Professional Writing

Going Green at USF

By: The Go Green Researchers

Written By: Kiana Bowen, Annalee Caldwell, Swiyyah Woodward, Andrew Baird
Produced for: Dr. Tobienne

Executive Summary
Sustainability and the Going Green movement is growing and more and more
people are starting to spread awareness about how we can decrease our eco footprints.
The EPA defines pursuing sustainability as to create and maintain the conditions under
which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future
generations. Sustainability is all about bettering and having an impact on our
environment so that humans and nature can coexist. The National Environmental Policy
act was passed in 1969 and today, an even larger amount of people and students are
recognizing going green and sustainability as a way of life.
Practicing sustainability can come in all different forms but we would like to talk
about the practices that students, USF students in particular, have today. Majors that
focus on the environment are now being offered on campus. Alternatives for special
foods and transportation are also being offered. Students are going above and beyond
by starting environmental awareness groups for fellow students. The school is even
coordinating power companies within the community to come up with new and
innovative ways to save two of the biggest factors of sustainability, energy and water.
In this report we will recognize the ways students are already helping our
community and our school, USF, to go green. We will also work to inform others on ways
that they can join in on the journey to healthy and green living for us and well as for our
environment.

November 2015
2

Table of Contents
Executive Summary. 2
Introduction. 4
Part One: Sustainability Inside the Classroom. 5
The Patel College of Global Sustainability
Environmental Clubs
Green Comparative Report Card
Part Two: Sustainability Outside the Classroom.9
Green Buildings
Green Transportation
Part Three: Sustainability in the Community.13
Department of Energy
Projects Within the Community
Conclusion.16
Glossary...17
Bibliography.18

November 2015
3

Introduction
We believe students, especially students attending the University of South Florida,
play a substantial role in the contribution of ideas and and ways to promote and raise
awareness for sustainability and healthy living. Currently, there arent an extensive
amount of green colleges, or colleges that put the bettering of our environment to the
forefront. Green Colleges are important because there are more than 4300 higher
learning institutions in our country alone, and each of those institutions is leaving a
carbon footprint. Each year that an institution adds a green building to their campus or
starts a recycling program etc. our carbon footprint is reduced and we can save energy,
water, money, and reduce waste. According to the Princeton Review, there are 353
green colleges in the country, USF being 1 of them.
The University of South Florida has been named a green school because we have
been making important strives for our community whether that be buying food locally for
our campuses or offering a bike share or carpool transportation alternative. Students as
well as faculties and directors have been working hard to have our school recognized as
an example of sustainability for the rest of the community.

November 2015
4

Part One
Sustainability Inside the Classroom
USF is offering different ways to study sustainability and the environment in the
classroom as well during extracurricular hours.

The Patel College of Global Sustainability

The Patel College of Global Sustainability is a school within USF that studies the
environment and comes up with new and innovative way to decrease our ecological
footprint. The Patel College of Global Sustainability is continuously expanding and
growing as new students and innovators are admitted into the college. While their
primary focus of the college is the wellness of the environment, the faculty as well as the
students are working hard to tackle problems such as civil society, poverty, hunger,
conflict resolution, and diplomacy. This college is held in high regard in our community
as well as internationally and seen as a sort of hub of sustainability.

While studying this major students can take courses that focus on sustainable
water resources, coastal & marine habitat protection and management, environmental
health and many more. There is also a choice of a concentration within the major that
lets students direct their attention toward sustainable water efforts, sustainable energy
efforts, or ecotourism. The college uses the information and data that students collect to
help cities around the world and even developing countries live a healthier and more
sustainable life.
November 2015
5

In addition to the sustainability majors that the Patel College of Global

Sustainability offers, there are a few initiative that the school is involved in as well. Some
of the initiatives include Tampa Bay Clean Cities, Transitioning of Urban Infrastructure,
and an Education Outreach. In the Tampa Bay Clean Cities Initiative, the mission is to get
the Tampa Bay region to use non petroleum based fuels for transportation to improve
the health and welfare of the citizens of the Tampa Bay area. With the Transitioning of
Urban Infrastructure Initiative aims to develop methods and techniques for the long
term continuous phased change of existing urban infrastructure systems and their
associated governance and financial models, to an optimized future system. This
initiative is more geared toward the hopes that we can save our environment before 60%
of the population is living in big, polluted cities. The last initiative is the Education
Outreach which is a partnership with Hillsborough County K-12 schools that will help
expand young minds and make them aware of the issues happening in our environment
today.

