and maintaining a “green” campus.

St. Petersburg claimed a new addition with the Science and Technology building that the University of South Florida completed in 2009. This is the first completed building for the

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University with four projects still under construction or in the design phase. The buildings include the “Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions, Tampa Campus; Interdisciplinary Science, Tampa Campus; USF Polytechnic Phase 1, Lakeland Campus; and Wellness and Nutrition Center” at the Tampa Campus is in the design stages. The listed buildings are all planned and designed to be LEED certified by the United States Green Building Council. USF has generated awareness and buy in from their population by inviting interested faculty and students to participate in invigorating programs that encourage their strides in creating solutions catered to serving a green culture. The various programs include the Sustainability Champions program which enlists exceptional “faculty and staff who demonstrate a strong commitment to making the USF campus and community a cleaner, greener place to live and work” (University of South Florida). Involving faculty and staff in sustainability goals will aid USF to conserve resources, educate students and the community, and be more energy efficient. As the leaders and mentors of the University, this elite group can help change the perspective of many different

audiences and their experience helps create a future generation focused on green behaviors. Not only does USF concentrate on their faculty and staff with the Champions program, they also have programs that benefit their graduate and undergraduate students interested in a cleaner future. There is the Mentors Program, the Fellows Program, and the Scholars Program; each of which gives the opportunity for students to be directly involved in the work the Office of Sustainability is achieving and generates ideas from a younger group that will continue to make a difference and impact their environment. The Mentors program is designed specifically for the partnership between the University’s faculty and staff with their students. The sustainability office selects two mentors a semester and gives them an award for their work. The Fellows Program is tailored for the graduate students interested in working the plans the University has put in place. Each graduate student in the program works 10 hours per week helping with campus activities and planning, “educational and community-based intiatives on sustainability” (University of South Florida) while working other initiatives for the University. Finally, the Scholars Program places

emphasis on Undergraduate research and is designed as an opportunity to learn and grow with sustainability efforts. The group works with stakeholders on various projects on campus. While this program works on the USF goal of becoming a greener place to work and live, it also gives students the tools to develop a career in sustainability. With a high level of focus on sustainability at the University of South Florida it is only the next natural step to include a Master’s Degree program in sustainability. New to the University in 2010, the school of Global Sustainability was introduced. Focusing primarily on water and has several concentrations also involved including food security and health. The program involves Undergraduate research and is designed as an opportunity to learn and grow with sustainability efforts. The group works with stakeholders on various projects on campus. While this program works on the USF goal of becoming a greener place to work and live it also gives students the tools to develop a career in sustainability. With a high level of focus on sustatinability at the University of South Florida it is only the next natural step to include a Master’s Degree

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Continued
program in sustainability. New to the University in 2010, the school of Global Sustainability was introduced. It is focused primarily on water but also has several other concentrations involved including food security and health. The program involves representation from business, engineering, health and the sciences. Transportation is also a hot topic for green initiatives as it is also important to USF. The campus has put a large emphasis on its infrastructure, transportation, and programs supporting campus pedestrians and bikers. The University has partnered with local transit to aid on campus students with transportation options the cut down on emissions and traffic. Fleet vehicles are researched and purchased based on their gas efficiency or use of electric and gas hybrid to be conscious of the carbon footprint. Students would get frustrated with the lack of parking and ease of getting to class on time; this is something the University has taken into consideration and has built four multi-level parking garages, saving land space that benefits from landscaping and waterscape. The University has also made changes to the course schedules making a fluid transition for students coming and leaving campus. As most students attending USF commute to school, options have been made to make that commuting burden easier. The campus has a fare-free program referred to as the Bull Runner Transit, which makes frequent stops all over campus and various stops to residence halls and plazas off campus. The University also partnered with HART regional transit and allows students the option for public transit at no cost. For those students that use the commuter program twice a week the campus offers complimentary emergency taxi ride home. A newly introduced carpool program allows students that are centrally located that have the same commuting schedule to locate each other and share the drive. This not only saves the students gas and parking money, this

