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Facilities
Purchasing,
Consumption, Waste Disposal, Research/Projects,
Education
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Current Green Strides: Printing Services
- We work regularly with the university
Environmental Health and Safety Officer and review our procedures periodically.
Additionally, we have used the Printer’s National Environmental Assistance
Center (www.pneac.org) and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Design
for the Environment (www.epa.gov/dfe) as resources in implementing low-impact
procedures for printing in the community. Other organizations that we belong to
include Printing Industries of America, Graphic Arts Technical Foundation,
In-Plant Management Association and the Association of College and University
Printers. All of these provide information and help regarding environmental
issues.
- Use of vegetable-based inks and low-VOC
blanket wash
- Vegetable-based
inks and accounts for most of the ink we use.
- Use low-VOC
blanket wash for press wash-ups
- Employing “best management
practices” in the use of ink and solvents
- Accurate
estimating of ink quantities before beginning each job
- Scraping as much
ink from empty containers as possible prior to recycling
- Using standard
“light to dark” sequence when printing
- Reusing excess
ink
- Dispensing
solvent from safety containers that deliver a controlled amount of
solvent
- Cleaning press
trays by scraping and soaking in reused solvent
- Proper
conditioning and positioning of roller cleanup blades
- Keep used shop
towels in closed containers on-site
- Use of low-VOC
substitutes for isopropyl alcohol
- Minimizing additions to the waste
stream
- Recycle shop
towels by using a commercial laundry.
- Eliminated
lithographic film, lithographic chemicals, aluminum plates and plate developing
chemicals
- Recycle paper
used in the on-site process make-ready process
- Recover silver
from film fixer using a commercially produced, verified and managed recovery
system. This system was relocated after the shop moved to digital image setter
system in Summer 2002
- Expanded use of Recycled
papers
- We use 100%
recycled white paper for all copier work unless a customer specifies a sheet
that is not available in recycled form.
- Commodity
envelopes used for mailings are 50% post-consumer content.
- We have
collaborated with the Department of Admission, Communications Department and
others regarding the change of the “official” letterhead sheet and
matching envelopes to Strathmore Script, a 30% post-consumer sheet.
- Training
- Continued
training of personnel in the safe handling and disposal of chemicals
- Monitoring of
any new chemistry and consultation with Environmental Health and Safety
Officer
- Trained press
operators in understanding how conductivity and pH of fountain solutions relate
to problems at press and how to maintain conductivity and pH within prescribed
ranges
- Process control
- We follow a
regular schedule for cleaning dampening and ink fountains
- We have
regularly scheduled maintenance on press equipment
- We follow a
comprehensive roller maintenance, inspection, reconditioning and replacement
schedule
- Installed
recirculating water fountain units on Hamada 234C
- We order paper
on a “just-in-time” basis
- Customer relations
- We review and
maintain communications with customers to get the order right the first time,
minimizing waste
- We work with
customers to design jobs with the minimum amount of waste
- We talk with
customers to find out expectations to minimize the amount of inks and supplies
in stock
- We encourage
customers to choose from our existing inventory of inks and papers
- Facility Management
- We have
established and demonstrated a management commitment to the concept of recycling
and pollution prevention
- Acknowledge
personnel interest, achievement and initiatives by members of the
team
- We provide
ongoing training and education for team members
Current Green Strides:
Colgate Bookstore
- Purchases items for resale that are made
from recycled products whenever possible. 95% of Colgate notebooks are made
from recycled paper (we sell approximately 7,000 per year), as are all of our
Colgate folders and filler paper. Other “green” products include
shirts made from recycled fibers and pencils made from recycled
wood.
- Holds a campus wide book buyback each
semester. Thousands of books are resold the following semester as used books,
which saves money, trees, and the gas needed to ship new books to us from the
publishers.
- Sells non-returnable books to vendors who
“recycle” by donating the books to overseas countries in
need.
- Reuses thousands of boxes sent to us by
vendors for ship-outs and storage.
- Collects and reuses non-paper packing
materials (packing peanuts, plastic bubbles) on a daily basis.
- Reuses copy paper, magazines, and
newspapers as packing material for merchandise returns on a daily
basis.
- Recycles file folders and envelopes for
in-store correspondence.
- Recycles printer ribbons
- Encourages electronic communications vs.
paper from vendors and co-workers.
- Purchased a live Christmas tree that will
be replanted in the village of Hamilton after the holidays.
- Creates in-store signage that can be
reused from season to season rather than thrown away and recreated the next
year.
- Request vendors to print prices on
existing tags vs. creating new price tags at the bookstore
- Diligently recycles paper at each
service desk and in each office.
Current Green Strides:
Outdoor Education Base Camp
- Uses re-usable paper for 80% of paper
needs
- Composts food wastes
- Serves organic coffee
Research/Progress Made:
Library Renovation
- Colgate will be pursuing LEEDS
Certification:
- The
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a system for rating
commercial, institutional and high-rise residential structures. Buildings are
awarded points for incorporating criteria in six categories: sustainable sites,
water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials and resource, indoor air quality,
and innovative design processes. Depending on the number of points received, a
building is given platinum, gold, silver, or basic certification.
- The
design team must document the strategies used to meet the criteria and submit
them to USGBC (The U.S. Green Building Council) for review and
approval.
Initiatives at other
Universities/Communities
- Middlebury College: Middlebury hired an
architectural consultant to help the institution develop guidelines for
buildings. The Trustees approved the principles, which will direct all new
projects. Since then, the college has continued drafting specific guidelines
for responsible building using the general guidelines as a guide. The
initiative started in 1996 when students, administration, architects and faculty
all participated in a building planning process together. “Getting many
different people – faculty, staff, students, local environmental groups
and local conservation commissions – aware of and interested in a project
seems to help insure its long-term continuation.” Middlebury College.
(Source: Campus Ecology, National Wildlife
Federation).
- Sterling College: Sterling
College’s mission is “to combine structured academic study with
experiential challenges to build responsible problem solvers who become stewards
of the environment as they pursue productive lives.” At Sterling, a
portfolio of information on green building was put together. The summary
included building materials and styles available and a record of how meetings
with faculty, administration, staff and students were organized. (Source:
Campus Ecology, National Wildlife Federation).
- Emory University: Emory is a growing
university. In anticipation of the new development projects that accompany
this, a major “green” building program was initiated. Three major
new buildings on campus are being built with the LEED certification in mind.
The LEED certification is an ambitions undertaking. (Source: Campus Ecology,
National Wildlife Federation.) More on this standard can be found under the
Case Library
report.
Potential Green
Strides at Colgate
University
- Stringent campus-wide green building
standards (LEEDS) for new construction and
renovations
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