Environmental Clubs
One of the biggest ways that students are stepping up to further along the going
green movement is the creation of sustainability clubs on campus. While all of these
clubs focus on different aspects of sustainability, all of the clubs have the same goal of
making USF more of a green environment. SEAS or the student environmental awareness
society is the longest running club at USFSP and raises awareness for environmental
issues, activities that can be done outdoors and just the overall going green efforts. The
Garden club educates students on sustainable urban farming techniques, healthy foods,
and the benefits of shopping locally. The garden club also has a garden on campus for
students who dont have room for a personal garden but want to further their knowledge
on farming techniques. The Environmental Science and Sustainability club or ESSC holds
the same values and goals of SEAS, the biggest difference being ESSC collaborates with
different companies and gets involved with sustainability projects across the community.
USF even has a formal sustainability committee in place. A few years ago USFSP
enacted the going green initiative. Since then there have been a multitude of different
projects, fundraisers and resources provided from and for the students of USFSP. A
green energy fund that has been started where students help to decide on projects to
November 2015
6

make their campus green, and USFSP holds a science fair every year that helps to
increase public knowledge about sustainable living
Students at all of our USF campuses are encouraged to join these clubs to find out
more about our environment or even start a club for themselves. Information of these
clubs can be found on the USFSP website.
USF, as stated above is one of 353 green colleges and one of the top green
colleges in Florida. We have decided to compare it to another of Floridas top
universities,Florida State College, in a green report card.

University of South Florida

Florida State

Overall Grade

Grade: B+

Grade: C

Administration

Grade: A

Grade: C

Climate Change and Energy

Grade: B

Grade: D

Food and Recycling

Grade: B

Grade: C

Green Building

Grade: A

Grade: C

Student Involvement

Grade: A

Grade: C

November 2015
7

TheUniversityofSouthFloridahas
aformalsustainabilitypolicyand
incorporatessustainabilityinthe
campusmasterplanandstrategic
plan.

USFhasconductedagreenhouse
gasemissionsinventoryandis
workingtoreduceemissionswith
theaidofcarbonoffsets.To
decreaseenergyuse,heatrecovery
systems,lightingsystems,and
energyefficientlightingfixtureshave
beeninstalled.

Diningservicesspends28percent
ofitsfoodbudgetonlocalproducts,
andpurchasessomehormoneand
antibioticfreeicecreamproducts.

Twobuildingsarebeingevaluated
forLEEDGoldcertification,and
severalothersmeetLEEDcriteria.

Thecampusishometomany
studentsustainabilitygroups,

FloridaStateUniversityhasan
officialsustainabilitypolicysignedby
thepresident.

Theuniversityhastakenvarious
measurestoimproveenergy
efficiencyoncampus,includingthe
installationoflightingsensorsand
efficientlighting,retrocommissioning
ofHVACsystems,and
implementationoftemperature
setbacks.

Inordertoreducewaste,thedining
hallshavebeencompletelytrayless
since2005.Alltogocontainers
usedoncampusaremadefrom
biodegradablematerialsorrecycled
content,anddiscountsareoffered
tostudentswhousereusablemugs.

FSUmandatesthatallnewbuildings
striveforatleastLEEDSilver
certification.

Theuniversityishometoseveral
studentenvironmentalgroups

includingtheUSFStudent
CommunityGardens,theStudent
EnvironmentalAssociation,and
EmergingGreenBuilders.

workingonavarietyofissuessuch
asrecyclingandlittercleanup.

Transportation

Grade: A

Grade: C

Endowment Transparency

Grade: A

Grade: C

Investment Priorities

Grade: A

Grade: C

Shareholder Engagement

Grade: D

Grade: N/A

Part Two
November 2015
8

USFofferspreferredparkingfor
carpoolersandisworkingona
largescaleridesharingprogram.

