Sustainable Living on
Georgia Tech's Campus
on behalf of the
SGA Sustainability Committee
What is sustainability?
The present generation
living in such a manner that
allows them to
meet societal demands
and fulfill their potential
without hindering future
generations from doing
the same.
Why is sustainability important?
• Preserving the present while looking to the future
• Environmentally responsible: being conservationminded; good stewardship of natural and human
resources
• Economically responsible and smart: forwardlooking and accounting for externalities
• Socially responsible: sustainability eliminates
issues of inequality and injustice
Major areas of sustainability
• Food
o Providing it in an economically viable, socially fair, and
environmentally sound manner to everyone
• Transportation
o Reducing dependency on oil and our carbon footprint
• Energy usage
o Socially and financially sound electric technology that
doesn't pollute
• Water usage
o Using our "next most precious resource" wisely
• Waste reduction
o Not just recycling, but reducing and reusing
• Informed consumption (social awareness)
Food Choices
• More local and organic available in Student Center
Food Court and dining halls than ever before
• Vegetarian/vegan options available
• Farmer's Market & Community Supported Agriculture
(CSA)
• Community Garden on campus
Composting
• Composting on campus: Extensive Composting by GT
dining through contractor GreenCo
• GreenCo provides compost for TBD and composts at
football games
• Problem with composting: contamination fines
• Some students do participate but Tech is currently
lacking a more streamlined approach to composting
• Contact: Nell Fry
Composting facility
outside of Woodruff
Dining Hall
Recycling
• Extremely active and enthusiastic Recycling
Department in Facilities
• Progress limited by financial and staff restrictions
despite desire to expand
• Currently: expanding Game Day Recycling and
Greek recycling programs
• Student body looking for more ways/opportunities to
recycle
Bicycling
• Increasingly popular way to get around campus
• Major Student Concerns: Bike Lanes, Bike Racks,
safety and security
• Starter Bikes: GT's own bicycle co-op; partnership
with SOS and ABC
• ViaCycle: ME project (www.viacycle.com)
• Honors Program Bike Sharing (has potential, but not
being widely used)
• Atlanta Bike Shops: Intown Bicycles (near Piedmont
Park)
Public Transportation
• Use MARTA to get around the city
• GT transportation can take many places, such as:
o Midtown MARTA station
o Publix
o Emory
o Atlantic Station
• GT transportation runs on clean diesel
• Carpooling incentives
Academics on Sustainability
• Over 100 classes spread over every school and
college on
campus are sustainability-focused
• 21 Endowed Chairs with Sustainability focus
• 23 Research Centers with Sustainability focus
• Lecture series: Open Forum on Energy and the
Environment
(http://www.chbe.gatech.edu/energyforum/; Clean
Energy Speaker Series (www.secleanenergy.org)
What is being done for
sustainability on a campus-wide
level
• All future buildings must be LEED Gold certified and
renovations must be LEED-EB
• Cistern at CULC Building
• A- on Green Report Card
• Zero net energy research building in future
• Green purchasing policy
• Low-flow toilets and sinks
Simple Sustainability Practices You
Can Do Every Day
• Recycling
• Turning off unnecessary lights and unplugging unused
electrical appliances
• Adjusting your thermostat away from temperature
extremes
• Composting
• Reducing consumption
• Reusing old supplies and materials and repurposing
discarded or used objects
• Raising awareness and encouraging sustainable living
to those around you
GT Sustainability Administration
People to Know
• Cindy Jackson-Office of Waste Management and
Recycling: Cindy.Jackson@facilities.gatech.edu
• Marcia Kinstler-Director of Environmental
Stewardship: marcia.kinstler@business.gatech.edu
• Nell Fry- Sustainability Coordinator of Georgia Tech
Dining Services: nell.fry@sodexo.com
• Maria Linderoth- Program Coordinator for RecyclingMaria.Linderoth@facilities.gatech.edu
Sustainability Student
Organizations
• SOS-Molly McLaughlin:molly@gatech.edu
o Community Garden
o De facto sustainability leaders on campus
• Environmental Alliance Georgia Tech (EAGT)- Nicole Caruso
ncaruso3@gatech.edu
• Starter Bikes- Gretchen Goldman:
gretchen.goldman@ce.gatech.edu
• SGA Sustainability Committee-Tomás León
tomas.leon@gatech.edu; Joe Charbonnet
joecharbonnet@gmail.com
• Students for Progressive Transit- Amy Ingles aingles3@gatech.edu
• Engineers without Borders
• Engineers for a Sustainable World- new student organization
(www.eswusa.org)