SAMANVAY November 2009
The Team Samaritans newsletter
Mess Worker’s Party! You spoke one day a cheering word, And passed to other duties. It cheered a heart; new promise stirred And painted a life with beauties. And so for that word of golden cheer, You'll have a reward sometime-somewhere -Anonymous Team Samaritans will keep on fulfilling that promise...
Diwali Party for Mess Workers They bring light to our lives every day. They nourish us so that we can beat the stress in our daily lives. The Diwali party organized by Team Samaritans was a small gesture to bring a smile on their faces. For a change we wore the chef hats and prepared a dish for mess workers. The party organized in mess was filled with fun and frolic. We all had a glimpse into the hidden talents of these cooks and chefs. Musical chair, dance, music and individual performances ruled the party. Team Samaritans gifted blankets to the mess workers so that they can continue to bring warmth in our lives.
Features Carbon foot printing for MDI
21 Day Model for reducing waste
Diwali Party for Mess Workers
GHG Emission Report Samaritans took up the unique initiative to make MDI a leader in issues pertaining to the environment. The GHG Emission Report intended to: 1) Benchmark issues for educational institutions 2) Create academic and corporate awareness regarding GHG emissions 3) Offset GHG emissions in a systematic way The report was floated as a live project by V3 India- the venture started by PG 08 students of MDI. Ritesh Agarwal and Raghoo Puri of Team Samritans helped to make this report a huge success. The report considered green house gas emissions from the primary activities like Air conditioners, business car travel, fuel used for cooking, generator etc. This report will be extensively used by stakeholders like students, faculty, corporate for academic as well as sustainable development. Other organizations would also be referring to the report for the purpose for benchmarking, branding and social well being. 5742.8 t Carbon Dioxide is emitted in MDI by the use of Air Conditioners alone!
Some facts: 1. Per capita Emissions 11.4 t CO2 2. Per Faculty Emissions 162.93 t CO2 3. Per Student Emissions 16.88 t CO2 4. Per Acre Emissions 378.71 t CO2
The Samaritan Experience! It was a great challenge to be involved in a one of its kind project. V3 India gave us the opportunity to explore MDI in a productive way through the carbon footprinting project.It was a pioneering project undertaken by the company and by team Samaritans, the social initiative club of MDI, in continuation with the initiative of making MDI an eco-friendly institute The sole use of this report was to assess the net GHG emissions on an ongoing basis and taking steps to mitigate/offset the same. The report is also intended to act as a benchmark for GHG emissions of various other organizations. The report had data about emissions from direct as well as indirect emissions from primary sources and had information about number of emission sources, average usage of sources, power ratings and emission factors, considering the emissions from electricity and fuel consumption of the institute. Though the entire scope of emissions was not factored in, the report was made to carry on the benchmarking in the most professional manner and was made in compliance with ISO 14064. This was a great initiative, which we hope that the institute carries on with(the report is valid for 1 year) and also other educational institutes around the country should follow in doing our bit to spread knowledge as well as reduce the GHG burden on the planet.
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The 21 day make-over
True to the 21st century spirit of initiating desired changes, Team Samaritans introduced a 21 day make-over model within campus to reduce newspaper wastage, energy consumption and the use of non-biodegradable materials. The idea was to create a simple replicable model for any organization or even a RWA. These simple solutions are repliable anywhere. We collected old newspapers and one-side-used A4 sized sheets from across the campus (the hostels, faculty blocks etc.) on a weekly basis and stored them in cardboard cartons. The A4 sheets were made into small notepads and circulated among faculty and students. The old newspapers were sent for recycling (to the NGO Sanskari) and they in turn provided us with paper bags. These bags, carrying MDI tagline, were circulated within the campus thus promoting use of paper-bags. All canteens within campus were encouraged to minimize of polythene bags and plastic cups. We have provided Sharmaji with Jute bags in which they deliver the food to rooms now which was earlier done in plastic bags and thus immediately reducing one source of direct plastic consumption within the campus. We changed the computer wallpapers in the computer center for energy conservation and less power consumption. Samaritans has also started a car pool program. Under this programme, car owners, commuters and frequent travellers at MDI can help fellow Mandevians to save time and money by extending a lift to the needy travellers or sharing a cab to an agreed place. People travelling to a particular place can put in the details in a document created by Team Samaritans and available at the link below: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ajz4kmjvFPH_dHl1OU9oX1l2a nR6YjVJMjZ6RjZJV3c&hl=en Kindly use this document and help in creating this model a success. We are also planning a unique campaign called Voice of Gurgaon from Nov 10, 2009 to Nov 20, 2009. To know more about the campaign or for giving any suggestions or feedback please send a mail to samaritans@mdi.ac.in
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