Theuniversitymakesalistofall
holdings,aswellasalistofvotes
castonproxyresolutionsona
companyspecificlevel,includingthe
numberofshares,availabletothe
publicperopenrecordslaw.

Theuniversityaimstooptimize
investmentreturnsandiscurrently
investedinrenewableenergyfunds.

Theuniversityprovidesits
investmentmanagerswithgeneral
guidelinesthatdetermineitsproxy
votes.

Theuniversityoffersdiscountedbus
passesonTallahasseepublictransit
fortheentireschoolcommunity
uponpresentingschoolID.Afree
shuttleserviceisofferedtoonand
offcampusdestinations.

TheFloridaStateUniversity
Foundationmakesalistofall
holdingsavailabletothepublicupon
request.Thefoundationdoesnot
makeitsshareholdervotingrecord
public.

Thefoundationaimstooptimize
investmentreturnsanddoesnot
investtheendowmentinoncampus
sustainabilityprojects,renewable
energyfunds,orcommunity
developmentloanfunds.

Theuniversityandthefoundationdo
nothavetheabilitytovoteproxies,
astheentireendowmentisinvested
inmutualfunds.

Sustainability Outside the Classroom

Green Buildings
USFSP has two green buildings currently on campus. The buildings are the
science and technology building and the university student center. The college also has
plans for the new Kate Tiedemann College of Business building to be a green building.
For a building to meet the green classification they must meet LEED gold certification
standards. Features of USFSPs green buildings include: construction pollution
reduction, close proximity to public transportation, water efficient landscaping and 20%
recycled content used in building materials. In addition to having green buildings,
USFSP has also taken it a step further by only using green cleaning products to clean
the buildings around campus. These products must meet LEED guidelines and must be
proven sustainable products.
As was mentioned before, all of the green buildings on campus must meet LEED
gold certification standards. The US Green Building Council divides the certification
standards into six main parts: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy & atmosphere,
materials & resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation & design processes.
Each category has required standards and then they also have additional credits that
buildings can earn. Depending on how many credits the building earns that will
determine what kind of certification the building will receive. The project needs between
twenty-six and thirty-two points to become certified. If a project were to earn between
thirty-three and thirty-eight points the project would be silver certified. If a project had
between thirty-nine and fifty-one points, like the buildings at USFSP, the project would be
gold certified. Lastly, if a project were to earn between fifty-two and sixty-nine points,
with the highest points possible being sixty-nine, the project would be platinum certified.
Taking a closer look at the six sections of the certification standards, the
sustainable sites section deals with alternative transportation, storm water management
and erosion & sedimentation control. An example of this at USFSP is its close proximity to
bus stops and the ample bike storage on campus which promotes students to take public
transportation or bike. The water efficiency section deals with water efficient
landscaping, innovate wastewater technologies and water use reduction. Efficient
landscaping is exactly what it looks like. An example of this could be having sprinklers
November 2015
9

that are on timers so that they dont waste water or using moving equipment that is
battery powered rather than powered by gasoline. The energy & atmosphere section
deals with renewable energy, ozone depletion, and green power. Green power could be
anything from windmills to solar power. The materials & resources section deals with
building/resource reuse, construction waste management, recycled content, and
local/regional materials. An example of this would be USFSP using at least twenty percent
recycled building materials in the Science and Technology building and the University
Student Center. The indoor environmental quality deals with environmental tobacco
smoke control, carbon dioxide monitoring, low-emitting materials, and daylight & views.
An example of tobacco smoke control at USFSP would be that the campus is a smoke
free campus. The daylight & views criteria is talking about how much daylight is able to
light the campus. The more daylight, the less the school is spending on electricity to keep
the school lit. The last section, innovation & design processes deals with innovations
within the design of the building. This section does not have specific criteria for the
project to meet, it is a general category for any additional innovations that the project
has incurred that do not fit in another category.

