Campus Sustainability Day 2011

Campus Sustainability Day will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 26. The purpose of this national event is to raise awareness of sustainability accomplishments!

Some University of Wisconsin-Whitewater representatives who will be showcasing campus accomplishments include: Wes Enterline, Linda Reid, Manda Kreir and Ariel Powers-Schaub. These representatives will focus on sustainability concerning university facilities, student academic involvement and Residence Life.

UW-W Dining Services will also be presenting sustainability campus accomplishments, including the new 2 Star Certified Green Restaurant on campus, Willie's 360. Willie's 360 earned 135.10 points on the Green Restaurant Association's ratings scale, and completed 57 environmental steps.

The follwing are highlights of UW-Whitewater's certification:

• Seventy percent of total monthly purchases are vegetarian purchases
• Use of low flow faucet aerators save 45,000 gallons of water annually
• Use of post-consumer recycled hot cups, dispense napkins and roll towels
• Use of LED lighting save nearly 4000 kWh of energy annually
• Twenty-five percent of all lighting is categorized as Compact Fluorescent Lamps. Use of CFLs reduce energy consumption, help reduce emissions of pollutants and save on energy costs.
• Use of unbleached deli sheets, pastry bags, wax paper and parchment paper.

In order to be designated as a Certified Green Restaurant, a restaurant must:

• Be styrofoam-free
• Implement a full-scale recycling program and comopst where commercially available
• Conduct annual education programs
• Accumulate over 100 points, spread over seven environmental catergories: energy, sustainable food, water efficiency, waste reduction and recycing, disposables, chemical pollution reduction, and sustainable furnishing and building materials.

The Green Restaurant Association is a national non-profit organization that helps restaurants become more environmentally sustainable through consulting and certification.