Cornell University Greeks Go Green
The Beginning
Cornell Greeks Go Green was started by Christina Copeland
(myself) and Kristen Vitro (Cornell 2011). Kristen and I were both environmental
science majors, involved in environmental activism on campus, and in Greek life
(myself in Alpha Chi Omega, and Kristen in Alpha Zeta). I lived in my sorority
house sophomore year, and was disturbed by the lack of recycling and use of
disposable dishes at almost every meal. Our house had problems with overflowing
trashcans in the bathrooms and common areas, which lead to smells and
complaints from the cleaning staff. After talking to my friends in other
houses, I learned that similar problems such as the lack of recycling and
overabundance of disposable dishes were common in many other houses. Kristen and I began planning with the VPs of
Programming on Panhel and IFC in December of 2008, and our plans were really
put into action at the start of 2009.
Why do we need GGG?
One of our first steps was to create an online survey
asking general questions about sustainability within chapters. The following
statistics paint an overall picture of why a Greeks Go Green program was needed
at Cornell. Thirty-four chapters completed the online survey (out of the 53
chapters at Cornell with houses), which asked general questions about recycling
efforts and how often disposable dishes are used. It was found that out of the
23 fraternities that responded, more than half are not always recycling cans
and bottles after a party. Fraternity
parties can generate literally thousands of cans, so this is a serious area for
improvement. Regarding everyday recycling, out of the 34 chapters that
completed this area of the survey, more than half don’t have an effective
recycling program. Regarding disposable dishes, around half of the 31 chapters
who answered this area of the survey use disposable dishes the majority of the
time.
Logistics
With the help of the VPs of
Programming, each chapter was encouraged to elect a member to serve as
Sustainability Chair. This position entailed finding ways for their chapter to live
more sustainably, such as by implementing a recycling program, working with
their chef or cleaning staff on green purchasing, finding environmental
education opportunities for members, et cetera. In the spring semester,
the program was kicked off at the A.D. White Leadership conference in February
2009, which the executive boards of every chapter are required to attend. We
had an hour long panel and showed a PowerPoint presentation to about 40 people.
The fraternity and sorority houses were divided into three groups, and each
group was assigned one of the three goals, and as the semester went on the
goals were rotated through each group. The first goal was to have every house either
implement or improve their recycling system. In the second goal, GGG partnered
with Hillel, which donated 500 Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs to GGG and went
to houses that scheduled a time, to give a brief presentation on energy
efficiency and switch out incandescent bulbs for CFL’s. In the third goal, we
encouraged houses to pick their own project that worked best for their house,
and gave them several suggestions such as looking into the feasibility of
composting, looking at the environmental impact of food, and focusing on water
and energy efficiency.
Cornell Cooperative Extensions: GGG Intern
Composting
The composting presentations for
chapter meetings are intended to explain to chapter members what composting is,
how it works, why it’s good for the environment, and show the potential for
composting within a chapter house. From the experience of my own house, I feel
that composting is an excellent option for some Greek houses. In my house,
usually a third of the food was left over at the end of the night, and it would
go into the trash and contribute to waste problems of container overflow and odor. I contacted my Nationals asking for a copy of our trash invoice, and
found that we were paying over $300 a month to have our dumpster emptied
three times a week. This was completely unnecessary, and I worked with our new Sustainability Chair to implement composting in our house (Alpha Chi
Omega). There is a service in Ithaca called Cayuga Compost, which is a pick-up
system for composting, and anything that isn’t plastic, metal, glass, or
Styrofoam can be put into it. They drop off a steam-cleaned 64-gallon tote each
week, and pick up the tote full of compostables. By cutting down our trash
pick-ups to twice a week we save $100 per month, and we will be using the
services of Cayuga Composting (which costs $37/month, so by composting we are
saving $63 per month). By implementing composting, we are able to keep much of
our waste out of the dumpster, and save money in the process. Another sorority
house uses the same company of Cayuga Compost, and during the year of 2010 they
composted 7,683 pounds!
Tompkins County also has a program called Master Composters – to become a “Master Composter,” community members (including interested Cornell students) take the semester long class to learn everything about composting, and then have to complete 40 hours of community outreach/volunteering about compost. They are trained to give presentations to the public and help people set up compost systems. I worked with Master Composters to create a ten minute presentation with the idea that houses can request them to come to Chapter Meetings and present. The ten minute interactive presentation we’ve created goes over the basics of composting with the goal of creating awareness and showing people composting potentials. The Master Composters are also available to help houses set up their own composting program.
Tompkins County also has a program called Master Composters – to become a “Master Composter,” community members (including interested Cornell students) take the semester long class to learn everything about composting, and then have to complete 40 hours of community outreach/volunteering about compost. They are trained to give presentations to the public and help people set up compost systems. I worked with Master Composters to create a ten minute presentation with the idea that houses can request them to come to Chapter Meetings and present. The ten minute interactive presentation we’ve created goes over the basics of composting with the goal of creating awareness and showing people composting potentials. The Master Composters are also available to help houses set up their own composting program.