USF offers new Global Sustainability Master’s Degree Program in 2010
Accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of College and Schools. The degree requires 33 hours

USF offers different ways for students to connect with other “green” enthusiasts
Student Government Student Environmental Association Students in Free Enterprise Emerging Green Builders Engineers for a Sustainable World Engineers without Borders Alliance of Concerned Students Necessary Improvements to Transform our Environment

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allows more available parking spaces and less emissions and congestion on the road. A win for the University that is mutually beneficial to its students. USF has also made resource consumption a large portion of their efforts. The Physical Plant at USF works in conjunction with the Office of Sustainability to maintain the goal of being a greener place to live and work. Recycling is the easiest effort to see as they have increased the amount of recycling containers all around campus with specific placement to encourage students to choose the best disposal option. There are recycling options for mixed paper, aluminum cans, glass and plastics, mixed metals, yard debris, fluorescent bulbs and fixture ballasts and electronic equipment, all reported on the Physical Plant’s website. The plant is also responsible for helping manage energy consumption through the replacement of lighting throughout campus using energy conserving bulbs and high efficiency fixtures. The plant reports that this project alone has saved the University over $1 million annually. Additional ways the campus saves on

reduces its electric bill is through motion detectors in the classrooms avoiding lights remaining on in vacant rooms. Solar efficient roofing also helps eliminate heat entering the building and reduces the amount of costs associated with cooling. The campus also concentrates on water conservation, remodeling their restrooms with automatic faucets and flush valves. The future of the University of South Florida has a full line up of strategic planning associated with green efforts. These efforts include a solar power plant that could change the way the campus uses power. The college of engineering is working with Dr. Yogi Goswami to construct a way for the University to use solar power 24 hours a day, affordably. Other programs exist promoting green behaviors such as student organizations promoting awareness, research and development of programs to implement, new programs of study, encouraging a future of highly educated, green conscious citizens to continue the important work and strategies across the world. As USF continues its work in sustainability, it will continue to educate its students, faculty, staff and the communities they serve.

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The United States Green Building Council developed a program that internationally recognizes buildings for environmental conscious. The USGBC has also created the certification process for sustainable standards.
The non-profit organization provides a “concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions” (U.S. Green Building Council). The program can be applied to all building types, which includes residential, and can be done at any point in the buildings’ lifecycle. To attain LEED certification there are various attributes the third party inspectors will look for. These include a sustainable site, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, awareness and education, and innovation in design. Each category demands careful planning and execution concerning what type of materials the builders use and maximizing their resources, as well as the care of the surroundings of the site. A business would be rated on a point scale consisting of 100 eligible points. • • • • Certification at 40+ points Silver Certification at 50+ points Gold Certification at 60+ points Platinum Certification at 80+ points The process of becoming certified helps an organization stay on track with reducing their carbon footprint, emphasizing innovative design, helping reduce energy costs that result in year over year savings for an organization and showing corporate responsibility. The University of South Florida received Gold certification for the Science and Technology Building located on their Saint Petersburg campus. The 35,000 square-foot building earned its certification for “its environmentally friendly planning, design and construction materials” (Gadsden). The building offers new classrooms accomodating 20 students minimum to 60 students maximum, five new research labs focusing on Marine Science, “four teaching labs: the Progress Energy Earth Science Lab, a chemistry lab and two general biology labs” (Gadsden) and four additional labs upstairs for the College of Arts and Sciences. The building was designed and furnished to ultimately save the University money through energy effieciency and promote research and learning with new technologies available to the lucky students.

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Student Organizations at the University of South Florida are in place and the strides they have been making create both a green University and a clean surrounding community. They range from student only organizations to organizations that operate with the help of local community members that are involved in planning and activities.

Students Environmental Awareness Society, St. Pete
The St. Petersburg campus of USF sits nestled upon Bayboro Harbor, overlooking a spectacular view. The Student Environmental Awareness Society teams up on the first Friday of every month to clean up this harbor, which frequently gets cluttered with debris. SEAS is an organization that promotes awareness of environmental issues and takes steps towards a greener campus, community, and world. The members of this organization can range from students, faculty, staff, and affiliates, even extending to members of the surrounding community.