Green Transportation
Not only does USFSP have green buildings, they also have green
transportation. USFSP has many energy efficient options when it comes to getting to
class or just making your way through downtown. One of the programs that USFSP offers
is the Enterprise Car Share Program. With this
program students, faculty, and the general public can purchase a membership
and then reserve a car online. USFSP students must be at least 18 years of age to
purchase a membership and non-USFSP students must be at least 21 years of age to
purchase a membership. Prices start at $8.50/hr. and include fuel, basic physical damage
and state-required liability protection. This program is considered part of the green
movement because all of the cars used in the program are energy efficient. The program
is also environmentally sustainable because it makes it possible for people to not have to
have their own individual vehicle.
Another program offered at USFSP is the Bike-A-Bull program. With this program
students can use their university ID to rent a bike for twenty-four hours. Students are
required to sign an agreement waiver when they rent the bike and are given two lights, a
November 2015
10

helmet, and a lock. This is a good green transportation option for students because
bikes do not give off toxic emissions like cars do. Not to mention that it is also a good
option to help students who want to stay active through biking, but do not have the
equipment to do so. Bikes can easily be rented at the Waterfront between 11 a.m. and 5
p.m.

In addition to the Enterprise Car Share Program and the Bike-A-Bull program,
USFSP also offers electric car charging stations on campus that are free for students,
faculty, and the general public to use. These car charging stations have been donated to
the campus by Nissan the Duke Energy SunSense program. The charging stations at the
St. Petersburg campus have the capability to fully charge a vehicle in a little as thirty
minutes. These charging stations were installed to fulfill the schools goal of eliminating
greenhouse gas emissions. The school also has priority parking for these electric vehicles
and other low-emission vehicles throughout the campus.
Another great program for green transportation that the campus offers is the
PSTA U-Pass Program. With this program the university pays PSTA a flat rate every year
so that the USFSP students, faculty, and staff can ride any of the 200 PSTA busses and
any of their trolleys. All students, staff, and faculty have to do is simply show their USFSP
ID when they board.

November 2015
11

Part Three
November 2015
12

Sustainability in the Community

Department of Energy
Energy.gov shows how different colleges are making strides in going green. One
student Eric Barendsen is an Energy Technology Program Specialist. He states that,
Energized students on campuses across the United States are learning at a young age
just how much money and energy that they can save by taking some easy, energy-saving
steps. Me for an example, even though I dont own any part of Usf, I also make strides to
reduce energy cost. Students can do things as simple as turning of the light in the
restroom if no ones in there. They can also help by printing work on both sides of a
paper instead of one-sided sheets, and using the recycle bin to throw away soda cans
and water bottles. There are so many bins on campus. Eric also states that students have
been entering into contest for the last four years to see which dorm can save the most
energy. It is called, Kill-a-Watt. Eric states that, Students are doing things like turning
the air-conditioner down when they are not home and using power strips with small
appliances and electronics to cut off electric equipment that use power even when
turned off. Students win scholarships and prizes for being energy efficient. There has
also been a contest called, Americas Greenest Campus. Which challenged students in
many states to compete to reduce their carbon footprints. Students learned valuable
energy saving tips gotten from this challenge. And prizes up to 5,000 were awarded to
different colleges that had the most participants. Eric states that, on the west coast,
twelve California Universities and three community colleges have built a student-led
initiative that educates and engages students to save energy, to get green job training,
and to improve the overall energy awareness of their student bodies. The Green Campus
program was apart of the Alliance to save energys outreach efforts. It is good that one
College in Indiana provides training for green jobs. It is called a free
weatherization-training course and it gives students of different races an ability to jump
onto those jobs in the clean-energy economy. Some employers will want to hire a
student that has this experience to show how their company can make more money by
going green. David Blais says, I think when you introduce them to some of the theories
and practices that were promoting, its an wakening. He is a professor at Ivy Tech.
November 2015
13

