Sustainability

University of Minnesota Housing & Residential Life is committed to doing what we can to conserve water and resources, as well as promoting recycling and green living in our residential communities. We have taken many steps in the right direction including:

• Recycling programs
• Low-flow shower and toilet features
• Water and energy-saving laundry facilities
• Recycled materials in hall offices
   

Read about the committee's achievements in the 1st issue of the Live Green Newsletter!

What residents can do

Housing & Residential Life is deeply committed to being sustainable and is asking our community members to help us by doing the same. Here are some easy ways to be sustainable while living on campus:

• Bring a water-filtering pitcher and a non-plastic, reusable canteen to use instead of buying bottled water.
• Do not run the water while doing dishes or brushing your teeth. Only do full washer loads, and use a small amount of biodegradable laundry detergent.
• Turn off your lights and electronics (TV, stereo, computer) when you leave the room.
• Use rechargeable batteries in your electronics.
• Use Smart Strips that automatically shut off power to electronics when not in use.
• Use the hall and campus printers instead of personal printers that use disposable ink cartridges.
• Utilize the recycling bins in your room (cans/bottles, office paper, newspaper plus) and empty them regularly in the nearest recycling room.
• Ask the information desk  where you can dispose of batteries, used ink cartridges, compact fluorescent bulbs and other hazardous waste. 

Wanna do more?

Get Green Resident Certified!

HRL and Live Green are introducing the Green Resident Certification as an opportunity for you to use measurable and sustainable efforts in your day to day life!  These habits will follow you outside the halls and into your future living environments, providing you with opportunities to decrease your footprint AND your cost of living.  

Green Resident Certification has three levels (Maroon, Gold and Green), and asks you to identify areas in which you can make a change; calculate your footprint and set related sustainability goals; and get your friends involved.

We'll provide you with a static decal for your residence hall door so you can mark your progress, as well as buttons that show the level you have completed.  Other sustainable prizes and prize drawings are available as you complete each level.  

Click on the MAROON leaf icon above to get started on level 1!

Once you've completed it, we'll email you the link to Gold Level and Green Level accordingly. 

Send questions to Livgreen@umn.edu

What HRL is doing

Housing & Residential Life instituted its own sustainability committee in 2007 with the mission to foster sustainability awareness in our living and learning communities. The Committee works closely with resident student groups to institute sustainability initiatives such as: in-room recycling, energy and water conservation as well as recycling awareness during move-in and move out.

Housing & Residential Life
Makes Use of Sustainable Materials a Priority

We continue to make a conscious effort to ensure we use “green” materials wherever practical and feasible. When examining feasibility, we examine upfront cost verses payback period. We usually select green materials over conventional when cost premiums for green materials is less than 30 percent greater than conventional. Here are some of the sustainable products and materials we’ve added to our inventory:

• 100% recycled office paper
• Energy-saving lamps such as CFL's 
• Energy Star washers in all laundry rooms
• “Environmentally friendly” cleaning chemicals (whenever possible)
• Furniture made with recycled or sustainable materials (Pioneer Hall dining room tables, and sofas and chairs upholstered with recycled or sustainable fabric)
• LED exit signs throughout all residence halls
• Low or no VOC carpet installations
• On-demand water heaters in residence halls
• Reduced water usage showerheads in all showers
• Re-manufactured ink cartridges for HRL printers
  
• Toilet paper is made from 100% recycled paper 
• Water saver flush valves for toilets and urinals
• Carpet that is certified carbon neutral (Bailey resident rooms; Centennial Dining, corridors and lounges; Comstock corridors and resident rooms; Middlebrook Corridors (10 and 40 wings) and lounges; Territorial lounge and new addition corridors; Frontier new addition corridors)
  

Peer-to-Peer staff & volunteers:

HRL has a Sustainability Education Coordinator (SEC) staff position and about 10-15 volunteer Sustainability Advocates.  The Sustainability Advocates meet regularly with and gain direction from the SEC; they all provide peer-to-peer sustainability outreach, helping facilitate in-building sustainability community development with councils, aid with public relations and advertising, and help support HRL-wide (and U) sustainability efforts.