This organization recently worked with the Tampa Bay Estuary program to receive a $3,500 Bay MiniGrant to install what they call a “WaterGoat” along the northern edge of Bayboro Harbor. A WaterGoat is designed to collect trash and debris from highly prone areas in the water and allows for easier clean up without polluting the waterways with garbage. The grant covers the installation of the WaterGoat, but also the maintenance, pickers, gloves, a storage shed, first-aid and sanitation supplies, and trash bags. At the northern edge, the water flow from a city run-off pipe enters the Harbor, and this 75-foot system of nets, buoys, and

weights catches the trash and pollutants from the city, keeping them out of Tampa Bay. As water passes through the nutrient rich lining, contaminants are removed from the water before it makes its way into the harbor. New Earth Industries had previously installed a second WaterGoat at Brooker Creek. Students volunteer weekly to maintain both WaterGoats, kayaking into the harbor to pull out the debris caught in the nets, and monthly they venture into the mangroves to clean up trash. The SEA is also dedicated to education and awareness focused on the neighboring community. They offer a monthly environmental issue lecture series, as well as, educational days with local elementary schools.

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Emerging Green Builders @ Tampa
At the Tampa Campus, Emerging Green Builders help to create a relationship among University of South Florida students, the Tampa Bay community and local business leaders in the area of green building and sustainability. This student-only organization has taken on projects such as mock LEED certifications, allowing the students to gain hands-on experience from the design phase carrying through completion. EGB has also assisted the Florida Aquarium by offering assistance and suggestions for a possible LEED certification.

Student Environmental Association @ Tampa
The Student Environmental Association at the Tampa campus is aiding in the progress towards a more environmentally conscious university. Meeting every week, SEA members discusses how they can engage in volunteer activities and educate the community on environmental issues and methods of making USF more environmentally friendly. Joining forces with Physical Plant in 2008 and 2009, SEA hosted a program geared towards raising awareness on consumption. The countrywide RecycleMania project takes place over a 10-week period where the school is responsible

for reporting data on recycling and trash efforts. The schools are rated each week on four different efforts, and are able to watch how they match up with other schools in the country to spark motivation within the campus community. USF entered the “Waste Minimization” contest, which measures schools based on the amount of solid waste generated per person on campus, and placed second in Florida and 25th out of 199 overall. This organization is active on a daily basis, motivating students on campus and via Facebook, and keeps a presence at each pressing environmental event.

Students in Free Enterprise
The University of South Florida Students in Free Enterprise Team is a global organization that promotes six educational criteria, one being environmental sustainability. The USF Students in Free Enterprise Team developed an award-winning idea that is projected to save our landfills from over 2,000,000 plastic bottles each year. This project provides free reverse osmosis filtered water throughout the campus, and has each machine equipped with a digital counter that tracks the number of plastic bottles saved. Before this idea took off, the team did a necessary test run by installing a test machine and passing out water bottles, which then led a positive result. After the test run, wining a contest at the Going Green Tampa Bay Expo 2009, and then obtaining a grant from Wal-Mart, they made the plan to install six systems on campus.

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For the 2010 Homecoming game against Syracuse, USF students united to participate in the their first EPA Game Day Challenge. The EPA calls upon colleges and universities across the country to implement a waste reduction program during any home football game during the month of October, and they are then competing against all other participating schools. Student volunteers walked around the Raymond James Stadium tailgating area, where the game was held, collecting cans, plastic and glass, and after the game picked up the remaining recyclables littered throughout the stadium. The

volunteers worked to increase waste reduction awareness by wearing bright green “Go Green, Go Bulls” t-shirts and passed out Chipotle gift cards as an incentive to those who recycled during the event. With the impressive effort of all the volunteers, USF ranked third in recycling and fourth in greenhouse gas reduction in the NCAA Division I, Big East Conference.