Students also learn team building and how to interact and cooperate with people in
different roles from their own. But the main goal of the program is to prepare
contractors to be able to work of Recovery Act-Funded homes and teach them the
expectations of the weatherization program. Ivy Tech Community College trained 1,557
students in 2009 in their weatherization courses. He stated that these courses brings to
light that energy is limited and we have to be mindful of how we spend and conserve it.
Energy.gov also shows how individual students are deciding to go green. Some
students buy mini-fridges for less than 100.00. Students are buying those fridges that
have an energy star-label attached. Appliances with these labels meet a specific set of
energy-efficiency standards thats saving students hundreds of dollars per year on
electricity. Students are also reminded to replace that incandescent bulb in their flexible
desk lamp for a brand new LED. Energy.gov states, Ten percent of energy costs in a
home can be attributed to lighting, and you can save plenty of that electricity by
switching from incandescent light bulbs to more energy-efficient types like LESs. Also I
know students can save by cutting off the light each time they leave the room. My step
dad is always telling us to cut off lights even when were in the room to save on the
electric bill. At one time the electric bill was 450 dollars. We had to
pay it even though many customers were complaining that Duke energy was ripping us
off. Energy.gov states, The largest benefit of LEDs over CFLs and incandescent are the
longevity and impact on the environment. LEDs actually can last over 25,000 hours, which
is 25 times longer than traditional light bulbs. LED bulbs also are 6-7 times more efficient
than incandescent bulbs.
We have also found energy.gov has teamed up with the University of Florida,
Florida State University, and the University of Central Florida to design, build and operate
solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient and attractive. In doing so
Usf learned how to make any building energy efficient.
Energy.gov mission is to ensure Americans security and prosperity by addressing
its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and
technology solutions. Their mission speaks to all sectors of the economy. Whether your
expertise is science, technology, engineering, national security, international affairs or
business.

Projects Within the Community

November 2015
14

The projects around the community have such a huge impact here at USFSP. Duke
Energy Florida recently awarded USF St. Petersburg (USFSP) a one million dollar grant
through the SunSense program to research the integration of storing solar energy in
new battery systems. These projects are allowing us to take steps in the right direction
and decrease our carbon footprint. This research is really opening up our eyes to the
efforts that are going around us and giving us the ability to step up and help this
movement.

Conclusion
November 2015
15

Directors, Students, and Staff are working so hard and making major strides to
make our campuses as well as environment more sustainable and livable. Whether we
are broadening our sights and trying to collect data for developing countries and cities
across the world or just using the bike share program and utilizing the recycling bins
around campus. Every single action helps.

Glossary
November 2015
16

Sustainability- T
he rates of renewable resource harvest, pollution creation, and non-renewable
resource depletion that can be continued indefinitely. If they cannot be continued indefinitely
then they are not sustainable.

Incandescent-
Emitting light as a result of being heated.
Integration-
The action or process of integrating.
Bio-refinery-
A biorefinery is a facility that integrates biomass conversion processes and

equipment to produce fuels, power, heat, and value-added chemicals from biomass. The
biorefinery concept is analogous to today's petroleum refinery, which produce multiple
fuels and products from petroleum
.
LEED Gold Certification-
LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a

green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and
practices. To receive LEED
certification, building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn

points to achieve different levels of certification.

Ozone Depletion-
Ozone depletion describes two distinct but related phenomena

observed since the late 1970s: a steady decline of about 4% in the total volume of ozone
in Earth's stratosphere (the ozone layer), and a much larger springtime decrease in
stratospheric ozone around Earth's polar regions.
Toxic Emissions- Poisonous
chemicals
discharge
d to
air
,
water
, or land.
Weatherization- T
he practice of protecting a building and its interior from the elements,

particularly from sunlight, precipitation, and wind, and of modifying a building to reduce
energy consumption and optimize energy efficiency.

Bibliography

November 2015
17

College of Business Staff (8/15/2013) Tips for Going Green and Saving Green. [On-line] Available:
http://www.usf.edu/business/documents/about/staff-council/tips-saving-green.pdf
This website gave a list of ways
that Usf has gone green.
Jacqui Cash (5/5/2010) Usf One of Nations Top Green Colleges. [On-line]
Available:
http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=2295

This site goes into detail about how Usf has been recognized for going green. It

compares Usf efforts to efforts by

Universities across the nation.

