Sustainability

To reduce and offset emissions, we promote reducing student and staff commuting, decreasing single occupancy travel, reducing the miles traveled for official business by faculty and staff, reducing emissions associated with fleet operations and offset air travel for faculty, staff and international student travel.

As a campus community, we can improve our current means of transportation by using these more sustainable methods:

BIKING:

• Biking at UWSP

BUS SYSTEM:

• Stevens Point Bus Route
• Bus connections from Stevens Point

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is committed to the use and purchase of environmentally and socially responsible materials and products.

LOCAL SOURCING

We purchase locally, within a 400-mile radius of campus, when possible.

Tiers of local include:

• Community – Stevens Point and Plover
• Immediate – Within 50 miles
• Intermediate – Within 150 miles
• Regional – Within 400 miles

Local purchasing is available to our community through Farmshed, Agora, Process, the Stevens Point Area Coop and The Market on Strongs.

NATURAL VS. BUILT

UW-Stevens Point maintains its campus grounds with sustainability in mind. Native plants are a priority in certain areas on campus, such as the rain gardens.

Our campus includes a natural resources college, so planting consideration is given to trees that meet the needs of our outdoor classrooms and teaching.

UW-Stevens Point will occasionally use herbicides to control broadleaves, but continue to reduce use every year. We use organic fertilizer whenever feasible, a steam-activated weed eliminator, and our campus-created compost for topdressing our grass and for our perennial beds. In order to reduce the environmental impacts of snow and ice removal, UW-Stevens Point uses an environmentally friendly way to eliminate ice.

When constructing buildings on campus, the water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, adaptive use and preservation of existing buildings, indoor environmental quality, construction waste and recycling, operation and maintenance, and purchasing of furniture, fixtures and equipment are all taken into consideration. The Suites @201 are LEED-NC (New Construction) Gold Certified as of November 2012.

WATER BOTTLES ELIMINATED

UW-Stevens Point moved to discontinue the sale of bottled water during the 2009-2010 school year and have moved to aluminum bottles, the first in the UW System to make the switch!

University Dining and Summer Conferences has already seen a reduction in bottled water and soda sales as we encouraged people to use their own bottles at our water fountains equipped with filler spouts or use compostable or reusable bottles for fountain beverages. We have installed many water filling stations across campus to better accommodate those with their own bottles!

GREEN CLEANING

UW-Stevens Point upgraded to the Diversey chemical dispensing system that combines floor, glass, disinfectant and general cleaners into one system. Chemicals are concentrated to reduce packaging and solid waste disposal. All of our chemicals are green certified with the exception of our disinfectant. Other initiatives pertaining to cleaning on campus includes trash liners made from recycled plastic, reusable mop heads and reducing aerosols.

ELECTRONICS

We use the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT®), a comprehensive environmental rating that helps identify greener computers and other electronic equipment. Silver and/or gold registered products are used for standard desktop and notebook/laptop computers and monitors.

DINING

UW-Stevens Point Dining and Summer Conferences demonstrate the commitment to sustainability through local food purchasing, resource recovery (recycling), composting food wastes, energy reduction and continually exploring ideas to promote and support sustainability initiatives.

Dining and Summer Conferences removed all trays from the Upper DeBot dining, resulting in a drop of 35% in useable food waste. The remaining unused food is processed through a pulper and is composted on campus and commercially.

Highly efficient dishwashers resulted in reductions in utilities, chemical use and water consumption. Dining and Summer Conferences offers reusable hot and cold beverage bottles for sale and discounts beverages by 25 cents when a reusable container is used.

Food waste is composted and used for fertilizer in flower beds and in practice fields. Used cooking oil is collected and the College of Natural Resources uses it for biofuels research and biodiesel creation.

UW-Stevens Point is committed to reducing energy consumption. We continually try and reduce our emissions and offset our total carbon emissions through green electricity purchases, composting and managed forests. The combination of carbon reduction and carbon offsets will eventually lead us to carbon neutrality.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

To reduce our emissions and greenhouse gasses, electric vehicles are used by Facility Services Mail Room and Central Stores for campus deliveries.

MANAGED FORESTS

We practice sustainable forestry on properties owned by UW-Stevens Point’s College of Natural Resources throughout central and northern Wisconsin. Sustainable forestry is the use of forests and forest lands in a way and at a rate that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and potential to fulfill relevant ecological, economic and social functions at local, national and global levels, without causing damage to other ecosystems. These managed forests store atmospheric carbon, while improving soil and water quality.

SOLAR ENERGY

Most of the UW-Stevens Point residence halls are equipped with solar panels that pre-heat the domestic water.

On the south side of the Noel Fine Arts Center is a set of photovoltaic panels that capture light energy from the sun and use it to light a section of the courtyard area.