How does USF compare? USF has made many strides to becoming a “greener” university, could they learn from the initiatives of other campuses that are ranking higher?
The University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania has received a high rating of A- for the 2011 year “College Sustainability Report Card” by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, ranking higher than USF’s B+. Penn was graded higher in recycling and food and climate change and energy. In the school’s Climate Action Plan, the University of Pennsylvania made a commitment

to reducing greenhouse gas emissions five percent by 2010, and twenty-three percent by 2014, with a baseline year of 2007. From 2007 to 2008, they reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 1.75%. To improve energy efficiency, the school has used temperature setbacks, steam trap systems, economizers, LED lighting, heat recovery systems, metering, and much more, plus facilitates all given programs for encouragement of reducing energy waste except cash incentives. They also have the number one wind renewable energy credit producer among North American colleges and universities. Electronic recycling is available in the lobbies of Penn’s dormitories, via the on campus computer store, and during an “e-waste recycling day”.

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Thirty percent of Penn’s food budget is spent on local products, including seafood that meets sustainability guidelines. Penn also purchases numerous organic and sustainably produced food, such as confinement free animal products, vegetarianfed animal products, and hormone free dairy and meat. The Campus Hydroponic garden is an available food source, producing vegetables and herbs for the campus. Only fair-trade coffee is available on campus and other fair-trade certified foods purchased include chocolate, tea, and bananas. Within the dining service locations, postconsumer recycled content or biodegradable disposable dishware are the only offerings, avoiding all plastic and styrofoam. They offer ten percent discount on purchases for using reusable bags and mugs as an incentive for students and staff. Penn’s dining halls have a composting program that is utilized for 90% of all pre-consumer food scraps, and 75% of postconsumer food scraps, and any excess food is then donated to hungry community members. Each dining hall has been trayless since 2008, and contains signage touching on sustainable issues such as food

waste, and benefits of trayless dining and composting. The students, faculty, and staff of this university have been able to keep 90% of recyclables out of the trash in the dining halls. Dining services have performed a food waste audit, recycled used cooking oil for biodiesel production, and removed all bottled water from the dining facilities, all in an effort to further the University of Pennsylvania’s reduction of waste. The University of Maryland. Another school ranking A- above the University of South Florida is the University of Maryland-College Park. This school also ranks higher than USF in the categories of food and recycling and climate change and energy hall’s water usage. UMD’s dining services have twelve local farms that they source their food from, spending ten percent of its food budget on locally processed items. Almost all food items are obtained locally, with the exception of some baked goods, cereals, syrups, and beverages. The only organic items the school provides are vegetables, and they have just made the transition to cage-free eggs. Only half of the milk products

are hormone-free and no seafood guidelines are in place. Fair trade coffee is available in all locations on campus; however, the option to get non-fair trade coffee is also available. Dining locations have avoided use of styrofoam for disposable disware, by using plastic, post-consumer recycled content, and biodegradable materials, and offer a discount for the use of reusable mugs that are given to students in their first year. UMD is able to reduce food waste by composting 85% of preconsumer food scraps and 70% of post-consumer food scraps, by donating excess packaged goods to DC Central Kitchen, recycling used cooking oil for biodiesel production and removal of bottled water from dining halls. The University of South Florida The University of South Florida is currently working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with the aid of carbon offsets.

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Yogi Goswami brings Solar Power Plant to USF
A beloved Professor on the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus creates an environment of learning and development. Goswami is mentoring students and involving them in the solar power plant being built at USF.
Students from all over come to the University of South Florida for the degree program in engineering. As one of the top research schools and continuing to grow it’s reputation, Goswami aides that endeavor with his power plant idea. With groundbreaking research and development happening the University will be able to harness the power of the sun into electricity that will be equivalent to coal, fossil fuels or gas based energy. Allowing the University to be environmentally friendly without any loss of power strength. The admired professor spends his time researching alongside his students and helping them learn and gain experience. He stated that it was just the students being involved in the work was just as important as the work itself. Funded by a grant of $3.9 million from the U.S. Department of Energy this project will be a tremendous accomplishment for Goswami, the students, and the University of South Florida. The project has also received millions in other grant money to contribute to the research and development of the solar plant. Also in planning is a thermal storage facility as the sun is only out ten to twelve hours a day. To create storage would allow a 5% savings over other power options. Doctor Goswami is also working on additional research and projects that will aid in the capturing and absorption of sunlight in order to convert it to energy. Goswami has already developed the use of sunlight to purify air and water for use. Using sunlight and a catalyst as a filtration system for air and water has been mass-produced and is still available on the market. An accomplished member of the University of South Florida’s teaching staff brings a fresh style of learning through the empowerment of working side by side with him on this state of the art project.

