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This page was last updated as of October 13, 2022
Welcoming our new sustainability fellows!
Welcoming our new sustainability fellows!
We are excited to continue our partnership with Climate Corps and welcome our two new fellows, Ananya Subramanian and Adrielle Cailipan! Ananya is already working hard to reduce waste throughout the District as our Sustainable Procurement and Circularity fellow. As our new Energy Analyst fellow, Adrielle will continue to progress the District’s energy efficiency and fleet electrification efforts.
Digital Zero Waste Signage
Digital Zero Waste Signage
An essential part of our zero-waste strategy is education and outreach with our campus community. We are always looking for new ways to engage and empower students, staff and faculty to reduce waste going to landfill. By making sure people have the knowledge to make the right decision at the bin, we get closer to our goal of diverting 95% of our waste from landfill by 2025. New digital signage has been posted to marketing screens around the District. Take a look at TV monitors around campus to learn more about common recycling and composting mistakes!
Socializing our Climate Action Plan
Socializing our Climate Action Plan
The District has completed its first Climate Action Plan in May with goals to reach Zero Net Energy by 2030 and Zero Emission by 2050 with the support of consultant Brailsford & Dunlavey. The Plan outlines 5 key categories of energy & emission reduction specifically for SMCCD. The Sustainability team has presented the Climate Action Plan to Michele Rudovsky, Chief Facilities and Operations Officer & Richard Storti, Executive Vice Chancellor of Administrative Services. Our next stop is at the Chancellor’s Cabinet, scheduled in November.
Revamping the District Sustainability Committee
Revamping the District Sustainability Committee
The District Sustainability Committee was set up as a meeting space for staff and faculty across each College to come together to collaborate on sustainability projects. The Committee had reduced contact during the distance learning environment of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are therefore re-launching the Districtwide Sustainability Committee and opening it up to students, as well as interested staff and faculty. Any interested students, staff or faculty are encouraged to register their interest here. The Committee will meet every other month starting in November 2022.
'I Don't Know Bin' Results
'I Don't Know Bin' Results
In June of 2022 the District Sustainability Team piloted the ‘I Don’t Know Bin’ in CSM’s Building 10. The goal of the project was to find out which materials the CSM community was having trouble sorting into the correct waste stream (compost, landfill or recycling), and improve waste signage and communications based on the results of the exercise. The results showed that our waste bin openings were too small for certain common items like pizza and to-go boxes, and that single-use and compostable plastics, as well as face masks, were confusing to sort out. We are now working to pilot new lid openings, as well as a pizza box and liquids bin. Stay tuned!
Zero Waste Trainings
Zero Waste Trainings
In June 2022, the Sustainability Team organized Zero Waste trainings with custodial staff at Canada, CSM and Skyline. Custodial staff work hard to collect our campus waste and make sure it gets to the appropriate end location – they are instrumental in helping us to recycle and compost as much as possible. The team also held a training for CSM’s Child Development Center staff, and a Flex Day session for Opening Day 2022: ‘Zero Waste at SMCCCD’. We received lots of great feedback from staff and faculty about ways we can continue to reduce waste across the District.
AB 802 Benchmark Reporting
AB 802 Benchmark Reporting
Assembly Bill 802 (AB 802) is a state-wide bill that mandates building owners track and report their energy usage data, aka benchmark, and submit that data to the California Energy Commission (CEC) on an annual basis. Benchmarking our energy data not only helps the District to identify areas of improvement but also helps the CEC build a better understanding of the entire state’s energy demand for modeling and future planning. We have submitted our 2021 data and we can hopefully get an EnergyStar Scorecard!
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