Water

1. Nalgene
2. Camelbak
3. Sigg Traveler
4. Klean Kanteen
5. Platypus Platy Bottle

Energy

• Turn off the lights when leaving a room
• Turn off your lamp when you are not using it 
• Use energy-efficient light bulbs (like compact fluorescent light bulbs)
• Turn off your TV and shut down your computer 
• Unplug chargers and power cords 
• Dry clothes on hangers when it's sunny instead of using the tumble dryer
• Close drapes during winter to keep out cold air

Waste

Reduce

• Use less paper in the restroom when you wash your hands
• Take your own cup and utensils to places
• Only take what you can eat at the dining hall
• Refuse a bag when you purchase something at the book store

Reuse

• Print on both sides of a sheet of paper
• Use scratch paper
  
• Buy reused text books at the book store
• Reuse plastic bags or take a bag with you when you go shopping
• Donate, sell, or barter old clothes

Recycle

• Recycle all your paper, in addition to everything else that is recyclable
  
• Stop using those red party cups 
• Buy recycled products

• Learn how to compost on your own with VegWeb's thorough composting guide
• Purchase compostable items and utensils from Worldcentric
• Do not throw noncompostables into compost bins, and vice versa

• EcoJot - 100% recycled paper
• Green Earth Office Supply - books, journals, binders, portfolios
• Green Home Environmental Store
• Green Line Paper Company - environmental filing and school products
• Green Office - green office supplies and products
• Inhabitat - eco-friendly school supplies
• Pilot Be Green - earth-friendly writing instruments and pens from Pilot
• Rawganique - organic European hemp backpacks
• Red Apple School Supply
• Sukie - rescued paper notebooks
• Treecycle
• Voltaic - solar bags

Visit the Works Cited and the Resources pages

How do I get other students and my college campus involved?

Build a network

• Find a group of students who are interested in sustainability  
  At Stanford, there is a student group called Students for a Sustainable Stanford, which is very active on campus.  It is important to get connected to others and to create a network before you pursue bigger things.  Make a sustainability committee if a group does not already exist.
  
• Try to get sustainability on your student government's agenda 
  The Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) takes sustainability very seriously and has gone ways and lengths to incorporate sustainability into student life.  With the backing of the student body, it is much easier to implement projects.
• Get in touch with faculty members and with eco-friendly institutions on campus
  Stanford Dining composts, provides compostable and reusable serviceware, and plays a large role in promoting sustainability on campus.  By working with members other than students on campus, a lot can be achieved. 
  
• Know who your allies are, and work together
  Consolidate any small pro-sustainability groups that may already exist on campus, or at least get in touch with these people.  Often, different people aim towards the same goal, they ask the same questions, and they pursue the same things.  They have information that the other could use, and if they would only work together, they would be so much more effective. 

Communicate

• Educate others
  In order to have others partake in the sustainability movement, they need to know how they can and why they should.  One means by which this can be accomplished is to sponsor educational workshops.  Invite speakers and set up a program within the dorms.  Talk to some professors and host a panel discussion about a sustainability issue.  You can also send out information in the packets mailed to freshmen during the summer.  
  
• Start a newsletter
  Through an e-newsletter, you can spread word, inform, and educate about sustainability.  An e-newsletter is an easy way to keep people posted on what's happening.  Email it out to your chat lists and to the people in your dorm.
  **Under Attachments at the bottom of the page, there are three issues of Stanford's Sustainability Newsletter for reference (Newsletter1.pdf, Sustainability Newsletter 2.doc, Sustainability Newsletter 3.doc).
• Get your word out
  Other than through an e-newsletter, find other ways - like your student newspaper or student government - to communicate information about your goals and about sustainability to the student body.  Sustainability must become an interest and an issue on campus in order for tangible progress to be made.
  

Take action

• Start a Green Store
  The Green Store is a online store that sells 16 oz., clear, plastic #1, recyclable cups and delivers them to Stanford students.  One of its goals is to eliminate the usage of non-recyclable red party cups on campus.  You can go to the Stanford Green Store and look at the "Start Your Own Green Store" page for specific steps on how to do so.
  
• Make events sustainabile
  A lot of events happen on campus.  There are parties, conferences, luncheons, and campaigns - think about how you can make each of those events sustainable.  Contact the organizations or people sponsoring and hosting these events.  Encourage them to be sustainable, give them reminders and resources, and offer to help.  Push for paperless campaigns, encourage composting and recycling at luncheons, and get students to use recyclable cups at parties. 
  **Look at the first Attachment at the bottom of the page (Green_Event_Guidelines_Brochure[1].pdf) for a handy, comprehensive, event-planning guide.
  
• Host a sustainability fashion show
  Many people have a very narrow view about sustainability, and they do not realize that it can play a role in art and fashion.  This is a great way to make sustainability more appealing to students and to show students how sustainability can play a role in all areas of their lives.
  
• Pass legislation
  Work with your student government to pass legislation saying that all events must be sustainable. The ASSU Senate is currently working on creating a green checklist for events.
  
• Create collection boxes
  Make collection boxes for scratch paper, old clothes, cardboard boxes, and anything else you can think of that can be reused or recycled.  Offering an alternative other than the trashcan is always helpful and encourages people to reuse materials. 
  
• Set up a produce stand
  Pick a day of the week and set up a produce stand.  Contact your local farmer's market and coordinate a way for the market to sell produce on your campus.  You can give students a direct opportunity to buy local, organic, and seasonal food, especially since it is often difficult to commute off campus and to find a farmer's market.  Along with this produce stand, you can sell handcrafts or anything else that comes to mind.
  

Other changes I can work for on campus

• Recycling bins
  Push for as many recycling bins as there are trash cans.  There should at least be a recycling bin in each dorm room and in every building on campus.  You will probably need to work with your recycling center; Stanford's is PSSI.
  
• Incorporate sustainability into course requirements 
  Education is a key component of this push for sustainability.  If students are not informed about sustainability, they will have absolutely no motivation, nor will they know how, to be sustainable.  Stanford students have attempted to incorporate a sustainability course into its General Education Requirements, and this project, iEarth, is ongoing.
• Set up carpooling systems
  When breaks approach, a large number of students needs rides to the airport and back.  Setting up a carpooling system can save a lot of gas and help the environment.  The ASSU has a shuttle system to which you can refer, and Zimride is another active rideshare on campus.
• "These Come from Trees"
  These Come from Trees are stickers you can put on toilet paper rolls or in the bathrooms on campus.  These stickers serve as friendly reminders of the trees that were killed in order to make the toilet paper rolls, paper towels, etc.  They can help decrease paper usage on campus. 
  
• Green campaigns
  When students run campaigns for student government, encourage them to run green campaigns.  Encourage e-fliers over paper fliers and t-shirts made of organic cotton.  E-fliers reduce paper usage, and they can be just as effective and easier to spread.  
• Auto-hibernate all computers
• Install motion-sensor lights in buildings