Garnet has gone green.
The College’s U Sustain initiative has been honored as a winner of an Environmental Excellence Award from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The annual awards recognize organizations across the state that promote environmentally sustainable practices.
“One of the best things we can do at Union is to teach the 500 or so students who graduate each year how to live ‘greener’ lives. We are educating the next generation of leaders about the importance of sustainability in any professional field and in their personal lives,” said Jeffrey Corbin, an assistant professor of biology and leader of U Sustain.
The College’s wide-ranging sustainability projects, from recycling efforts to an organic community garden, are monitored by a committee made up of about 70 students, faculty and staff. To learn more about Union’s sustainability efforts, click here.
Corbin and fellow U Sustain leader Laura MacManus-Spencer, assistant professor of chemistry, accepted the award at a ceremony Dec. 3 at DEC headquarters in Albany.
There were more than 40 award applicants, with submissions coming from industry, local governments, advocacy groups, educational institutions and the hospitality sector. A committee of 20 representatives from the public and private sectors selected the winning submissions.
To learn more about all the award winners, click here.
"While many Union College community members had been working to increase sustainability on campus in the past, the creation of U Sustain has given the effort a focus, a terrific talent pool to draw from, and the strength and energy that can only be found in a group working toward a common goal: a greener Union," MacManus-Spencer said.