Volume CXXXI, Number 23 April 26, 2002 f

Mills signs green mission statement
BELINDA LOVETT
ORIENT STAFF

President Barry Mills, along with the College Coordinating Group, adopted a mission statement on Tuesday that is designed to help guide the College in its commitment to environmental sustainability.

The core of the roughly 500-word statement reads:

"…We are committed to leading by example to integrate environmental awareness and responsibility throughout the college community. The College shall seek to encourage conservation, recycling, and other sustainable practices in the daily decision-making processes of Bowdoin College, and shall take into account in the operations of the College, all appropriate economic, environmental, and social concerns."

According to Keisha Payson, coordinator for a Sustainable Bowdoin, the College first demonstrated its commitment to reducing Bowdoin's impact on the environment by creating a position for a sustainability coordinator, whose job is to implement environmental initiatives and raise environmental awareness throughout the campus.

Payson said, "The environmental mission statement strengthens this commitment by stating in writing Bowdoin's concern for the environmental actions of our operations."

Mills responded to the statement by saying that it "is an important reaffirmation of the College's commitment to conducting the operations of the College in a manner that respects our environment. Bowdoin is committed to the Common Good, and that commitment includes preserving and enhancing our environment."

According to Payson, the full text of the statement will guide the College in its efforts to conserve energy, reduce solid waste, recycle, and purchase more environmentally-friendly products.

The mission statement was written by student members of Sustainable Bowdoin, including Stacy Vynne '02, Mike Pesa-Fallon '02, Ryan Meyer '02, and Alissa Cordner '04. Editorial assistance was given by Payson, Director of Facilities Management Bill Gardiner, and environmental studies professors DeWitt John and Matthew Klingle.

The statement will appear in the student, faculty, and administrative handbooks, in the Bowdoin College Catalogue, and on the Bowdoin website.

In addition to the mission statement, Sustainable Bowdoin is currently focused on green building design, which the new Outdoor Leadership Center incorporates, and pursuant to that goal, the College will be recycling a building next Monday and Tuesday.

This summer, Sustainable Bowdoin will be putting together an orientation program for first years as well as increasing educational resources for the campus as a whole. Both efforts will focus on reducing solid waste, recycling, and conserving energy. All first-year dorms basements will also be equipped with recycling bins.

Also this summer, the group will be working with Dining Services and Facilities Management in an effort to create a composting system that is expected to be in operation by the fall. The system that the group is currently looking at would be able to compost up to 200 pounds per day, which is only enough to handle the waste of one of the two dining halls. The group is also looking into the possibility of composting the waste from the other dining hall at a local farm. Composting the waste from both dining halls would reduce the amount of material sent to the landfill on a yearly basis by 60 tons.

In an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Sustainable Bowdoin is also considering ways to purchase a percentage of the College's electricity from renewable sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, small hydro, and geothermal.