More than 20 student environmental organizations met with campus leaders Tuesday for a collaborative Sustainability Council to discuss sustainability efforts already occurring on campus and where students can focus their efforts in the future.
The council is comprised of student organizations including the Associated Students of Madison Sustainability Committee and Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group, which meets to discuss ideas, share resources and ensure the groups are operating efficiently together.
At the meeting, Mike Henry, director of mechanical maintenance for University Housing; Faramarz Vakili, the director of campus sustainability operations; and Frank Kooistra, a representative from the Office of Sustainability, spoke to the council about current sustainability initiatives on campus.
The panel informed the council about successes from existing initiatives, such as reducing building emissions by 25 percent since 2006 and University of Wisconsin-Madison Housing’s move-out day efforts, which invite organizations to take unwanted dorm room items to keep them out of landfills.
According to Meredith Keller, a student leader from the Office of Sustainability, many students are not aware of these efforts the university is currently making.
“There is a big gap in the knowledge about what we are doing on campus already and what we can help with,” Keller said.
In the future, the council is looking to increase student awareness and launch campaigns to work on recycling and composting both on and off campus, according Keller.
