The Office of Sustainability is officially launching two new programs to help our campus achieve the goals laid out in the Paris Climate Accord to keep the earth’s global temperature from increasing by two degrees Celsius and avoid any major changes to the climate. Our country may have backed out, but colleges and universities across the US are saying, “We’re Still In.” Berea College is one of them.

Office of Admissions receiving their certification plaque

Institutional Research receiving their Green Office Certification Plaque

Our Green Office Certification program takes a holistic approach at looking at the ecosystem of the Office by providing green office practices and policies for everything from printing paper to ensuring lights and appliances are unplugged each day. Offices are encouraged to create a “Green Team” of office workers to be responsible for maintaining green office practices. Spear heading the certification process is Green Office Certification Coordinator, Rachel Hidding, whose enthusiasm speaks for itself, “I hope to see every office on campus receive Green Office Certification one day.”

The Office of Admissions (certified excellent) and the Institutional Research office (certified) were the first two offices to receive certification, playing a vital role in establishing our program. This year the Student Life Office in Woods-Penn and Frost Cottage have both received certification, both earning our first ever Exemplary ratings.

Our new Zero Waste Events program takes the idea of a closed loop system and helps event planners across campus divert waste from the landfill into our own greenhouse compost. Any club or campus organization can utilize the services offered by the Office of Sustainability and help Berea achieve its “We’re Still In” goals.

Whether your event is for two or 200, we’ve got you covered. Last year, we composted 919lbs from on campus events alone. Here are our Zero Waste Champions from the 2017-2018 school year:

Thrive Wellness, Center of International Education, Brushy Fork Institute, Interfaith Center, Homecoming, Alumni Relations.

This year at the Presidents Opening Convocation, we fed about 1,000 guests and produced only 146lbs of compost and ONE garbage bag of trash weighing seven pounds.