Celebrating Our Shared Sustainability Achievements on Earth Day
A Message from Ashley Kossakowski, Director of Energy Management and Sustainability; and Mike Harrington, Director of Sustainability Engagement, The Tishman Center
In honor of Earth Day, the Sustainability team at The New School is excited to share updates and achievements in our ongoing commitment to environmental justice on campus and beyond. At The New School, we understand the importance of everyday acts of sustainability. We’ve made great strides toward a greener campus this semester, and we couldn’t be prouder of the impact we’ve made together. Read on to learn about some of our recent initiatives and upcoming events in honor of Earth Month.
Sustainability Improvements Around Campus
Reduction of Single-Use Plastics through the RENEW Campaign: This semester we distributed free reusable water bottles to the community on our NYC and Paris campuses to help reduce single-use plastics. Annually, the university’s RENEW campaign is estimated to reduce over 2 million single-use plastic bottles and prevent over 14,000 pounds of plastic from entering our oceans. Did you know each water bottle provides 10 years of clean water access to someone in need? We partnered with Didómi, a socially-responsible enterprise started by African immigrants who were personally affected by the water crisis, and proceeds from each bottle fund clean water access projects around the world. We also hosted a two-day celebration called The Oasis to learn about the water crisis and decorate our water bottles. Pick up your water bottle at The New Store before April 30th!
Eco-Friendly Updates to the UC Dining Commons and Cafés: This semester we eliminated the use of plastic utensils in the UC Dining Commons and replaced them with bamboo utensils. In addition, we eliminated plastic water bottles from the UC Dining Commons and cafés on campus and replaced them with cans, which are more easily recycled than plastic. Shout out to Anne Moriarta, Director of Dining, and Greg Herrera, Director of Auxiliary Operations, for making this happen!
Trash Talk: Based on community requests, composting is back in the UC Dining Commons! We have also updated the waste signage and bins. Tell us what you think of our new signage in this 2-minute survey. We are piloting this signage in the UC Dining Commons and will update signage around campus based on your feedback. We would love to know your thoughts!
New Water Bottle Refill Stations Across Campus: We doubled the number of filling stations and water fountains on campus! There are now over 63 stations to fill your new Renew water bottle on campus. Check out the map here.
Demand Response
The New School ran a very successful Demand Response program last summer and winter, helping the city’s electrical grid run on cleaner fuel and improve the grid’s reliability. The Demand Response program has many benefits that contribute to our sustainability goals, including:
- Resiliency: Increase the reliability and resiliency of the electric grid to prevent blackouts and brownouts
- Greening of the grid: Curb peak energy use during the hottest and coldest periods of the year, reducing the need for dirtier ’peaker’ plants that have higher emissions
- Environmental justice: Peaker plants are located largely in low-income communities of color, who bear an inequitable burden of pollution from fossil fuel power plants
- Health: Improve air quality and decrease respiratory illnesses, especially for those who live near peaker plants
- Emissions: Reduce reliance on an energy source that produces a disproportionate amount of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and particulate matter
Learn more about the program and its importance in our primer and review our FAQ to learn what to expect on demand response days. Shout out to our building supers and staff at the four participating buildings this past year: Phil Mattos at the University Center, Mario Emadzadeh at the Sheila Johnson Design Center, Filippo Granitto at Arnhold Hall, and Ernesto Golfo at Johnson/Kaplan Hall. The program will expand to additional buildings this summer so be on the lookout for more details to come.
Facilities Energy Audits & Furniture Donation
Over the past year, we completed extensive energy audits of all buildings on campus, identifying lighting upgrades, energy equipment that needs to be repaired or replaced, and more. We are making the necessary repairs to our campus buildings so they can run as efficiently as possible.
As part of our Stuyvesant Park renovation, furniture from over 630 bedroom setups was sustainably donated to the Chicago Furniture Bank to aid in their mission to help families that face poverty handpick an entire home’s worth of furniture. Special thanks to Janice Shaman, Assistant Director of Systems Management on the Facilities team, for coordinating that effort.
Earth Month Events
Join us at upcoming Earth month events from the Tishman Environment and Design Center, the university’s dedicated environmental justice center. Click on the registration links for additional details.
IN PERSON | US Climate Leadership: Equity and Justice in the Green Transition
April 23, 2024, 7:30-9:00PM | Reserve In-Person Tickets or Register for the Livestream
Join Mother Jones, Grist, and the Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School for a discussion about equity, infrastructure, jobs, and the urban energy transition. Our distinguished panelists will dig into the issues, opportunities, and solutions driving an equitable transformation for America.
ONLINE | Why Willie Mae Thornton Matters: A Multi-Media Book Panel
April 26, 2024, 12:00PM to 2:00PM EDT | Register here
Music can be used to understand and communicate about social justice as it relates to food, agriculture, and the environment. Music can open the door for deeper understandings of inequity and justice in ways that step away from Eurocentric insistence on linear and written communication to teach, exchange knowledge, or debate. Presented by The Food Studies Program, The Tishman Environment and Design Center, and the Food and Social Justice Action Research Lab (FJAR), this event will explore these modes of understanding and resistance through a multi-media discussion of Lynnée Denise’s 2023 book Why Willie Mae Thornton Matters (University of Texas Press).
Thank you for your continued support and dedication to sustainability. Each of us plays a vital role in shaping a more just and sustainable world, and together we can make a lasting difference.