They are going “Green” and so is Georgia College & State University.

The newly created GCSU Sustainability Council is working to raise environmental awareness across the campus and in the community.

President Dorothy Leland appointed the council in March and charged its members to improve the sustainability of the campus:

“Georgia College is committed to the stewardship of its resources, including the campus physical environment. With greater awareness of environmental challenges that affect us locally and globally, Georgia College has renewed its commitment to taking stock of its own environmental impact and exploring ways in which the university community can enhance the environmental sustainability of our campus.”

The council’s main campaign, the GCSU Green Initiative, will promote environmental awareness throughout the campus and the community, according to council chair Doug Oetter, an associate professor of geography.
“There are many impending environmental problems, both globally and locally, in the world today,” Oetter said.
“By taking basic sustainability steps to ensure a ‘green’ world for generations to come, GCSU can cultivate the leaders of tomorrow and promote a cleaner, safer, and more efficient future for us all.”

The council will work through seven groups: building design, environmental education, energy efficiency, sustainable funding, materials management (recycling), alternative transportation, and water conservation.

Together these groups will identify and implement sustainable practices across the campus, encourage choices and habits that support sustainability, lower the university’s carbon footprint, gain funding from outside sources to support sustainability efforts, implement a campus-wide recycling program, conserve water, and provide alternate modes of transportation for the GCSU community.

“It is important to conserve in our everyday lives whether it be something as simple as turning off lights when you leave a room or riding a bike to work or school,” Oetter said.

For more information on the GCSU Sustainability Council and the Green Initiative please visit green.gcsu.edu.