Staff Report
Lewis and Clark Community College is dedicated to reaching the goal of campus carbon neutrality by 2058. The college has recently forged some new green partnerships as a way to advance its commitment to sustainability.
Zero-waste through composting
For several years, L&C’s Dining Services have been composting food waste on campus. In April 2014, the college took it a step further by adding “post-consumer composting”. L&C students, staff, and faculty can now compost food waste from leftover meals, helping the kitchen become a nearly zero-waste operation.
Our campus recycling service, Always Green Recycling, takes all food scraps to St. Louis Composting to become compost for future use in gardens.
L&C recently became a “We Compost” partner of the Illinois Food Scrap Coalition (http://illinoiscomposts.org/). “We Compost” is a recognition program that promotes businesses and institutions that participate in a commercial compost program. Its goals are to highlight entities that compost and encourage more people to patronize businesses managing their food scraps responsibly.
Alternate energy sources reduce carbon emissions
L&C also joined the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership program. The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to use green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use.
The Partnership currently has more than 1,300 partner organizations voluntarily using billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually. Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as large companies, small and medium sized businesses, local, state and federal governments, and colleges and universities.
- L&C “trackable” solar panels
In July, Lewis and Clark installed “trackable” solar panels outside of Trimpe that provides 30 percent of the building’s daily power. The Illinois Green Economy Network (IGEN) awarded L&C a grant for the solar panels. IGEN covers 60 percent of the cost and L&C is picking up the remaining 40 percent.
Thanks to Ameren Illinois Power, L&C was the recipient of one of the nation’s first alternative energy, state-of-the-art fuel cells, which was installed on the Godfrey campus in April 2014.
The U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) has launched the Workplace Charging Challenge, with a goal of achieving a tenfold increase in the number of U.S. employers offering workplace charging in the next five years. L&C has accepted the challenge and joined as a partner.
L&C has installed electric vehicle charge stations and provided them free of charge to both campus and regional community members. The Godfrey campus currently has two charge stations: one at the “cabin lot” near the Nursing Building , and another in the parking lot between River Bend Arena and the Math Building.
“Part of our responsibility in striving toward campus carbon neutrality involves making policy changes and commitments to organizations like these,” said L&C Sustainability Director Nate Keener. “By signing on with Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Illinois Food Scrap Coalition, we are cementing our longterm commitment to make progress in workplace charging, green power purchasing and composting.”
To learn more about L&C’s commitment to sustainable practices, visit www.lc.edu/green or contact Sustainability Director Nate Keener at (618) 4682782.
Reach Louise Jett at (618) 468-3220, or email ljett@lc.edu