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To decrease energy use LED lighting, lighting sensors, metering, and heat recovery systems are in use. Like the University of Pennsylvania, USF facilitates all given programs for encouragement of reducing energy waste except cash incentives. USF generates renewable energy through the use of solar panels, as well as the purchase of electricity through renewable sources. A number of foods at the University of South Florida are purchased or produced locally, however, foods such as grains, beans, meat, poultry, cereal, maple syrup, and beverages are not on that that list. Unlike Penn and UMD, USF does not directly purchase any of their food from local sources, purchasing all through a distributor. USF also does not participate in the purchase of organic or sustainable foods, except for certain beverages. Confinement-free and vegetarianfed products are not purchased at USF, however some seafood guidelines are followed. Fair trade certified coffee and tea is available for purchase at a few select locations around campus. USF only uses plastic and Styrofoam disposable dishware at dining locations, but all napkins and paper goods are recycled post-consumer waste, and reusable to-go containers are available. USF keeps up with the other universities by offering a program that gives discounts to students, faculty and staff who are using reusable mugs. USF is at a shortcoming by not having a foodcomposting program in place. The compared universities have made a significant reduction in food waste by implementing such programs on their campuses. However, they have been able to conserve 32,992 gallons of water per academic year by the implementation of a 100% trayless program in 2008. USF is also taking action to reduce waste by completing a food waste audit, and recycling used cooking oil. Taking a look at the strides and goals of other institutions, it shows that with a few improvements in food and recycling and climate change and energy, the University of South Florida can reach recognition as one of the Overall College Sustainability Leaders, the report card’s highest level of recognition.

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Works Cited
U.S. Green Building Council. U.S. Green Building Council. 1 January 2011. 17 March 2011 <http://www.usgbc.org>. University of Pennsylvania. Penn Green Campus Partnership. 1 January 2009-2011. 17 March 2011 <http://www.upenn.edu/sustainability>. University of South Florida. USF Office of Sustainability. 1995. 6 March 2011 <http://usfweb2.usf.edu/Sustainability/>. American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment. Presidents' Climate Commitment. 1 January 2007-2011. 19 March 2011 <http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org>. Cash, Jacqui. USF News. 5 May 2010. 23 March 2011 <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=2295>. Creative Contractors, Inc. "USF Science and Technology Building." Sustainable. St. Petersberg: Architect: Reynolds, Smith & Hills, 1 January 2009. Environment Protection Agency. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 5 January 2011. 14 March 2011 <http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/top20ed.htm>. Gadsden, Sandra J. New Science and Technology building helps transform USF St. Petersburg. 24 January 2010. 16 March 2011 <http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/new-science-and-technologybuilding-helps-transform-usf-st-petersburg/1067467>. Grist. Grist A Beacon in the Smog. 10 August 2007. 14 March 2011 <http://www.grist.org/article/colleges1/>.

