Conserve, Preserve, Protect
By Lisa Bunders, Ed.D., vice president for enrollment management and
     Nathaniel Wagner, Rohlman Hall area residence life coordinator

As a Catholic College, Loras values and displays a commitment to stewardship; stewardship to human resources, stewardship to capital resources and stewardship to environmental resources. Prior to ‘green’ being trendy or political, Loras was stewarding the environment in various ways. The College has had a long-standing partnership with the City of Dubuque and Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency. This partnership has allowed Loras to offer students, faculty and staff opportunities to learn more about recycling, composting and pollution prevention. Additionally, in 2002 the Academic Resource Center was the first sustainable structure built on the Loras campus and includes geothermal heating and cooling systems. To date, three buildings on campus are heated and cooled through geothermal technology, including the Lynch-McCarthy Apartments and the Athletic and Wellness Center. In December 2008, Alliant Energy presented Loras College with one of its largest energy efficiency rebate checks, $327,000, for the use of geothermal heating and cooling in the new Athletic and Wellness Center. Estimated energy savings from these buildings is approximately $11 million. “These efforts, and numerous more in the future, will build on Loras’ ongoing commitment to sustainability which, as a natural outgrowth of its Catholic identity, will bear witness to careful, thorough, lasting and sustainable stewardship of all creation, for the sake of present and future generations and for the common good,” said President Jim Collins (’84).

Despite the challenge of an aging physical plant, many historic buildings and a location surrounded by several historic neighborhoods, Loras continues to steward the environment. In March 2008, Loras administration signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. Loras is the only college in Dubuque to make this commitment and one of only 12 colleges in Iowa to sign. More than 500 colleges and universities across the nation have signed and pledged to serve as role models in reversing global warming. According to the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment Steering Committee, colleges and universities that sign the commitment are pledging to reduce and eliminate over time the greenhouse gases emitted by the institution. By signing the pledge, college and university presidents are leading their campuses to address climate change and to reduce energy dependency and costs. In order to substantiate the commitment, the College must complete annual greenhouse gas reports, set target reductions in greenhouse gases and work toward climate neutrality.

Loras has submitted its first greenhouse gas report, which outlined the strides that have been taken in recent years to address climate neutrality as well as illuminated areas the College needs to analyze and evaluate in order to reduce emissions. The greenhouse gas report is designed to provide a starting point for institutions and to aid in the setting of a target date for the College to achieve climate neutrality. The Clean Air Cool Planet Inventory is based on workbooks by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and includes major emission categories such as on campus energy production, purchased electricity, waste, all types of transportation, refrigerants and agriculture. Each year the College will submit an inventory to measure progress toward that end.

In conjunction with signing the Presidents Climate Commitment, Loras hasappointed a sustainability coordinator and task force. These individuals are in the process of reviewing and analyzing the initial greenhouse gas report and will provide the administration with targets for reducing all emissions including electricity, heating, commuting and air travel. The development of a sustainability task force has proven to move the College forward significantly in regard to educating the Loras community, not only in terms of climate neutrality and eliminating greenhouse gases, but also climate change, energy usage/costs and lifestyle changes that exemplify stewardship to the environment. This task force consists of staff members from numerous departments on campus who have been asked by the president to serve. The task force also includes students and faculty members. Because of this task force and in response to student, faculty and staff led initiatives, the College has created and/or maintained programs that demonstrate the commitment to conserve, preserve and protect. For example, Loras participates in a year-round food scrap recycling program with the City of Dubuque and ARAMARK, the College’s campus dining service. This program enables the City to produce compost for members of the community to purchase. Additionally, the College participates in RecycleMania, a nationwide program designed to encourage recycling among college students, faculty and staff. The outcome of RecycleMania is astounding. The College recycles 1.77 pounds of recyclables per person on campus. Loras ranks in the top third of colleges participating in this program based on the amount of waste recycled per person. Additionally, the Student Senate has purchased recycling bins for each individual residence hall room, classroom and outdoor space across campus. The cafeteria has eliminated the use of trays which conserves water and energy. This small initiative has also increased the social awareness among campus constituents in regard to food waste. On a larger scale, the senior class of 2009 has pledged to create a fund which will aid the College in years to come with sustainability efforts. The graduating seniors have pledged to “leave their legacy, not their footprint.” These are just a few examples of the evolving campus climate and sustainability.

Loras has also developed a comprehensive institutional action plan to move toward climate neutrality and partnered with the City of Dubuque by adopting the City’s sustainability plan. The City of Dubuque developed a nationally acclaimed model for sustainability. The model includes three pillars: economic vitality, environmental integrity and social and cultural vibrancy. Dubuque’s commitment to sustainability is addressed in 11 principles: clean water, community design, community knowledge, green building, healthy air, healthy local foods, native plants and animals, reasonable mobility, regional economy, resource management and smart energy use. These principles were designed to ensure that Dubuque continues moving forward as a viable, livable and equitable community that creates a sustainable legacy for many generations. Loras College hopes to mimic that vision and ensure that the campus community and its many constituents contribute to a sustainable and vibrant legacy for generations to come.

The next steps for the sustainability task force include the evaluation of the College’s progress with the plan’s implementation thus far and determining a timeline for subsequent action items. The committee will need participation and dedication from students, staff, faculty and alumni to make this a success. It is not a matter of simply changing the way Loras is doing things, but rather the mindset behind why and how these things are done. Every person will play a vital role in Loras becoming a sustainable campus and also staying sustainable in the future.

To be more involved and informed about the sustainability efforts at Loras College, visit www.loras.edu/sustainability or join the “Sustainable Loras” Facebook site. Make your commitment today to a sustainable future, both here at Loras and at home. Every little bit counts.