St. Mary's College gets green power award

According to Southern Maryland Online, Saint Mary's College of Maryland "is the only college in Maryland to receive the EPA Green Power Leadership Club award and the first four-year residential college in the state to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified." Some of the practices adopted by my alma mater include:

• "The college's student-funded purchase of 100 percent green power earned it membership in the select Green Power Leadership Club for its initiative of "exemplary green power procurement." The Green Power Leadership Club's energy purchase requirements are ten times the purchase requirements for the EPA's Green Power Partnership program, which the college has won for several years." As a side note, this initiative was pushed by students, who voluntarily offered to pay more to have green energy.
• "Goodpaster Hall on the SMCM campus earned a Silver rating from the LEED Green Building Rating System. The USGBC certified the classroom building, which opened in January 2008. It was the only green higher education state funded pilot project and is a Silver-level winner in the new construction category. Goodpaster Hall is designed and built to reduce or eliminate negative impacts on the environment through energy efficiency, the use of recycled or renewable building materials, and a reduction of the building's effect on the surrounding land and water...The building's practical innovations in engineering and architecture are many. The water system is designed to save 300,000 gallons annually through the use of waterless urinals and other inventive designs such as dual-flush toilets. The building's rain- and gray-water systems recycle water from sinks for use in flushing the toilets. A 30 percent reduction in energy use over the average building is made possible by technology like the energy recovery wheel that draws heated air from high-performance fume hoods in the building's chemistry labs, filters it to make it safe, and feeds it back into the building to heat classrooms. Storm-water runoff from the roof of the building is routed to a courtyard fountain in an effort to further decrease the amount runoff that reaches the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Goodpaster Hall's other green credentials include highly efficient lighting and equipment, the use of building materials with recycled content and lumber from managed forests, and the use of paints and sealants with low volatile organic compounds. "
• "Energy conservation-As a result of the college's energy performance contract, electricity use has been reduced by 16.5 percent, oil use by 23 percent, and water and sewage use by 34 percent, for a total savings of $350,000 a year. "
• "SMCM students funded a geo-thermal HVAC system in the college's new James P. Muldoon River Center which is 45 percent more efficient than a standard heat pump system. "
• "Sustainable groundskeeping-The SMCM grounds crew received the Audubon International Certification in Environmental Planning from the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program, the first college in Maryland to receive this certification. "
• "Trayless cafeteria-The college's cafeteria no longer offers trays, a practice that will contain the college's food expenditure, result in less water consumption, and reduce food waste by 23 percent. "
• "Green cleaning products-the SMCM cleaning crew uses environmentally responsible, Green Seal-certified cleaning products. "
• "Recycling and composting-The college is expanding its recycling and composting programs, with student volunteers collecting such material from campus residences. "
• "Support for local agriculture-Bon Appétit, the college's food service provider, buys local meat and produce in large quantities to sustain local agriculture, reduce fuel consumption of delivery trucks, and lower the college's carbon footprint. "