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Green Workplace Program makes ‘going green’ easier

Dana Schroeder and her sustainability team are working to implement sustainability leaders in workplaces around U.Va.

<p>Since the start of the new project, 90 percent of all lightbulbs across IM Rec’s four indoor facilities have been changed from incandescent to LEDs, including the gymnasiums.&nbsp;</p>

Since the start of the new project, 90 percent of all lightbulbs across IM Rec’s four indoor facilities have been changed from incandescent to LEDs, including the gymnasiums. 

Four years after its debut in 2014, a second version of the Green Workplace Program has since been launched. Originally, the sustainability-driven program worked through a complicated checklist that workplaces had to complete in order to receive certification, and Outreach and Engagement Specialist Dana Schroeder has since been working on a more effective way for university members to implement sustainability ideals. The program continues to focus on day-to-day actions that save resources and money, and aim to protect the planet, and according to Schroeder, the Green Workplace Program has made “becoming green” easier than ever.

Schroeder said the previous version of the program included a complex spreadsheet requiring a large amount of data input. With the new program, workplaces gain a baseline certification by completing 20 of 30 recommended sustainable actions that are relevant to their office. At this point, Schroeder and her team are able to get creative. 

“After workplaces get certified, we can work with them on those special projects,” Schroeder said. “It’s really fun when people identify a really specific and sort of odd challenge in their workplace, and when people want to explore really creative solutions to problems that don’t seem to have an easy answer.”

According to Schroeder, workplaces can range from a subgroup of 10 desks to a whole department. One of the larger groups is the University’s School of Nursing, with a total of two buildings and over 100 employees. Linda Hanson, a project coordinator in the School of Nursing Continuing Education, and one of the many “green team” members of the nursing school, is part of an active group that has worked with GWP to help enhance their sustainability actions.

“We hadn’t really focused on light bulbs, and with over 100 employees that’s a lot of offices with a lot of lamps,” Hanson said. “We went door-to-door looking at lamps, and unless someone objected, we replaced incandescent bulbs with LEDs.”

Another one of the Green Workplace Programs’ initiatives is to implement sustainability leaders, and the School of Nursing has looked into this as well. With the help of GWP, Hanson and the other team members have started to bring in zero-waste event planners. 

Another group that has been very involved with the Green Workplace Program is U.Va.’s Intramural-Recreational Sports. According to Jeramy Spitzer, Assistant Director of Facilities Operations, about 85 percent of students use the facilities and services of the rec department at some point. In addition, the group owns about 300,000 square feet of indoor space and 30 acres of outdoor space, which leave a large physical footprint. 

“We’ve got to think about how we can better utilize the spaces that we’ve got, reduce our carbon footprint and show some examples of great initiatives to our partners and also to our student body,” Spitzer said.

With the help of GWP, IM Rec has started focusing on what they call the Delta Force Program, a project looking to reduce their carbon footprint by finding new ways to conserve energy. Since the start of the new project, 90 percent of all lightbulbs across IM Rec’s four indoor facilities have been changed from incandescent to LEDs, including the gymnasiums. 

Spitzer said that given the long hours that University gyms are open — with some buildings opening as early as 5:30 a.m. — it is especially important to be cognizant of energy usage.  

In addition to light bulbs, Spitzer and his team have looked into conserving energy by air rather than by light. Working with Facilities Management, all air-handling systems are becoming more efficient, and all heating/cooling systems are being turned to air conservation mode at night and over breaks, an action that only uses about 25 percent of the energy. Other projects include waste-management systems to improve recycling, converting water fountains into bottle fill stations, reducing the amount of paper mail Facilities Management receive and working with transportation services to ensure students and faculty don’t have to drive to their facilities. 

For Schroeder, Hanson and Spitzer, a big part of their passion for sustainability revolves around students, whether it be for their well-being or ensuring they know the University’s commitment to their needs. 

Fourth-year Global Environments and Sustainability student Hannah Kirk Nass has paid attention to sustainability initiatives around Grounds, though senses not everyone at the university has the “green” knowledge they should. 

“I think it’s hard to say whether or not [U.Va.] does enough because I feel like there’s always more they can be doing,” Nass said. “I think in terms of the different initiatives they have, and the different ways they engage students… I think U. Va., does a lot… but I think it can be contained to the sphere of people that are already interested in sustainability.”

In order to expand from that sphere, Nass has an idea that places sustainability in the minds of more students right away: adding a sustainability module alongside alcohol-safety and sexual abuse awareness. In addition, Nass said that a good way to get the message out to students is by seeing more professors embracing the idea of sustainability. Schroeder is hoping that by involving as many staff and faculty as possible, just that will happen.

“Sometimes I think there can be an attitude of frustration among students, like ‘Why aren’t we doing more?’ which is great because there’s always more that can be done in this realm of sustainability,” Schroeder said. “The Green Workplace Program is a cool way that students might not see it, but faculty and staff really are committing everyday to helping the planet.”

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