Classroom Publication

$1500 Recycling Bin outside the Social Science building at UAlbany

Media Credit: Anand Balasar $200 Recycling Bin in the Campus Center at UAlbany

Converting to a more environmentally friendly world or the more popular “going green” has been a struggle for many people. Some large companies such as Esurance and even local universities such as SUNY Albany have been converting their campuses to being more energy efficient and earth friendly.

SUNY Albany’s “UAlbany Goes Green” program is dedicated to cutting energy costs and lowering greenhouse gas emissions while educating students and faculty about being more “green.” Every step of the conversion from a traditional campus to a more environmentally friendly campus involves spending. The transformation is “not cheap” according to Environmental Sustainability director, Mary Ellen Mallia. Her job at the university is to ensure that the campus lowers consumption of electricity and natural gas, protect environmental resources, and reduce waste.

 The university has spent an estimate $50,000 so far on just recycling bins, a cost that was split among the environmental sustainability task force, grounds crew and others. These recycling bins are meant to promote recycling by dividing the waste into glass, plastic, cans and other trash. The indoor bins separate the trash into mixed trash, glass, plastic, aluminum, and mixed paper.  The indoor recycling bins cost $200 each, while the outdoor multi-bins cost about $1,500 per bin according to Mallia.

Mallia has a budget of $10,000 that goes toward paying student workers, conferences, professional organization fees and other promotional products such as stickers, pencils and even T-shirts. There is also the cost of paper for flyers and other educational materials that is used to promote the “green” project.

There is another project at the university called the “change of light campaign.” Mallia and the energy manager- Indu Lnu will distribute 4,000 compact fluorescent lamps for free to students to replace incandescent bulbs in desk and floor lamps. This will begin on on October 22nd in the residential halls around campus. At retail these bulbs cost about $5 per bulb, which would mean that the cost of this project would be another $20,000, but Mallia stated that there is a New York State contract that would “allow government agencies to purchase these bulbs at a discounted price.” She is also researching ways to get donations for these projects which would reduce the costs dramatically. These costs influence the transformation, but the fight continues and SUNY Albany persists with its programs.

Professor Helmut V. B. Hirsch at the University at Albany describes his personal life as a “green” individual as being nothing more than just average. Hirsch describes himself as being an environmentally friendly person for the last “15 to 20 years or more.” His interest in being ‘green’ started with him teaching World Food Crisis, a course that was developed by Professor Margaret Stewart. He states that the only difference that he sees in his life is the cost of food. “I’m very aware of what it costs to buy organic food," Hirsch said.  "I try to buy organic when I can, although conscious of the fact that that’s available to people with more than enough income.”

The amount that is saved from the change to a more “green” individual, corporation or university is seen as larger than the cost. Mallia states that she is seeking the larger benefit to the environment rather than just the reduction of cost to the university, even though the more direct benefit of the reduction of cost is much appreciated.

The University at Albany gets paid for every ton of paper that it recycles and pays $52 for every tonn of trash that they have to take to the dump. If the paper gets mixed in with the regular trash it adds weight to the trash that the university pays to throw out and does not go toward the paper that the university could be recycling to get money.  The paper that is recycled is also returned to the university in the form of paper towels and other usable paper goods.

The “Student Energy Challenge” at the university encourages students to consume fewer utilities and this has saved an estimated $7,000 to $9,000 on electricity according to Lnu. The estimated savings that would be generated from the distribution of the 4,000 compact fluorescent lamps is about $16,000. The University at Albany has not completed its transformation, but at the end they are expected to “reduce [the] utility costs by at least 5-10 percent,” Lnu said.
 
Esurance, the insurance company that does all of its business online has distinguished itself as being one of the largest environmentally friendly companies and has reported savings as a result. Joann Lee, an agent at Esurance has reported the following savings as a result of being a completely online company:

•    From 2000-2007, Esurance estimates a savings of approximately 221.2 million sheets of paper because of our entirely paperless customer experience (policy documents, billing, etc.) This translates to a cost saving of approximately $1.8 million over the years, not including the cost of postage that would be associated with sending these documents to our policyholders.
•    Currently, 97% of Esurance's claims fleet is made up of hybrid vehicles. The estimated savings in gas per year is nearly $77,000 
•    In 2008, Esurance expanded its internal greening initiatives in its “Are You Thinking Green” campaign. This included distributing reusable mugs and water bottles to each of our 1,800+ associates. At corporate headquarters in San Francisco alone, we estimate that this will lead to the reduction of 78,000 paper cups.
•    Our Work at Home program now employs 124 associates. Their average annual gas savings is $1,900.

The transformation of companies, universities and individuals continue as the world changes to a more environmentally friendly place. Some students, faculty and everyday individuals see the cost of the products and the costs of the transformation itself as being a brick wall in their way to saving the planet, but when looked at from a different angle the amount of money one spends now will save them more in the future. Hybrid cars save on gas, recycling saves on paper and conserving electricity and heating saves on bills. Overall, anything that is done to change to a more environmentally friendly individual or company will end up saving the world.

Article Tools