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Tallman Trask, Executive Vice President, inside the French Family Science Center.
s we plan for campus growth, our goal is for Duke to become a nationwide leader in sustainability. We can each make a difference in creating a sustainable world by fostering environmentally friendly and socially responsible practices. We embrace this at Duke. All of our individual decisions – whether to recycle, use public transportation or build with energy-saving features, for example – can conserve vital resources, protect our environment, and have a lasting impact on our community and our world. Sustainable practices seek to make a positive difference in the economic, social and environmental systems that affect future generations. Each month, Working@Duke will highlight the many efforts of our students, staff and departments to illustrate how our community is preserving, protecting and enhancing our environment through policies, operations, research and community outreach. In 2004, we created Duke’s first full-time sustainability coordinator position to assist with long-term planning, and to be a resource for our campus community. The next year, the university and health system signed an environmental policy, committing Duke to leadership in environmental research and education, environmentally responsible operations and environmental stewardship in the community. The list of Duke’s sustainability accomplishments is long. We are the fifth largest university purchaser of green power. We run about 80 campus fleet vehicles with alternative fuels. We collect 17 different types of recyclables, diverting more than 1,200 tons annually from the landfill. We participate in many community service programs, including the Durham Neighborhood Partnership, which enriches conditions at nearby schools and neighborhoods. I am particularly proud of our work in designing and constructing low-energy, resource-efficient buildings, as well as our efforts creating environmentally sustainable dining services and innovative storm water management. Since 2003, Duke has been committed to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building standard. Seventeen buildings are either LEED certified or registered for certification. One of our newest buildings, the French Family Science Center (a contender
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for a national silver rating in energy and environmental design), features local and recycled materials, two green roofs comprised of vegetation, soil, gravel and water-tight insulation, and plumbing fixtures that save two million gallons of water annually. In addition, Duke eateries purchase organic food when possible, and our primary food service vendor buys locally grown produce and seafood caught or farmed in ways that do no harm. Another of our sustainability achievements includes Duke’s Wetland Assessment Management Park (SWAMP). This 14-acre restored site is designed to help protect water quality by controlling storm runoff from Duke’s campus and 1,200 surrounding acres of Durham. Duke’s focus on sustainability will grow in the years ahead. We will encourage interdisciplinary education and research on environmental topics. And as we redevelop Central Campus, we’ll work to preserve and protect the natural environment. We’ll design buildings that conserve energy and minimize our environmental footprint. It is important to recognize that Duke’s sustainability efforts are not the product or sole responsibility of one office. We have many champions at Duke and need more. We greatly appreciate our students, who have advocated for policies and initiatives, including green purchasing, green power purchases and the annual eco-olympics competition on East campus. Sustainability is part of how we do business today, and we are committed to seeking new ways to protect our campus, Durham’s neighborhoods and our environment for generations to come.
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Got A Sustainably Story? Influence others — Write us at
working@duke.edu
Want More? Visit www.duke.edu/ sustainability
From top: Kelly Peak, a Nicholas School of the Environment & Earth Sciences graduate student, distributes free energy efficient light bulbs during Duke’s 2007 Earth Day festival. At right, Emily Warren, of Piedmont Biofuels, discusses the benefits of fueling a vehicle with cleaner burning biodiesel. Bottom: Members of the Duke community celebrate Earth Day at the festival on the West Campus Plaza.
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