Admins engage in 'green culture'

By: Singh, Nelly

Posted: 7/25/08

Drexel Green, an initiative to make the University more environmentally friendly, now consists of an administrative team of sustainability coordinators from all departments, colleges, schools and divisions at the University, according to Tobey Oxholm, executive vice president and chief of staff, who initiated the Drexel Green initiative.

"This will be the starting place for the 'green culture' that the students have called on the administrators to create, just as the students are working to make sure that the culture of sustainability is practiced in the dorms, in the dining hall and in student life," Oxholm wrote in an e-mail.

The goal of this committee is to create a list of best practices for all administrative units to follow and to have a topic of discussion at the monthly meetings.

"Looking at the world today and seeing where we could end up is very discouraging. Just the idea of having sustainability coordinators lets me know that our group is really working to make the world a better place," Kristin Cuprzinski, secretary of the communication task force committee and a sophomore health sciences major, wrote in an e-mail.

Even if these best practices are created, "in the end it's the individual who makes that decision," Anoo Sukhia, executive director of printing and mailing services and the committee chair, said.

Oxholm has asked each coordinator to advocate green policies and purchases wherever possible.

The only obstacle is to convince people that this is the right thing to do. Change cannot come about unless administration and faculty join hands with students, according to Sukhia.

The students are doing a great job, and they should be concerned even about the simple things such as switching off the lights in rooms when not needed, she added.

The sustainability coordinators will have two main jobs: serve as a "point person" within a unit and be a liaison to the larger group, both of which ensure communication that would benefit all employees and units, according to Oxholm.

"It's a good idea… This means that the departments will at least keep sustainability in mind while making their decisions," Nathan Taylor, a third-year mechanical engineering major and co-president of the Drexel Sierra Club, wrote in an e-mail.

Things such as recycling printer toner and old paper can make a big difference if all departments follow.

The next administrator meeting will focus on "Saving money (and the environment) by ensuring your communications only get sent once per person, and in the format they prefer."