UW water use has decreased more than 30% since 2000 while the UW has ever more users.
UW Tacoma’s Project Earth program provides opportunities for students to work on environmental projects on and off campus.
.0=, ;/, .0-; 6- ,?;9(69+05(9@ 7,9-694(5*,: Salmon Safe awarded The UW Salmon-Safe CertiďŹ cation in 2010.
+(5*,
:OLU >LP +HUJL (Y[Z -LI 3Pa[ (SMVUZV +HUJL *\IH 4HY *O\UR` 4V]L (WY 0U[YVKHUZ 4H`
*/(4),9 4<:0*
(left) UW Recycling and Solid Waste staff is pivotal in keeping UW sustainable. At right, Chris Wren (left) and driver Ed Lyle load reusable items for charity.
GREEN FO OD
AWA R D S
Local products make good eating
The UW is recognized nationally for its work
Wilcox Farms cage-free eggs from Roy, Wash.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;the ones with the orange yolks the way eggs are supposed to look. Truesoup prepared in Kent. Theoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fair-trade chocolate handcrafted from bean to bar in Fremont. Tullyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coffee roasted daily in Sumner and served in compostable cups. The list goes on and on. UW Housing & Food Services has a long list of local vendors that meet the definition of local: no more than 250 miles away from the UW campuses. The result? An eye-popping 54 percent of the $9 million the UW spends on food is spent on food from local sources. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You can have a huge impact if you have the support of administrators, faculty and students, which we do at the UW,â&#x20AC;? says Micheal Meyering, project and sustainability manager for UW Housing & Food Services. Take the venerable potato chips served at the hot-dog cart on Red Square. The UW purchases local raw potato-chip slices, fries them in trans-fat-free oil at By George and then puts them into a compostable bag for customers to enjoy.
Sometimes when the kudos pile up you have to take a bow. So it is with the UW and its accolades for sustainable practices. Sierra Magazine, the official publication of the Sierra Club, named the UW the â&#x20AC;&#x153;coolestâ&#x20AC;? school in the U.S. for its initiatives to operate sustainably and for limiting the Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contributions to global warming. This is the fourth year in a row the UW has been included in the Sierra Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list of top-ranked schools. In addition, the Princeton Review named the UW to its Green Honor Roll. The UW is one of 16 schools lauded for having a campus quality of life that is healthy and sustainable for students, for how well the school is preparing its students for employment and citizenship in a world defined by environmental challenges, and for the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overall commitment to environmental issues. To view a longer list of awards and designations about the UWâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sustainability, go to: http://green.washington.edu/ess/ promote/uw-awards. â&#x2013; â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Julie Garner is a contributing editor for Columns
;YPV JVU )YPV *VWLUOHNLU 1HU 9P[a *OHTILY 7SH`LYZ -LI *HSKLY 8\HY[L[ 4HY ,TLYZVU :[YPUN 8\HY[L[ (WY
70(56 9,*0;(3
1HU 3PZPLJRP -LI .HYYPJR 6OSZZVU 4HY (UNLSH /L^P[[ 4H`
>693+ 4<:0*
*OH]H (SILYZ[LPU +LJ 3HK`ZTP[O )SHJR 4HTIHaV 4HY *LKYPJ >H[ZVU )PQV\ *YLVSL (WY (SS ZOV^Z H[ 4LHU` /HSS VU [OL <> *HTW\Z 7HJRHNLZ HUK ZPUNSL [PJRL[Z H]HPSHISL Â&#x2039; \^^VYSKZLYPLZ VYN
December 2011
33