Denison University was recognized for the excellence of its sustainability efforts by the Ohio EPA with an Encouraging Environmental Excellence award at the Agency’s Compliance Assistance Conference in Columbus on Thursday, Aug. 31. Denison received the Gold Level award, which requires a commitment to meet or exceed environmental regulatory requirements and additional comprehensive environmental stewardship programs.
During the recognition, Director Craig W. Butler noted that Denison “added sustainability as one of its goals in 2008. The school set up a revolving loan fund of $1,000,000 for environmental stewardship improvements at the University, while requiring new buildings to comply with LEED standards. One building saved the institution $28,000 in reduced electric and gas bills. The food service also focused on sustainability by reusing containers, adding a food donation network and initiating campus composting. Starting at 22 tons, the school grew its composting rate to 80 tons last year.”
“Sustainability is a cornerstone of Denison’s value system,” said Jeremy King, Denison’s sustainability coordinator. “Since 2008, the revolving fund has grown to $2,000,000. As savings from previous energy saving projects are added to the fund, we have the ability to add even more efficiencies to our campus.”
In addition to requiring that all new construction be built according to LEED standards, Denison has reduced its energy use while adding square footage and renovating buildings, including several with energy-consuming air conditioning and ventilation systems.
“Energy consumption is down by 25 percent since 2008,” said Art Chonko, Denison’s director of facility services since 1996. “This is a considerable achievement for a campus that has added new facilities and buildings; especially ones that are open to students and faculty around the clock and throughout the year, limiting our options to ‘turn down’ systems for extended time periods.”
The Princeton Review also has recognized Denison as a “Green College,” colleges with the “most exceptional commitments to sustainability based on their academic offerings and career preparation for students, campus policies, initiatives, and activities.”
The university also has earned acknowledgment from the Sustainable Endowments Institute, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability and others. Denison holds a Sustainability Fellows program, hosts many student organizations that center around sustainability, offers a major in environmental studies and is home to a 360-acre biological reserve.