Sustainability & Laudato Si' Committee

Purpose

The Laudato Si’ and Sustainability Committee is a cross-institutional working group responsible for overseeing the University’s participation in the seven-year Journey to deepen its commitment to integral ecology as envisioned in the Laudato Si’ Action Platform.

Co-chaired by the Vice President for Mission & Identity and the AVP for Facilities, the committee will report to the president of the University and collaborate with other University Committees as required to achieve its purposes.

Design & Construction Projects

Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) best practices were employed in all renovation and construction projects
Specify Rubber flooring, vinyl tile and carpet with recycled content
Material and furniture selections are sought from "Green" suppliers and manufacturers. This means low or no VOC's, recycled or sustainable material, minimum packaging, high durability and long life-cycles to reduce waste downstream
New energy efficient windows were added to both the Schott Dining Hall and RecPlex conference rooms
Energy efficient and Energy Star products were specified, when available
Non-hazardous construction and demolition waste is diverted from landfills
Crushed concrete from Bohannon Science Center used as fill under new parking lot
Crumb Rubber (ground recycled tires) used as infill for synthetic turf field at Don Shula Stadium
RTU and roof replacement - B-wing
Roofing and façade restoration - Dolan and Pacelli Halls, Rodman, DeCarlo Varsity Center, Grasselli Tower and Administration Building Arcades, Boiler House
Existing carpet removed and sent for recycling. New carpet with recycled content and low odor, low VOC paints:
- Administration Building, Library, Bernet and Campion Hall

4070 Carroll Blvd as Offices for the Department of Military Science

Renovated existing structure, new roof, new windows and façade restoration - increased attic and wall insulation
New high efficiency HVAC units and hot water tank
Six dumpsters of demolition material/construction waste was 100% recycled by Rosby Recycling

Bohannon Site Restoration and Hamlin Quad Improvement Project

Preserved and enhanced natural site elements. Provided 3.16 acres (56.4%) pervious area
Added bio-retention basin to enhance biodiversity and reduce and filter storm water runoff
Site lighting utilizes LED light fixtures to reduce energy use, sky glow and minimize lighting impact on nocturnal environments
Demolition debris was reused or recycled as follows:
- Furniture donated to local restaurant
- Concrete and masonry was crushed and reused on site
- Steel and other metals were salvaged for recycling - 2950 CYA

Track and Turf replacement

Old turf removed from site to be recycled
New synthetic turf:
- No water or fertilizers required
- Infill made from recycled tires

Murphy Hall Renovation

The renovation of John Carroll University's Murphy Hall residence hall has earned LEED Silver certification for sustainable features in its design, construction, and operation. Established by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices.

Murphy Hall is the University's first LEED-certified building. Sustainable strategies and practices in the renovation include: new windows; a well-insulated building envelope; maintenance and re-use of the building shell; and energy efficient lighting, electrical, and mechanical systems. Other features include electronically controlled low-flow plumbing fixtures and common area lighting, low-odor materials with recycled content, and multiple areas for recycling.

Energy & Water Use

The university has invested more than $1,500,000 since 2004 on energy conservation projects including:

Lighting upgrades in Campion, Hamlin, and Murphy Halls using electronic ballasts and more efficient LED, CFL, T8 and T5 lamps
New electric pickup truck
Boiler replacement in Campion Hall
Library cooling tower - filter media replacement
Installed motion sensors to turn off lights in laundry rooms and restrooms, and in Dolan Center classrooms and labs to turn off lights and reduce air supply in unoccupied spaces
Installed water saving low flow shower heads, automatic low flow faucets, and auto-flush toilets
Installed condensate recovery on Dolan Center Air Handling units
Replaced paper towel dispensers and inefficient electric hand dryers with high efficiency electric Xlerator hand dryers
Insulated boilers and hot water lines
Replaced old inefficient HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) equipment and controls with more efficient equipment

Food Services

Schott Dining Hall has been tray-less since 2008 (reducing food waste and minimizes water and energy needs for cleaning)
Reusable Take-out program in place along with the use of Bio-degradable containers diverting approximately 60,000 foam containers from the landfill
Excess food donated weekly to shelters
Began composting pre and post consumer food waste with Rosby Resource Recycling, to date 5+ tons of food waste has been composted
Serve 100% Fair Trade Certified coffee in Dining Hall, Java City, and all catered events; offer at least one Fair Trade Certified coffee blend in Einstein Bagel's at all times, other Fair Trade items used are sugar, tea, rice, chocolate, and bananas
JCU Dining has converted to 100% use of green cleaning products
100% diversion of used Fryer Oil
JCU Dining refill program (which offers $1 refills on both coffee and fountain beverages across campus) has diverted 8,000 paper cups since its inception in the fall of 2009
Total composted food waste continues to increase from previous years in 2012

Landscaping & Grounds

Created Hamlin Quad
25 acres on main campus (1.5 acres of display beds)
Eco-friendly fertilizers and de-icing products for snow melting
Reducing use of herbicides and pesticides
Added 14 bicycle racks on campus
Added 6,000 sq. ft. of native plant gardens
Switched from gasoline to propane fuel lawn mowers

