2009.03.23 Green Initiatives at the University of Guelph-Humber

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Green initiatives at the University of Guelph-Humber

Walking into the University of Guelph-Humber is like a breath of fresh air, which isn’t surprising since the institution works hard to care for the four-story living plant wall located in the University atrium.

Officially called the bio-wall, it spans 10 meters by 17 meters and has been a part of the building since its inception in 2002. In 2005 the bio-wall won an award of Excellence for Innovation in Architecture from the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada.

Besides purifying and cooling the air the bio-wall cuts the University of Guelph-Humber’s energy consumption by ten per cent every year. On top of that studies have shown that greenery in indoors spaces can reduce absenteeism and increase productivity - how’s that for getting an A plus advantage!

Beyond the bio-wall the University of Guelph-Humber and Humber North Campus are continuing with green initiatives to save energy, lower consumption in reduce their carbon foot print.

This includes the recent banning of styrofoam and plastic takeout containers at dining facilities on campus, replacing them with more recyclable and biodegradable paper plates.

On average styrofoam takes over 50 years to decompose, depending on its size and matter, whereas paper plates can not only be easily recycled but decompose much sooner in a landfill because of their natural components.

One of the biggest waste factors in office and learning environments is paper waste, the University of Guelph-Humber decided to reduce this by not printing course outlines, offering an online version instead, thus saving the school hundreds of thousands of sheets of paper, as well as ink.

Starting this year all recruitment publications are printed on FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper which contains 25 per cent recycled content and protects wildlife habitat and water sources when collecting wood fibre from well-managed forests in socially responsible ways.

David Griffin, Maintenance and Operations Manager for Humber’s North Campus, says the property has reduced its power consumption by switching lamps to lower voltage, installing low flush toilets, installing a new boiler increasing efficiency by over 10 per cent, and replacing old computer monitors with LCD screens on campus.

“The combined effect of all the energy efficiency measures implemented at the North Campus have reduced electrical use, and associated greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent over the last three years. Following the campus’s commitment to sustainability we will continue to reduce our carbon footprint,” said Griffin.

As part of Earth Week the school will be taking part in tree planting and spreading “Seeds of Success,” bean sprouts, as well as fun awareness activities and events the week of April 6 to the 9.

The campus will also participate in a campaign for 10,000 Acts of Green, an idea initiated after the widely popular “One Million Acts of Green” as headed by host of The Hour on CBC and Humber alumni George Stroumboulopoulos.

“It’s great that we are being environmentally aware and taking conscious initiatives here on campus. I think in general students and staff try to make an effort in trying to be greener. I’ve noticed a lot of people carry around reusable water bottles and the staff have separation bins for recycling underneath their desks.” said Urmila Puran, Guelph-Humber Student Association President.

With this there is no doubt that more green acts will be budding on campus soon.

Diana Chrzanowska
Communications Assistant
Fourth Year Media Studies Student

Photo by: Matt Watson, University of Guelph-Humber alumni