Sustainability at RRU

Royal Roads University (RRU) is a leader in sustainability. Their commitment to sustainability is clearly defined by their mission statement:

“Royal Roads University's mission is to contribute to economic prosperity, social advancement, and environmental sustainability through transformative education for working professionals and research applied to real problems in private, public, and third sector workplaces, at home and abroad” (Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://sustainability.royalroads.ca/).

RRU has achieved a silver STARS from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). The silver STARS is a designation of the AASHE for a program they developed called Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS). Not only does the star recognize the efforts of RRU, it calls for continuous improvement.



http://sustainability.royalroads.ca/sustainability-tracking-assessment-rating-system



This means that RRU has been able to incorporate energy saving and earth-friendly practices into a normally functioning facility, without disruption or inconvenience to anyone involved.

Here is what they have done:

All of the printers on campus (i.e. in the library, the classroom, and the computer rooms) have been set to print black and white double-sided by default. This automatically saves paper because a person does not need to remember to change the setting to print double-sided, and some people may not think to print on both sides. It also saves printing money as it is only $0.07 a page and you are really getting two pages.

RRU also recycles – everything! Beside the garbage can in every classroom there is a compost bin and recycle bins for paper, plastic, and aluminum cans. In the washrooms, there is a compost bin for paper towel used to dry hands. This has diverted 10 tons of paper towel per year (Retrieved February 25, 2011 from https://sustainability.royalroads.ca/sites/default/files/web_files/Sustainability_Plan_summary.pdf). In total, 72.6% of what was normally thought to be “waste” is diverted from the landfill through these recycling and composing programs (Retrieved February 25, 2011 from https://sustainability.royalroads.ca/sites/default/files/web_files/ Sustainability_Plan_summary.pdf). They also have a wonderful custodial staff who sorts the recyclables into their proper containers should someone throw something into the wrong bin.

One major project at RRU is the new Learning and Innovation Centre that is currently being built. This building will incorporate strategies to increase energy savings, optimize water efficiency, reduce CO2 emissions, improve indoor environmental quality, and utilize eco-friendly supplies and products as it strives to achieve LEED Gold accreditation; the second highest internationally recognized “green” certification a building can be awarded. (Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://myrru.royalroads.ca/roadspiel/news/sharing-story-learning-and-innovation-centre).



http://www.royalroads.ca/campus-progress/learning-and-innovation-centre

For more information on Sustainability at RRU, take a look at the Royal Roads University Sustainability Plan document found here: https://sustainability.royalroads.ca/sites/default/files/web_files/rru_sustainability_plan.pdf

References:

Sustainability at RRU. (n.d.) Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://sustainability.royalroads.ca/

Sharing the Story on the Learning and Innovation Centre. (2011). Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://myrru.royalroads.ca/roadspiel/news/sharing-story-learning-and-innovation-centre