President’s Sustainability Committee

[Please feel free to reply to this letter. Click on the word “Comments” in the line below the headline. To post on a new topic, see the Help menu above. — Jeff Howard]

January 10, 2008

Dear Campus Community,

Recently, the University has taken two important steps to further its commitment to protect the environment. First, I launched the President’s Sustainability Committee, with members drawn from the faculty, staff, student body, and community. This new committee will address opportunities to promote sustainability in several areas, including facilities management, curricula, research and public awareness. It will propose means by which the University can meet or surpass environmental standards, conserve resources, and minimize waste. Second, UT Arlington has joined the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education linking us with 225 four-year academic institutions committed to moving higher education to the forefront of society’s efforts to protect the environment. UT Arlington becomes the fourth member in Texas, alongside UT Austin, Rice University, and Trinity University.

I am enlisting your support. Many opportunities exist for you to help improve the University’s environmental performance. As you go about your daily work, think about ways that will help the University conserve resources and minimize waste. For example:

• Energy and Water Conservation – Turn off lights in areas that are not being utilized (e.g., conference rooms). Report water irrigation maintenance issues that you observe on campus, as well as exterior lighting issues.
• Waste Reduction – Please make every effort to participate in the University’s excellent recycling program. If you need a container or have a recycling question, contact ehsrecycling@uta.edu.
• Purchasing – When purchasing office supplies, look for the green recycling arrows , which show that the item has some recycled content.
• Offices – Whenever possible, photocopy on both sides of the paper – and set printers to do likewise. Instead of purchasing bottled water, which is resource-intensive, consider refilling bottles with filtered tap water. Consider investing in mugs for coffee/tea instead of using disposable cups.

These are just a few of the many ways we can work together to help the University protect the environment. If you have an idea or suggestion that you would like the President’s Sustainability Committee to consider, please e-mail Jeff Howard (howardj@uta.edu) or Craig Powell (csp@uta.edu), the co-chairs. They would welcome your input. Additional information on the committee and UT Arlington’s campus sustainability initiatives are available at blog.uta.edu/sustainability.

Sincerely,

James D. Spaniolo, President
Phone: 817.272.2101
Fax: 817.272.5656
jds@uta.edu