Sustainability

The new houses in the Loy Center will be among the most environmentally friendly residence facilities for college students in North Carolina when they open for the fall semester, and Elon University leaders are now in the process of applying for LEED for Homes certification through the U.S. Green Building Council with a target level of Silver.

Buy locally! Elon has a great farmers market near the Elon Community Church once a week (Thursdays from 3-6:30 p.m.), and you can find more local options at www.localharvest.org.

Author and environmentalist Anna Lappé spoke to a crowd of more than 200 people in McKinnon Hall on April 20 about industrial factory farming practices and the link to climate change.

RecycleMania 2011 came to a close at College Coffee on April 19 when students and area residence halls were honored for their efforts to reduce the amount of trash that goes into area landfills. The Elon contest was part of a national competition to see which schools could do the best job at recycling.

For the second year in a row, Elon University has been named one of the nation’s most “environmentally responsible green colleges” by the Princeton Review, in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council. The annual ranking profiles schools that “demonstrate notable commitments to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation.

Here’s a good excuse to shop online: You will save gas, carbon dioxide emissions and money by not driving to the store.

Always check to see if your products are recyclable. Don’t forget about items like shampoo bottles, egg cartons and more. Recycling information is usually available right on the bottom of product packaging. Like "Elon Sustainability" on Facebook for more information!

The Office of Sustainability presents the GREEN TIP of the week: Reducing shower time by just two minutes will save both CO2 emissions and decrease water usage.

Elon University has collected more than 30,000 pounds of material in the first four weeks of the national RecycleMania 2011 contest and is currently in 11th place in North Carolina for the total amount saved from landfills.