Tompkins County Solid Waste Pilot Program
My other main project that I
worked on over the summer and fall of 2009 is a pilot program with Tompkins County Solid Waste Management
and Greeks Go Green. Three
houses were chosen through an application process to receive “waste
assessments”. TCSW has a goal of 75% waste reduction in Tompkins County by 2015
(right now we’re at 58%). To reach this goal they’ve been doing much work with
the community, as well as Cornell, but one area they haven’t really touched is
the Greek system. Accounting for about 4,000 people, there is great potential.
The waste assessment gauges the waste stream and recycling and reusing
potential of houses by conducting an on-site walk through, with program experts
from Tompkins County Solid Waste.
The concept of “waste assessments” is based off of TCSW’s “Rebusiness Partners” program, in which they perform waste assessments on local businesses. So far over 150 businesses in Tompkins County are Rebusiness Partners, and the program is moving onto apartment complexes. For more info on TCSW's “Rebusiness Partners” program and waste assessments, see http://www.recycletompkins.org/EditorsTree/view/2/335/. Each participating house received a personalized waste report, which included recommendations for establishing and strengthening a waste reduction program (aspects of which they are then expected to try implementing). The pilot program is part of a longer-term Greeks Go Green effort to create a culture of sustainability and waste reduction. At the foundation of the program is a waste assessment modeled on Tompkins County Soil Waste Division’s waste assessments for businesses. The procedure of the waste assessments and related support is a replicable model. With the help of trained students, other Greek houses at Cornell and elsewhere will be able to follow the model and expand the culture of sustainability and waste reduction.
Over the summer I shadowed waste assessments that TCSWM was performing in the Ithaca community, and adapted their final reports to apply to Greek houses. Over the Fall 2009 Semester I performed the waste assessments with Kat McCarthy, a staff member from TCSWM. I wrote up the final reports for each house, and have been in touch with each house throughout the semester. I found through this pilot program that what many of the Greek houses need is the special attention that a waste assessment provides. With the participants in the pilot program, I found that once they have specific recommendations, that gives them the nudge to start making sustainable changes.
The concept of “waste assessments” is based off of TCSW’s “Rebusiness Partners” program, in which they perform waste assessments on local businesses. So far over 150 businesses in Tompkins County are Rebusiness Partners, and the program is moving onto apartment complexes. For more info on TCSW's “Rebusiness Partners” program and waste assessments, see http://www.recycletompkins.org/EditorsTree/view/2/335/. Each participating house received a personalized waste report, which included recommendations for establishing and strengthening a waste reduction program (aspects of which they are then expected to try implementing). The pilot program is part of a longer-term Greeks Go Green effort to create a culture of sustainability and waste reduction. At the foundation of the program is a waste assessment modeled on Tompkins County Soil Waste Division’s waste assessments for businesses. The procedure of the waste assessments and related support is a replicable model. With the help of trained students, other Greek houses at Cornell and elsewhere will be able to follow the model and expand the culture of sustainability and waste reduction.
Over the summer I shadowed waste assessments that TCSWM was performing in the Ithaca community, and adapted their final reports to apply to Greek houses. Over the Fall 2009 Semester I performed the waste assessments with Kat McCarthy, a staff member from TCSWM. I wrote up the final reports for each house, and have been in touch with each house throughout the semester. I found through this pilot program that what many of the Greek houses need is the special attention that a waste assessment provides. With the participants in the pilot program, I found that once they have specific recommendations, that gives them the nudge to start making sustainable changes.
The Committee
During the Summer of 2009 I also
began laying the foundation for a Greeks Go Green Committee, working with
Jarrod Cruz (the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Webmaster) on
posting an online application to be a member on the committee. We had weekly meetings,
and much of the beginning of the committee was figuring out logistics. As a new
committee, Greeks Go Green elected a new e-board for the Fall 2009
The committee is organized in several ways. Firstly, each of the initial 24 GGG Committee members was assigned three chapters to work with. Each GGG member got in contact with the Sustainability Chair at their 3 houses, and has gotten a sense of where improvements can be made in sustainability. They email their houses once a month to check-in, and share projects and resources that the GGG Committee has been working on. Also, if their houses have any questions (for example, how to start recycling in their house) or want to share a success, they have a person on the committee to contact. In summary, each house on campus has a representative working with them to improve an existing recycling system or implement a new one, identify green solutions for the individual chapter, and provide information for chapters on green purchasing, and composting.
In addition to electing a new e-board and assigning representatives for each of the 69 Greek chapters at Cornell, we divided into project teams to focus our efforts on green purchasing, outreach, composting, and recycling.
For more information on Greeks Go Green visit our website at www.rso.cornell.edu/greeksgogreen or become a fan on Facebook! Search for Cornell Greeks Go Green, or visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cornell-Greeks-Go-Green/167349141970.
