Sustainability should be a cornerstone of focus for William & Mary's Student Assembly, reflecting a deep commitment to environmental stewardship and forward-thinking leadership. Our administration is dedicated to championing sustainability across campus by collaborating with students, faculty, and community leaders to enhance the university's sustainability initiatives. We recognize that creating a more sustainable community is not just an environmental imperative but also a critical component of progressing our campus into the future.
By integrating sustainable practices into every aspect of campus life, from reducing waste and energy consumption to promoting sustainable research and learning opportunities, we aim to foster an ethos of responsibility and innovation. This commitment to sustainability reflects our dedication to not only improving the immediate well-being of our campus community but also contributing to global environmental solutions, ensuring that William & Mary leads by example in addressing one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Expanding William and Mary’s efforts towards sustainable practices is important due diligence for protecting and restoring our planet. We want to incorporate eco-friendly alternatives to the everyday experience at W&M and cut ties with and mitigate ways W&M contributes to pollution and degradation.
Past and Current Work:
Sponsored and helped organize the 2023 and 2024 Earth Day Celebrations
Sponsored the Fall 2023 Sustainability Fair
Policy moving forward:
Elevating the Carbon Fee & Dividend movement to the BOV
Working with MCOs and organizations such as Minorities Against Climate Change (MACC), to address climate justice as an intersectional issue
Open up retired furniture to be reused in order to mitigate the cycle around purchasing goods made from prison labor
“Virginia law requires that all public universities buy many items, notably furniture, from Virginia Correctional Enterprises, a company that exploits prison labor to manufacture its products”source
There is old furniture that can be reused to mitigate our contribution to exploitive prison labor, and this should be advertised to professors getting new furniture
The addition of clover and moss as an alternative to traditional grass
They require less water and mowing
They’re bee-friendly and help protect our crucial pollinators
Can be added when grass is torn up for event setups
Adding native plant gardens into construction plans for future projects
i.e. 10 year plan and Outdoor Learning Spaces plan
Getting air purifying plants for indoor spaces:
Senate has the capacity to fund such initiatives