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Bibliography
U.S. Green Building Council. U.S. Green Building Council. 1 January 2011. 17 March 2011 <http://www.usgbc.org>. The U.S. Green Building Council offers the internationally recognized LEED certification of buildings. The LEED certification measures energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emission reduction, and improved indoor environmental quality in both residential and commercial building types. The University of South Florida has recently used the LEED building guidelines in the construction of the Science and Tech building on the St. Petersburg campus, and has received a high gold rating. This site helps to explain what is measured, why they are doing it and how to get it started. A critical reference to help readers understand the aspects of LEED certification and the steps a business or resident can take to partner with this non-profit organization who’s overall goal is a better future for our planet and its resources. University of Pennsylvania. Penn Green Campus Partnership. 1 January 2009-2011. 17 March 2011 <http://www.upenn.edu/sustainability>. This site appeals to both students of the University, as well as, outside visitors looking into the green initiatives of the University. This site contains the University’s commitment to reduce greenhouse emissions, Climate Action Plan, pledges from students, and current and past news directly relating to on campus green activities to provoke student involvement. The University of Pennsylvania offers a strong green campus life to use as a comparison to the University of South Florida’s emerging green campus life. University of South Florida. USF Office of Sustainability. 1995. 6 March 2011 <http://usfweb2.usf.edu/Sustainability/>. This is a critical source in the development of this project. The University of South Florida Office of Sustainability website offers a view into the initiatives and strides that USF has made in their efforts to become one of the top Universities in terms of their green standards. USF has been working on green efforts since 1995 and includes projects in various aspects of their campuses including residential, new building regulations, parking and transportation services, Sustainability degree programs, and programs that honor faculty and undergraduate students for exceptional work in sustainability efforts. Exciting recognition for LEED standard buildings, and has received the Gold Award for the plans and initiatives put in place. The site also lead to the discovery process of various partnerships and ways the entire campus is participating in the goals the Office of Sustainability has set forth for the University. The information was critical in the process of researching and helping understand the different levels and projects that USF is participating in as well as led to additional websites that became secondary sources for this research assignment.

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American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment. Presidents' Climate Commitment. 1 January 2007-2011. 19 March 2011 <http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org>. The University of South Florida participates in the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment. Within this document, The USF office of sustainability has expressed the role of the university, it’s sustainability initiatives, as well as, detailed the Climate Action Plan that explains the plan for achieving the goals. The action plan goes into great detail of the action steps of a designed environment, built environment, transportation, energy, and consumption. Although this document is lengthy, it contains ample data to support the composure of our white paper, including detailed graphs to illustrate current and past numerical data. Cash, Jacqui. USF News. 5 May 2010. 23 March 2011 <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=2295>. Creative Contractors, Inc. "USF Science and Technology Building." Sustainable. St. Petersberg: Architect: Reynolds, Smith & Hills, 1 January 2009. Environment Protection Agency. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 5 January 2011. 14 March 2011 <http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/top20ed.htm>. The United States Environmental Protection Agency allows us the comparison aid in gauging where USF is performing versus top leading higher education institutions across the states. With different schools following different initiatives it is interesting to see where we are a like and what our differences or opportunities for improvement are. USF is ranked among the top 300 institutions but is quickly moving up in efforts to become known as a green university. We were able to get to our secondary resources with links to the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Maryland. Gadsden, Sandra J. New Science and Technology building helps transform USF St. Petersburg. 24 January 2010. 16 March 2011 <http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/new-science-and-technologybuilding-helps-transform-usf-st-petersburg/1067467>. This article by Ms. Gadsden gives an overview of the new Science and Technology building at USF St. Petersburg and how it is part of USF's initiatives to go green. This building is the newest in the building projects USF has in store for its campuses as part of its planning strategy. The Science and Technology building earned LEED certification for many parts of the project including the planning stages, the materials used in the construction of the building and the overall design of the building. The configuration of the new classrooms allow for multiple uses, therefore eliminating specific classroom needs to course curriculum. The article was important in a sub article written to aid readers understand LEED certification and better associate what organizations are doing in order to create a better environment. Grist. Grist A Beacon in the Smog. 10 August 2007. 14 March 2011 <http://www.grist.org/article/colleges1/>. Grist's magazine article gave a top 15 list of upstanding colleges and universities in the category of green initiatives and planning. While USF is not a part of this list, we are not far off as being admired for our strategies and involvement with our faculty, students and community. This article allowed us to further our comparison of USF and various highly recognized institutions in the ultimate goal of making our environment cleaner, safer and becoming more efficient in school expenditures.

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