Sustainability Spotlight: Women’s Leadership Summit Goes Green
By Melyssa Allen
In addition to being the first Meredith event of its kind, the upcoming Women’s Leadership Summit is notable because it will be a “green” event, featuring several elements that support the College’s sustainability goals.
With support from sponsor Progress Energy, the summit organizers have secured carbon offsets for participants’ travel to and from the event, and for the College’s energy use during the summit.
Other green elements include meals featuring local food served on reusable dishes rather than disposable plates, composting and recycling at all summit events, decorating with organic or locally grown flowers, and printing programs and other materials on recycled paper using soy-based ink.
The summit also features a panel discussion for leaders who are interested in environmental action. The session, titled Women Leading Environmental Change, will feature sustainability leaders who will share emerging trends and tools for reshaping an organization’s sustainability vision and ways to leverage relationships across sectors for maximum impact. Session attendees will be offered a map for leading environmental change within their communities and workplace.
Meredith faculty, staff and students can attend the Summit at no charge. For more information, visit www.meredith.edu/summit.
Sustainability Coordinator Laura Fieselman, with assistance from sustainability summer intern Adair Mueller ,’11, has compiled a guide to help other Meredith faculty, staff and students incorporate sustainability into their programs. Visit www.meredith.edu/sustainability/resources, and click on the link titled “How to green your event, classroom, program and office.”
The guide includes tips for waste minimization, paper use, energy conservation, purchasing and emissions reduction.
Green Office Tips:
Fieselman offers additional advice for faculty and staff who are interested in reducing the use of plastic trashcan liners in their offices.
She suggests two options:
- Tape a note reading “please empty only when full” or “please don’t change bag if no wet trash” to your trashcan, alerting housekeeping staff to your green practices. Housekeeping will watch for these notes and empty the trash can accordingly.
- Repurpose your trashcan—send it over to Patty Blackwell to be re-purposed into a recycling bin and use the trash cans in your office break room or hallway instead.
Reducing the number of trashcan liners used is environmentally friendly and cost effective. In 2008-09, the Meredith College community used 197,200 plastic trash bags on campus, at a cost of $17,370.
For more information on sustainability at Meredith, visit www.meredith.edu/sustainability.
