Pomona College, CA Environmental Policy
Type: Policy
Status: In effect
Source File: http://www.pomona.edu/cpm/sustainability/environpolicy.shtml
Description:
Pomona College recognizes that the local and global environment in which it operates must be protected for future generations. It is therefore committed to the further development of an ethos of resource sustainability among faculty, staff, and students and to the incorporation of environmentally sound practices in its operations. Such commitments are essential if future generations are to have a healthy and productive environment.
These goals are achieved through
- Educational programs designed to increase awareness of the need for the responsible use of resources – particularly significant in light of the residential nature of the campus, wherein students have the opportunity to learn and apply environmentally responsible practices in their everyday lives;
- Operational programs designed to reduce the amount of resources consumed and to reuse and recycle resources wherever possible;
- A construction and renovation program that assures to the maximum extent physically and financially feasible environmentally sustainable design, using the U.S. Green Building Council LEED Rating System as one standard of reference.
- The following list illustrates the types of operational efforts implemented by the College:
- Energy: reducing the consumption of energy, installing energy-efficient equipment as part of all renovation and new construction projects, and using renewable sources such as solar panels and ground source heat pumps, to the extent physically and financially feasible;
- Water: reducing the consumption of water, through the installation of water-saving equipment in facilities, careful management of irrigation, and special consideration and encouragement of the use of native plant species, due to their drought-tolerance and ecological advantages;
- Air quality: sponsoring a faculty home loan program that encourages faculty to live near campus, offering incentives for carpooling and the use of alternative modes of transportation, and increasing the proportion of low emission vehicles in the College’s fleet;
- Recycling: expanding the recycling program behind paper, aluminum, glass, food waste, and plastic products to include construction materials and organic landscape trimmings;
- Procurement: purchasing products made of recycled materials, buying from environmentally responsible vendors whenever feasible;
- Hazardous materials: handling and disposing of hazardous materials safely and responsibly, and using environmentally sound pest and weed control methods.
The College’s Office of Campus Planning and Maintenance, with the advice of a campus-based committee of faculty, staff, and students, has primary responsibility for the development of specific procedures to which the campus will adhere in achieving the objectives outlined above.
The Board of Trustees monitors this policy through the review of annual reports documenting the College’s progress. Policy and practice are subject ot change as the relevant technology evolves.