Sustainable Business Practices

Administrative Services (Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Payroll, Human Resources)

Online/Electronic Form (Reduces Paper & Postage):
- Electronic (ACH) payments of most vendors
- Electronic (ACH) payroll deposits
- W2's are available via ACH (must opt into this program)
- JCU HR forms (most, except for some 3rd party insurance)
- Purchasing/Accounts Payable forms (under development)
Compressed 4-day work schedule offered
Priority is given to sourcing from regional vendor when appropriate and cost effective
Evaluating migrating all monthly credit card statement to electronic delivery

Auxiliary Services

Copy Center accepts job submissions electronically
New copy digital color production equipment allows for on-demand printing
Cast Certification system in the mail center can clean mailing lists to reduce wasted postage and mailing
Recycling of batteries, printers, cell phones conducted in departments
Packaging materials are recycled at the mail center
- Bulk Styrofoam is recycled at the mail center and at chemistry stores

Information Technology Services

Programmed shutdown of unused monitors/computers
Replacing LCD computer monitors with more energy efficient LED monitors
Networking printers & moving to higher-efficiency printers
Paperless admissions application system in place
University documents available online only (e.g., undergraduate bulletin, schedule of classes, & university directory)
Providing paper recycling bins in each computer lab
Limiting student printing budgets to minimize paper waste
Recommended power strip shutdown and end of day for individual offices
Virtualization of servers (running many servers on a single physical computer, thus reducing power consumption/demand in the data center dramatically)
Personal computer (PC) purchases are Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) and Energy Star certified
Recycling of PC's is done through a local firm (Ret3) that specializes in safe environmental disposal and salvage
PC's in classrooms and labs are set to power down during evening hours
Faculty/staff PC's use energy-saving mode, where they will go into hibernate (approximately 1% - 3% of normal power consumption) after a period of inactivity during working hours
Desktop virtualization in place in some classrooms & labs, and expanding to more locations each semester - 94% power reduction per unit compared to a traditional PC
The use of "Paper Cut" software for offices, enabling directed print to lower cost/high volume printers based on size of print job is proposed
Duplex printing for printers is the default mode
Moving towards online & electronic (paperless) administrative forms, both for submission and reporting (e.g., paperless W2 project)

Student Life

Student Life Initiatives

Spring 2014: "Don't Throw it Away... Give it Away!" during Residence Hall move-out: 351 pounds of food donated to the Cleveland Food Bank and 20 boxes (clothes, toiletries, supplies & appliances) donated to Vietnam Veterans of America.
Spring 2013: "Don't Throw it Away... Give it Away!" during Residence Hall move-out: 250 pounds of food donated to the Cleveland Food Bank and 22 boxes (clothes, toiletries, supplies & appliances) donated to The Salvation Army.
189 pieces of furniture equaling 6.52 tons were donated from the halls and shipped to Mixco, Guatemala through the Institution Recycling Network rather than sent to a landfill.
250 mattresses were donated and repurposed by Institution recycling Network.
Community Garden behind University Counseling Center supports local food pantry (sponsored by Center for Service-Learning & Social Action)
Spring 2012: "Don't Throw it Away... Give it Away!" during Residence Hall move-out: 365 pounds of food donated to the Cleveland Food Bank and 15 boxes (clothes, toiletries, supplies & appliances) donated to Goodwill Industries.
Residence halls equipped with recycling containers in every dorm room, with students actively participating in recycling initiatives.
New John Carroll Clothes Closet for recycling of gently used clothes.
2nd Water Bottle refill station added in the O'Malley Center.

2012 IRN Surplus Reuse Program Donations

188 pieces, equaling 9.8915 tons, of resident hall furniture was collected and shipped to development and relief efforts in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic.
55 pieces, equaling 5.369 tons, of residential furniture was collected and shipped to development and relief efforts in Santa Rosario, Guatemala.

Transportation

13 acres parking lots on 2 sites
Approximately 600 Faculty/Staff/Administrators (FSA's) commuting each day
Average daily commute for FSA's = 13,355 miles
Average yearly commute for FSA's = 2,205,296 miles
Approximately 50% of FSA's live within 5 miles of campus
JCU Fleet Vehicles (32 vehicles total)
- 10 - 15 Passenger Vans
- 1 - ADA 10 Passenger Van
- 10 - 6 Passenger Minivans
- 1 - Mail Delivery Minivan
- 2 - Pick-up Trucks - Grounds
- 1 - Dump Truck - Grounds
- 1 - 33 Passenger Bluebird Bus - Fleet Transportation
- 1 - 15 Passenger ADA Equipped Minibus - Fleet Transportation
- 2 - Ford Explorer CSS Patrol Vehicles
- 2 - Scrap Vehicles in transition out of the fleet
- 1 - Buick Enclave - President's
- 4 - Utility Golf Carts - Electric
- 1 - Utility Gator - Gas
- 2 - Utility Cushman - Gas
- 2 - Diesel Utility Tractors

The service mission of the university requires a relatively large fleet. The many passenger and minivans are used by students to travel to schools and local communities for services projects, student teaching and internships.