Learn About Sustainability."
Learn About Sustainability
. EPA. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
<http://www2.epa.gov/sustainability/learn-about-sustainability#what>.
This source gave general information about what sustainability is and why it is important. I also talked about what our
government does to promote sustainability. This is a good source to get some basic information on the topic.
Shaik, Brandon. "USF Electric Car Owners Get a Boost."
The Oracle
. The Oracle,
2015.

25 Feb. 2015. Web. 4 Nov.

<http://www.usforacle.com/news/view.php/861720/USF-electric-car-owners-get-a-boost>. This webpage

explains one way that USFSP is specifically promoting sustainability. The article talks about how USFSP has

installed

electric car charging stations around campus and their plans to have these charging stations free to the public. This
also mentions the university's Climate Action Plan and the Student Green Energy Fund.
"Sustainability."
University of South Florida St. Petersburg
. University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Web. 4
Nov. 2015. <http://www.usfsp.edu/sustainability/>. This web page is a good source to see what USFSP is currently
doing to promote a green and sustainable campus. The website talks about the million dollar grant that USFSP was
just awarded and what they plan to do with that money. The website also gives information on how USFSP promotes
a green campus with regards to basic things like transportation and waste disposal.
"USF St. Petersburg Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF)."
USFSP Connect
. USFSP

Connect, 2013. Web. 4

Nov. 2015. <http://www.usfspconnect.com/usf-st-petersburg-student-green-energy-fund-sgef/>. This webpage

describes in more detail what the USFSP Student Green Energy Fund is. The page is also talks about sustainable
projects that USFSP has already completed and also gives websites where more information on more projects could
be found.
Cash, Jacqui. "USF One of Nation's Top Green Colleges." - University of South Florida. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=2295
USF has been recognized by the Princeton Reviews guide to 286
Green Colleges as being one of the top sustainable college in the country. USF ranks second in Florida and in the top
30 of the country in the Recyclemania competition to minimize waste. We have 5 environmental student groups that
do various activities throughout campus. USF Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) were named regional champions for
the third time in five years with a launched the first School of Global Sustainability, its purpose is to prepare students
for green collar jobs.
Hagen, Sarah. "USF Graduation Gowns Made of Plastic Bottles." 10NEWS. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/local/2015/03/25/water-botle-grad- gowns/70441424/

November 2015
18

This is a short article on one way that USF is being environmentally friendly. In this article they discuss how USF made
their graduation gowns out of 100% recycled plastic from water bottles. This is really cool and the gowns look
identical to ones made out of traditional materials.
Shaik, Brandon. "USF Electric Car Owners Get a Boost."
The Oracle
. The Oracle, 25 Feb. 2015. Web. 4 Nov.
2015. <http://www.usforacle.com/news/view.php/861720/USF-electric-car-owners-get-a-boost>.
This webpage explains one way that USFSP is specifically promoting sustainability. The article talks about how USFSP
has installed electric car charging stations around campus and their plans to have these charging stations free to the
public. This also mentions the university's Climate Action Plan and the Student Green Energy Fund.
"LEED Checklist." LEED Checklist. U.S. Green Building Council. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
<http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Nk4EDNIKeTcJ:www.usgbc.org/redirect.php?DocumentID
=1096 &cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us>.
This spreadsheet gives detailed information about what criteria must be met for a building to become LEED Certified.
This document is the actual checklist that is used when buildings are evaluated for LEED certification. This document
breaks down each section of the certification and explains what is required.
"Sustainability and Green Buildings." Sustainability. University of South Florida- Saint Petersburg. Web. 18
Nov. 2015. <http://www.usfsp.edu/sustainability/green-buildings/>.
This website gives information on the current green buildings as well as plans for future green buildings. The website
gives detailed information about what specifically makes the green buildings on our campus green.
"Sustainability and Transportation." Sustainability. University of South Florida- Saint Petersburg. Web. 18
Nov. 2015. <http://www.usfsp.edu/sustainability/transportation/>.
This website gives information on the sustainable transportation efforts made by the college. This is a good resource
for students to check out sustainable and wallet friendly transportation options. Programs that are explained in detail
are the Enterprise Car Share Program, the Bike-A-Bull Program, the U-Pass program and the electric vehicle charging
stations.

November 2015
19