State honors North Central College for its commitment to sustainable practices

North Central College’s commitment to environmentally friendly practices has earned gold-level recognition through the Illinois Campus Sustainability Compact.

North Central College is the first four-year liberal arts institution in suburban Chicago to achieve gold-status recognition. The Compact outlines environmental goals that public and private colleges and universities may adopt and incorporate into their campus operations, academic and research programs, student activities and community outreach. Institutions can pledge at bronze, silver and gold levels with varying levels of participation that help the school reach its environmental commitments.

To achieve gold status North Central College met objectives addressing the generation of waste, energy consumption, water usage and greenhouse gas emissions. The College also set measurable sustainability objectives, a time frame for meeting those objectives and a system to monitor and assess the progress of those goals.

The gold-status recognition comes barely a month after the College achieved bronze-level status for practices that included creating a written policy acknowledging support for sustainability, a focal point to lead sustainability work across the campus, a website to raise awareness about the institution’s sustainability efforts, and opportunities for students, faculty and staff to offer suggestions for advancing sustainability on campus.

“Gold status is another great achievement for North Central that shows the College is a committed leader in sustainability,” says Brittany Graham, the College’s sustainability coordinator. “North Central College has implemented numerous cost-saving sustainable projects including geothermal heating and cooling, LED lighting, electric vehicle charging stations, composting and much more.”

North Central now looks to build upon its success in sustainable practices by setting additional goals to achieve by 2020 that include further adoption of renewable energy resources, improved water conservation measures and further reduction in the amount of waste generated.

To learn more visit northcentralcollege.edu/content/sustainability-central. The campus community can contribute suggestions or ask questions by emailing sustainability@noctrl.edu or Graham at bdgraham@noctrl.edu.

This year, North Central College was included in “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 332 Green Colleges: 2014 Edition.” The College was cited for its robust alternative transportation program, bike-sharing program, LEED-certified Silver Residence Hall/Recreation Center, Community Garden Project, campus dining efforts that include recycling used oil and grease to green diesel research, composting program, faculty-student research in the area of sustainability, fleet of two electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations, student clubs, and Career Center assistance with locating green jobs.

At North Central College, sustainability is the collective effort of students, faculty, staff and visitors working toward the development of a socially just, environmentally responsible and economically functional campus community.