Maryland Higher Education Commission

St. Mary’s College of Maryland – Green Initiatives

Energy Conservation:

By upgrading fixtures, adjusting campus facilities operations and raising the campus community awareness about wasteful energy usage, St. Mary’s College of MD is making progress in using energy more efficiently, containing energy expenditures and reducing its impact on the environment.

Green Buildings:

St. Mary’s College of MD made a commitment to designing and building new facilities with sustainability in mind. Goodpaster Hall, the most recent academic building on campus achieved the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver rating.

Green Energy Fund:

St. Mary’s College students voted to create a Green Energy Fund by raising student fees $25 per year. The purpose of the Green Energy Fund is to purchase Renewable Energy Credits to offset 100% of the College’s electricity use and fund renewable energy projects on campus. St. Mary’s College received the 2008 EPA Green Power Leadership Club award for their efforts.

Trayless Cafeteria:

The College’s cafeteria does not offer trays anymore. The cafeteria users largely supported this initiative that is expected to reduce food waste by approximately 25%, contain the College’s food expenditure and reduce water and energy used by the College dining services.

Green Cleaning Products:

St. Mary’s College of MD is transitioning to 100% environmentally responsible Green Seal certified cleaning products.

Recycling and Composting programs:

St. Mary’s College of MD is expanding its recycling and composting programs. Student volunteers have been collecting recyclable and compostable material from the residences. Compostable bins will soon be available all across campus. The College is looking into partnering up with local farms to develop a larger scale composting facility that can accommodate the significant quantities of compostable food waste from the cafeteria.

Sustainable groundkeeping:

St. Mary’s College of MD’s groundkeeping crews are at the forefront of environmental stewardship by implementing sustainable practices. Their efforts include protecting the St. Mary’s River by developing green buffer areas, creating green spaces and wildlife habitat, using integrated past management and minimizing the usage of synthetic fertilizers. SMCM has applied to the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program.

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