(Approved 3/19/99)
POLICY
I. General
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The Faculty Student Association fulfills the standards and obligations set forth by the SUNY Buffalo Environmental Policies, University at Buffalo Campus Recycling Policy, all other official environmentally related mandates of the State University of New York at Buffalo, and all state and federal law pertaining to environmental stewardship. |
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The Faculty Student Association trains all new and existing employees to be cognizant of and to participate in environmentally sound practices. |
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The Faculty Student Association publicizes its environmental policies in all its facilities. |
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The Faculty Student Association management presents an annual environmental report to the FSA Board of Directors discussing the current status of environmental stewardship while seeking input on progressive practices. |
II. Energy Conservation
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The Faculty Student Association supports campus energy conservation efforts. |
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The Faculty Student Association practices responsible lighting management in all its facilities. |
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The Faculty Student Association purchases the most efficient energy consumption products consistent with life cycle cost effectiveness. |
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The Faculty Student Association henceforth purchases cooking equipment that utilizes natural gas over electricity, when possible. |
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The Faculty Student Association considers maximum energy efficiency as a factor for the purchase or rental of all energy consuming equipment. |
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The Faculty Student Association posts instructions for energy efficient use on all high-energy consumption equipment within each facility. |
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The Faculty Student Association notifies the appropriate Facilities office if temperature settings are not consistent with the State University of New York at Buffalo’s heating and cooling policies. |
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The Faculty Student Association practices Green Computing techniques which include enabling energy management features on all computers, monitors, and peripherals. |
III. Recycling
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The Faculty Student Association persistently seeks to improve its recycling program. |
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The Faculty Student Association will consider recycling in all future contracts dealing with trash pick-up. |
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The Faculty Student Association actively cooperates with University Facilities to promulgate the recycling of, particularly but not limited to, beverage containers at vending locations. |
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The Faculty Student Association researches exemplary food services and auxiliary recycling programs at other Universities to identify means of improving its own program. |
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The Faculty Student Association will cooperate with any State University of New York at Buffalo composting program. |
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The Faculty Student Association will investigate options, as a matter of sound management principles, to purchase paper products with maximal post consumer recycled content and minimal chlorine bleaching processes. These include, but are not limited to, copy paper, paper towels, and napkins. |
IV. Waste Reduction
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The Faculty Student Association actively promotes the sale and use of reusable mugs in all facilities. |
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The Faculty Student Association seeks to reduce the quantity of disposable cups, plates, and utensils. |
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The Faculty Student Association employs methods to reduce office waste by encouraging double-sided copying, electronic correspondence and other measures consistent with waste reduction. |
V. Green Design
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The Faculty Student Association adopts Green Design principles to minimize adverse environmental impacts when contemplating renovations or the establishment of new facilities. The principles include, but are not limited to, energy efficient design, appropriate siting, consideration of renewable energy resources, use of environmentally friendly materials, and waste reduction techniques. |
BACKGROUND
The general purposes of the Faculty Student Association (FSA) are to establish, operate, manage, and promote educationally related services for the benefit of the campus community, including, faculty, staff and students in harmony with the educational mission and goals of the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY at Buffalo) [Appendix A: FSA by-laws]. The following clauses chronologically highlight the developments related to environmental stewardship and the above description. While some of these points do not legally bind the FSA to any specific action, they are all factors motivating the adoption of environmental policies.
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[1] The New York State Solid Management Act of 1988 [Appendix B] established the state policy on waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. A specific mandate was that all state agencies should recycle 50 per cent of their solid waste stream. A 1998 Trash Stream Report [Appendix C: A Close Look at UB’s Trash Stream] revealed that SUNY at Buffalo has considerable shortcomings in this goal. The Executive Summary of this report made recommendations for UB’s food services. These included equipping food service areas with recycling centers, exploring alternative food containers made from recycled materials, and implementing a reusable mug program; |
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[2] On January 16, 1991, New York State Governor Cuomo signed into effect Executive Order 142, entitled Establishing New Waste Reduction and Recycling Initiatives for State Agencies [Appendix D]. A particular mandate of this order is that state agencies use recycled paper for letterhead and other paper uses unless a suitable recycled paper product is not available or the cost of the recycled paper product exceeds the cost of the non-recycled paper by more that 10%; |
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[3] On January 12, 1993, SUNY at Buffalo adopted several policies dealing with environmental stewardship [Appendix E: SUNY Buffalo Environmental Policies]. |
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[4] In 1995, SUNY at Buffalo faculty, staff, and students authored the University Environmental Audit [Appendix F]. This comprehensive research/publication proposed recommendations to many UB services or organizations, including the FSA. Report recommendations pertinent to the FSA included the adoption of a recycling policy, reducing the use of disposable foodware at all locations, encouraging the use of reusable mugs, developing a campus composting program with Facilities and the Residence Halls, and purchasing only 100% recycled napkins while minimizing on their usage; |
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[5] In January 1997, SUNY at Buffalo adopted the University at Buffalo Campus Recycling Policy stating, “Members of the University community are expected to work together to optimize the recycling process consistent with work productivity. 100% involvement is expected” [Appendix G]. Further, the policy strongly encourages University offices to purchase and maximize the use of products made of recycled materials, and to utilize waste reduction techniques as a matter of daily routine; |
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[6] On December 8, 1998, The SUNY at Buffalo Faculty Senate adopted the Talloires Declaration, encouraging “all universities to engage in education, research, policy formation, and information exchange on population, environment, and development to move toward global sustainability” [Appendix H]. The Talloires Declaration reflects a widely held belief that environmental problems and the difficulty of creating a sustainable society are central issues to world society; |
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[7] On January 29, 1999, “The American Geophysical Union (AGU), the United States’ most broadly based professional organization in earth and space science, said in an official policy statement… that there was a ‘compelling basis for legitimate public concern’ about human-induced climatic change” [Appendix I: NY Times article], [Appendix J: Position statement on climate change and greenhouse gases, AGU]. |
In light of these diverse clauses, the Faculty Student Association has hitherto been a cooperative agent in the pursuit of environmental protection. In fact, current FSA environmental efforts include the recycling of cardboard, office paper, glass bottles, cans, plastic jugs, and grease in all applicable units and administrative areas. Consequently, the adoption of a formal policy aims to establish permanence of these efforts while promoting other environmentally sound practices.
APPENDICES
Appendix A: FSA by-laws
Appendix B: Solid Waste Management Act of 1988
Appendix C: A Close Look at UB’s Trash Stream
Appendix D: Executive Order 142
Appendix E: SUNY Buffalo Environmental Policies
Appendix F: University Environmental Audit
Appendix G: University at Buffalo Campus Recycling Policy
Appendix H: Talloires Declaration
Appendix I: NY Times article
Appendix J: Position statement on climate change and greenhouse gases from AGU
Downloadable version:
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