The committee is organized in several ways. Firstly, each of the initial 24 GGG Committee members was assigned three chapters to work with. Each GGG member got in contact with the Sustainability Chair at their 3 houses, and has gotten a sense of where improvements can be made in sustainability. They email their houses once a month to check-in, and share projects and resources that the GGG Committee has been working on. Also, if their houses have any questions (for example, how to start recycling in their house) or want to share a success, they have a person on the committee to contact. In summary, each house on campus has a representative working with them to improve an existing recycling system or implement a new one, identify green solutions for the individual chapter, and provide information for chapters on green purchasing, and composting.
In addition to electing a new e-board and assigning representatives for each of the 69 Greek chapters at Cornell, we divided into project teams to focus our efforts on green purchasing, outreach, composting, and recycling.
For more information on Greeks Go Green visit our website at www.rso.cornell.edu/greeksgogreen or become a fan on Facebook! Search for Cornell Greeks Go Green, or visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cornell-Greeks-Go-Green/167349141970.
Spring 2011 Projects
Greeks Go Green took charge of several projects
since spring of 2010. We held an annual clothing swap
during the week of Earth Day, to promote reuse. Student and community members brought in clothing that’s in good condition but they no longer wear, and
trade it with other peoples' clothing. The second annual GGG Clothing Swap was on April 1st, 2011. I also worked to bring a speaker to
Cornell’s campus – Summer Rayne Oakes, a Cornell alumna who has branded herself
as the first “eco-model”. She is a model, but she only works with companies
that are corporately responsible. She’s been named one of the Top Ten Green
Entrepreneurs of 2010 by CNBC, and is currently working on founding a business
that connects designers with sustainable textile producers. For more
information, go to: http://www.summerrayne.net/. Here are some
more links to articles about Summer, and the new Green Clothing Alliance of
2011: From business magazine Inc.: http://www.inc.com/articles/2010/12/summer-rayne-oakes.html - NYTimes article about the sustainability of the clothing market and the new Sustainable Apparel Coalition: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/business/01apparel.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25
- Article highlighting Summer's participation in the Uniform Project this March: http://www.retailingtoday.com/article/payless-finds-good-model-sustainability
Here are two articles from the Cornell Daily Sun on Summer's visit to campus: http://cornellsun.com/node/46663, and http://cornellsun.com/node/46586
- Article highlighting Summer's participation in the Uniform Project this March: http://www.retailingtoday.com/article/payless-finds-good-model-sustainability
Here are two articles from the Cornell Daily Sun on Summer's visit to campus: http://cornellsun.com/node/46663, and http://cornellsun.com/node/46586
I spearheaded the creation of GGG’s new website in the
Fall of 2010, which can be seen here: www.rso.cornell.edu/greeksgogreen
. It is much more comprehensive and aesthetically pleasing than the
previous website, and I’m very excited about it! We also partnered with Slope
Media to create short tutorial video’s to put on the website; here is our first
one, titled “How to Clean Up After a
Party”: http://www.slopemedia.org/television/go-green/greeksgogreen/
In the video, we advertise our new recycling bins.
Quality recycling bins – sturdy, large, have covers to prevent inappropriate
use – are very expensive and usually cost several hundred dollars. One of the
committee members suggested that the best way to get fraternities to recycle
was to create bins that looked like giant Keystone Beer cans, so it was really
obvious what the purpose of the bin was. We took off with this idea, and were
able to secure sturdy, large blue tubular bins from a nearby Watershed Office
(they used to hold chemicals that are put into drinking water – don’t worry,
they were rinsed multiple times!). Cornell Grounds helped us pick up about 20
of them, and also cut the tops off and drilled two can sized holes in them. I
worked with a graphic designer to create the signage for the bins which looks
like the Keystone logo but says “Recycle” instead of “Keystone Light”. We are
currently selling these bins for $20, which is equal to the redeemable value of
the amount of aluminum cans that fill the bin.
Another project worked on is a rating system for Chapters, to give them a “score” on sustainability. Participation is voluntary, and after GGG members assess the Chapter they will assign it a certain number of leaves – one leaf is the lowest, and five leaves means you are doing everything possible to be sustainable. Chapter’s LEAF rankings can change, and the criteria and concept is loosely based off of the L.E.E.D. Certification program. For more information about the LEAF rating system, see this article from the Cornell Daily Sun: http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2011/02/11/leaf-rating-system-rewards-greek-sustainability. It is also featured as a case study on AASHE's website (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education): http://www.aashe.org/resources/case-studies/greeks-go-green-leaf-rating-system.
Another project worked on is a rating system for Chapters, to give them a “score” on sustainability. Participation is voluntary, and after GGG members assess the Chapter they will assign it a certain number of leaves – one leaf is the lowest, and five leaves means you are doing everything possible to be sustainable. Chapter’s LEAF rankings can change, and the criteria and concept is loosely based off of the L.E.E.D. Certification program. For more information about the LEAF rating system, see this article from the Cornell Daily Sun: http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2011/02/11/leaf-rating-system-rewards-greek-sustainability. It is also featured as a case study on AASHE's website (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education): http://www.aashe.org/resources/case-studies/greeks-go-green-leaf-rating-system.