Sustainability Groups Continue to Push for a Greener Campus

At UC Berkeley we’re continuously devising new ways to make our campus more environmentally sustainable. Sustainability Team’s The Local, a cooperative organic vegetable and fruit stand sells sustainable produce on campus every Wednesday from 11am to 3pm in front of the MLK Student Union (Bancroft and Telegraph). Student facilitators of the DeCal Sustainability: Environment, Economy & Society educate peers by inviting guest lecturers and involving students in hands-on service learning projects. Another group, the Green Initiative Fund Grant Making Committee awards grants to students—proposals that can increase environmental sustainability on campus (applications are due March 15!)

Right now, the ASUC Senate is considering a bill put forward by the Bay-area Environmentally Aware Consulting Network (BEACN) to assist Bear’s Lair Restaurants with becoming green certified. BEACN will help train restaurant employees about environmental sustainability, conduct trash audits, and devise business and fundraising strategies to lower any initial costs incurred from achieving certification.

As a co-sponsor of this bill, I believe that we have a responsibility to do what we can in the ASUC to supplement student and university efforts for a greener campus. I am supporting this bill because university dining halls, including Crossroads, Foot Hill, and Clark Kerr, have already achieved green certification. The City of Berkeley has stated in their General Plan their intention to adopt a Green Business Program for Berkeley. And beyond environmental sustainability, I believe that it is crucial that we continue to hold businesses on our campus accountable to strict standards of corporate ethical responsibility. This bill for a greener campus represents one step on that path.

Last 5 posts by Senator Rebecca Coleman

• Senate Shows Support for the Berkeley Student Cooperative - March 21st, 2008