We have added solar panels in Schmeeckle Reserve and Treehaven and continue to add more to save on energy.

Review the Collins Classroom Center solar dashboard.

Review the College of Professional Studies solar dashboard.

Our recycling policy is based on sound environmental practices that meet or exceed all national, state and local laws, regulations and ordinances as they relate to resource recovery. Our goal is to conserve our natural resources by reducing consumption of materials, reusing materials whenever possible, recycling materials using current technology and practicing wise procurement policies, including the purchase of recycled materials.

Compost bins are located throughout campus academic buildings to reduce the amount of waste going into the landfill. Organic materials are collected and processed naturally to become useful soil.

Residential Living also runs a composting program where residents collect and deposit food waste material in centralized composting bins within each residence hall. It’s then delivered to our Waste Education Center, where it is then composted by staff and students. The final product is nutrient-rich soil, which is available for use by the campus.

Our recycling program is more comprehensive than most universities. We have our own Waste Education Center, which provides students with landfill, wastewater treatment, recycling, composting and hazardous waste management training. A portion of the building functions as the campus materials recycling facility and handles cans, bottles, plastic and cardboard.

The stormwater collection system installed in Parking Lot R is designed so that surface runoff water will hit the Wisconsin River as infrequent as once every 25 to 50 years. A manifold system works in conjunction with bio-filtration collection islands. The rain gardens installed at the surface throughout the lot removes suspended solids prior to recharging the groundwater in the area of the parking lot.

To help with stormwater management, in 2005 UW-Stevens Point installed the first green roof in central Wisconsin on top of Albertson Hall.

WHAT DOES A GREEN ROOF DO?

• Extends the life of the roof
• Reduces excess runoff
• Reduces heating and cooling expense – less energy means fewer greenhouse gas emissions
• Provides an oasis of green in an urban environment
• Reduces machine, traffic and airplane sound
• Insulates and shades the building, reducing the heat-island effect. The evapotranspiration of the plants contributes to cooling the atmosphere in their vicinity

Campus rain gardens collect runoff water from the roof and filter it so cleaner water reaches the water table and less water reaches the storm system. Rain gardens can be seen throughout campus.

The Reserve funds can be utilized by any student, organization or individual, for sustainability-related projects or campaigns such as Earth Week activities, tree plantings, and E-recycling campaigns. Some projects include the on-campus Ethnobotanical Garden and Herb Garden and more.

The Green Fund is intended to encourage and fund projects that positively affect the sustainability of the UW-Stevens Point campus community. Monies in the Green Fund come exclusively from enrolled students through segregated fees.

The garden is used as an outdoor classroom to teach students about local food production by offering workshops on topics from canning to composting.

The Residence Hall Association (RHA) has a residential hall Green Advocates program that works closely with the Office of Sustainability. These positions provide peer-to-peer outreach which allows students to learn about the eco-efforts already established in their hall and how they can live an eco-friendly lifestyle.

Net Nutrition: A dining resource that lists and sorts your food preferences. It can be helpful for dietary restrictions and meal planning.

How Can You Participate on Campus?

• Participate in Meatless Mondays
• Visit campus garden and Sustainability Space
• Try out vegan and vegetarian options in the cafeterias
• Explore the edible landscape
• Use Net Nutrition for meal planning
• Donate or use the Cupboard
• Use green campus compost bins

How Can You Participate off Campus?

• Subscribe to the local curbside compost service Bucket Ruckus
• Eat vegan/vegetarian
• Support local businesses (Emmy Js, Co-op, Sisters Corner Store)
• Practice zero-waste cooking

Look for these stamps on dining station signage and try out the plant-based options!

Don’t forget:

• Be a conscious consumer
• Eat the rainbow
• Less is more, reduce your meat consumption
• Grocery shop locally & organically
• Cook at home if possible, vs eating out

Follow us on social media to find out about campus events and helpful tips!

• Instagram

Many students are involved in environmental or sustainability-focused student organizations and activities. Visit our SPIN page and search sustainability to view our offerings.

Bee Campus USA is a program of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nationwide initiative to conserve pollinators on college campuses.

In 2020, UW-Stevens Point became the first UW school to be a certified Bee Campus. Led by a committee of students, staff, and faculty, our continuing mission is to protect pollinators and their habitats on the grounds of UWSP.

Green Recognition of Offices and Workspaces (GROW) is a certification program that recognizes campus offices as leaders in sustainability by encouraging them to lessen their environmental impact. Through the program, we seek to challenge UWSP staff and students to create more environmentally friendly workspaces through individual and collective action.

AREAS OF FOCUS

• Transportation
• Waste Reduction
• Purchasing
• Energy Efficiency
• Special Events
• Community Engagement

Discover how GROW is making a difference, and what you can do to get involved.