| AU adopts Talloires Declaration to promote sustainability on campus BY MATT GETTY 
Photo by Jeff Watts
AU Interim President Neil Kerwin poses with Wynn Calder, associate director for the Talloires signatories, after signing the Talloires Declaration. AU Interim President Neil Kerwin committed the university to a 10-point action plan for promoting sustainability last Wednesday when he officially signed the Talloires Declaration during Campus Beautification Day. Drafted in Talloires, France, in 1990, the declaration serves as a public pledge for colleges and universities to practice environmentally sound policies, create a culture of sustainability, and increase environmental literacy. “The Talloires Declaration is an exciting example of our commitment to environmental sustainability,” said Kerwin before signing the document during the Campus Beautification Day barbecue lunch. Signing the pledge, he noted, builds on an environmentally sound reputation that includes AU’s use of biodiesel vehicles, commitment to recycling, and plans for a “green” design for the new SIS building. The initiative to join the more than 300 other universities who have signed the declaration began three years ago when the Environmental Issues Committee, headed by Facilities Management director Willy Suter, began to examine what AU needed to do to become a signatory. “We found that we were actually already in line with most of the declaration’s requirements,” said assistant director for grounds, support services, and vehicle maintenance Mark Feist. “The one thing that we probably hadn’t done a good job at over the years was telling the community about the good things going on here.” The student environmental group, EcoSense, helped the university take that next step last year when it petitioned the administration to sign the Talloires Declaration and make a public statement about its commitment to sustainability. “I’d like to thank the students for pushing us further and further in this direction,” said Kerwin, who also thanked the Environmental Issues Committee and noted the effort to become a Talloires signatory “involved all aspects of the university.” Though the ceremony marked the end of a long process, signing the agreement is only the first step, said Wynn Calder, the associate director of the secretariat for Talloires signatories, who spoke after Kerwin at the ceremony. “Signing this declaration is a public statement about the importance of these issues, but that’s just the beginning,” said Calder, who urged AU to develop a plan for enacting the Declaration’s principles with measurable benchmarks. According to Feist, AU already has several sustainability initiatives in the pipeline. Transportation Services, he said, has been working to convert the university’s shuttle fleet to biodiesel fuels for several years and expects the effort to be complete next month. Additionally, the grounds crew will plant sedum plants on the roof of the Media Production Center this summer to create a green roof that boosts insulation and cuts runoff by 80 percent. Before the lunch-time Talloires signing, more than 500 faculty, staff, and students made a direct contribution to greening AU’s campus during the 14th annual Campus Beautification Day. In addition to extensive planting and mulching across campus, this year’s Beautification Day focused on several sustainabilty initiatives. Volunteers planted 101 native trees in a reforestation effort on the hillside west of the Katzen Arts Center. EcoSense also sponsored a green transportation fair on the quad and brought to campus 50 kindergarten and first grade students from Horace Mann Elementary School to learn about recycling and other sustainability issues. “Campus Beautification Day has always been a green initiative, but now with AU doing so much to incorporate sustainable operations into our day-to-day life, the natural step is for the event to broaden to incorporate more of the good things we’re doing on campus,” said Feist. “Embracing sustainabilty [in an event like this] goes hand in hand with signing the Talloires Declaration.” |
