People like to talk about how they're changing their lives to go green. They might participate in local recycling programs or reduce their water usage to minimize their carbon footprint. Still, organizations make a much bigger impact on the Earth than individuals ever could.
Young people look for significant changes in the organizations they look up to and support, which means schools have to get on board with going green. Depending on the funding and resources they have to work with, universities and grade schools now come up with new ways to reduce their carbon footprint every year.
Check out these eight initiatives to save energy in schools currently happening around the country. Educators of all kinds meet their students in the middle to address green energy concerns and figure out needed solutions.
1. The Better Buildings Initiative
When a new school is needed in a town, architects often rely on floorplans already used by nearby buildings. They may make a few adjustments, but duplicates can be easily found.
While this saves the project time and possibly even money, minor changes to the plan are possible if the project's team has the resources to learn how to do them. The Better Buildings Initiative began when the U.S. Department of Energy saw the national need for energy consumption to decrease.
The program provides leadership and guidance to over 900 organizations, with more added to the program every year. It teaches public and private schools how to incorporate and use green energy to save money and energy throughout the year.
2. The Sustainable Stanford Project
Larger schools with more funding can take on more extensive initiatives, like the Sustainable Stanford project. It's a comprehensive initiative that combats campus energy use in several ways.
They watch how room temperatures fluctuate, cut off power during breaks and study the longterm effects of consumption in their most energy-intensive buildings. It uses current monitoring to project future goals, advancing the campus's green efforts.
3. The Bright Schools Program
California's Energy Commission department runs many programs designed to reduce the state's carbon footprint, but it also has a Bright Schools program designed to help schools save money and energy.
Public, charter and state schools are eligible to participate in this program, along with community colleges and county education offices. As more schools get access to this program, they'll learn about benefits beyond the financial ones. Green efforts such as changing to LED lighting improves student concentration and performance, which helps all children without straining the school's resources.
4. The EnergyVU Initiative
Vanderbilt University is one of the top universities in the nation, which makes its EnergyVU initiative an influence on the college community.
Through this program, Vanderbilt ended coal-reliant energy sources in 2014 and continues to advance its efforts today. It also reduced its energy consumption by using solar panels in two locations on campus and purchased additional green power from a Tennessee program.
5. The Campus Conservation Nationals Program
Schools push students to learn more and achieve bigger goals, which is part of the inspiration behind the Campus Conservation Nationals program. The National Wildlife Federation partnered with the Lucid Design Group, the Alliance to Save Energy and the U.S. Green Building Council to create the annual event.
Every year between February and April, college students compete to see which residence halls can save the most energy and water. The winning school or dorm gets bragging rights for the next year, as there is no prize other than the collective energy and water conservation.
The program successfully makes conservation fun and exciting, bringing a real-world issue home for students who may not have considered it important before.
6. The Green Campus Initiative
Over at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, students came together to form the Green Campus Initiative. It's a club that aims to reduce campus waste, which includes overall energy usage.
To combat traditional methods of energy consumption, students encourage each other to bike to class instead of drive or use electric scooters. They create biodiesel for renewable energy from excess vegetable oil and maintain a curfew for reduced lighting in buildings and over the campus.
7. The LEED Certification Program
When construction on a new school ends, any green efforts that were made in the building's layout may not help much if it doesn't get a LEED certification.
The U.S. Green Building Council provides Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications once a building is thoroughly inspected. The certification confirms that the structure maximizes the use of its resources and reduces its environmental impact through things like lower energy consumption.
Schools with this certification are recognized by the community as a healthy place to spend time, and they maintain a higher property value. It's a mark of leadership, which is what all schools intend to achieve.
8. The Maryland Energy Innovation Institute Program
The University of Maryland offers many fields of study for students, but its Energy Innovation Institute program is the most environmentally focused one. Within this program, students learn about energy conversion, conservation and efficiency.
The building housing the program turns textbooks into action by using green energy to power all laboratories and classrooms. It's a program that saves the school from using power while changing how students interact with energy consumption in the future.
Initiatives Change the Future
Students learn to plan for their future, but energy conservation initiatives change their present and the future at the same time. Programs like these save schools money while teaching a new generation how to improve their lives and help the planet.
