Sustainability
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Sustainability at Bryant promotes Bryant's global vision, our commitment to business innovation, and the arts and sciences. It also equips our students with skills and tools needed to compete and participate in this economy while providing opportunities for community involvement and learning. Cross-campus stakeholders include the Sustainability Committee and the student group SustainUs.
Bryant University has received a STARS Silver rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
Sustainability Committee
Sustainability Committee meetings are open to all interested members of the Bryant community and host a full calendar of events, including Recyclemania, Earth Day, Arbor Day, Farmers Markets, Green Office Clean Out, Office Supply Exchange, Shredding Day, Text Book Recycling, Student Group Recycling Day, orientation activities, and other campus-wide initiatives.
The committee is co-chaired by Professor of Environmental Policy, Gaytha Langlois, Ph.D., and John Ruppert, Deputy Director of Athletics. Additional members are:
- Nicole Belton, Sodexo
- Stefanie Boyer, Ph.D., Academics
- William Doughty, Library
- Jennifer Horan, Ph.D., Academics
- Lorainne Letellier, Auxiliary Services
- Ryan Marnane, Ph.D., Academics
- Scott Paquin, Grounds Manager
- Geoffrey Poirier, Facilities
- Marjorie Robidoux, Admission
- Nicholas Schleicher, Athletics
Plans, Goals and Resources for Sustainability
To build a more sustainable future for Bryant, our initiatives focus on three areas: planning and policy; education and research; and operations. These three areas encompass eight domains. You can learn more about each in the sections below.
Our plan projects savings and forecasts carbon footprint data through 2025. Developed in 2019, it ensures that sustainability is woven into the fabric of campus life.
Campus-wide initiatives focus overall on planning and policy, education and action, and operations. Planning and policy streamline strategies in leadership and decision-making. Operations include the built environment and systemize the efficient use of resources. Education and research build understanding, deepen knowledge and inspire careers.
These three areas encompass ten domains: academics and research, energy, buildings and land use, health and wellness, food and dining, supply chain management, transportation, waste reduction and recycling, water, and community engagement.
The Sustainability Committee stewards the plan, guides the process and campus engagement, and holds the Bryant community accountable.
Universities are laboratories for education, and sustainability offers opportunities for experiential learning and leadership. Undergraduate and graduate programs incorporate sustainability, and more than 40 courses focus on local and global sustainability.
The Integrated Sustainability Certificate empowers undergraduate students with a deeper understanding of system resilience, the development of an interdisciplinary perspective, and the acquisition of smart management fundamentals. Graduates gain skills and experiences to lead the transformation to a sustainable global society, environment, and economy. For more information, contact Professor of Environmental Policy Gaytha Langlois, Ph.D.
From geothermal to renewable energy credits and high-tech efficiency, we have made significant strides in curbing campus energy consumption. We constantly seek new energy-saving measures to add to our efforts.
Bryant University has signed a power purchase agreement with Kearsage Energy for renewable energy credits from multiple solar farms in Rhode Island. This agreement provides off-sets on the electricity invoices from National Grid. We are currently purchasing 36% of our total load.
Bryant is also investing in solar power through a collaboration with AICU of Rhode Island. Along with five other private higher education institutions of Rhode Island, there is a plan to purchase REC's from a solar farm in Newport, Rhode Island on the site of a former military installation.
Our 435-acre Smithfield campus is mostly wetlands, but it does include 54 buildings with 1.56 million square feet of conditioned space. We plan to develop a campus-wide green building study and increase our use of green cleaning products and organic fertilizers by 60%. We use green seal products as well as kelp based organic fertilizers on our main campus landscape areas.
Food, athletics, gym use, health care – each is a component of campus health and wellness initiatives. Our NCAA Division 1 athletic teams, club sports, and popular intramural program illustrate the importance the Bryant community places on exercise and athletic excellence.Sustainability is becoming ever more present with goals to increase use of local food and fairly traded produce.
From RIPTA buses to car-sharing services and 10 electric vehicle charging stations on campus, sustainability within our transportation options is rising. We hope to reduce fuel use by 10 percent from a 2010 baseline by 2025, and increase ride-sharing by 10 percent from a 2010 baseline by 2025.
Our waste reduction and recycling goals include curbing waste in the dining halls, proper disposal of electronics, instituting behavior change programs in the residence halls, and managing discarded materials from move-out at the end of the academic year.
We use more than 65 million gallons of water every year in campus buildings and to maintain grounds. Strategies for reducing water use range from fixing leaks and installing efficient appliances to efficient landscaping and behavioral change. The goal of the 2019 Sustainability Plan is to cut campus water use by 10 percent by 2025.
Student groups as well as faculty, staff and administrator involvement demonstrate and drive community engagement. The Chafee Center for International Business, the Executive Development Center, and the U.S.-China Institute promote our core mission and engage local and global communities.
Bryant organizations
- Bryant Environmental Society; contact Gaytha Langlois, Ph.D., professor of Environmental Policy
- Sustain Us, a student club that promotes sustainability on and off campus through events, outreach, and collaborations
- The Community Activism and Leadership Organization (CALO) focuses on directing student effort toward social good. The Green Initiative focuses on finding sustainable solutions to environmental challenges and opportunities on campus and in the surrounding community
Academic and research opportunities
- Departments with faculty engaged in sustainability research: Science and Technology, Marketing, History and Social Sciences, and Economics
- Immersive programs. Past programs have included traveling to a Swedish university to conduct studies focusing on economic and technological climate change issues; coral reef studies in Australia.
- An annual outdoor field study, sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology and supported by a NASA grant, takes students to environmentally significant locations in the United States. Past sites include redwood forests on the California coast and fossil sites in Idaho.
- Student internships with a variety of NGO and governmental organizations, including Save the Bay, Apeiron Institute, Nature Conservancy, U.S. Forest Services and Reef Relief, in Key West, FL
SustainUs is a vibrant student organization focused on sustainability issues, from raising awareness to changing the way we interact with our campus and the global community.
Follow SustainUs on Instagram.
Our thanks to Sodexo Dining Services for funding our Sustainability Communications Internship and for supporting many of our events. Sodexo promotes sustainable practices throughout Bryant’s dining services, from purchasing local, seasonal produce to providing food scraps to local farmers.