The phase II Sustainability Master Plan was launched this past fall by the Office of Sustainability. In order to write the plan, it is seeking campus input from a variety of stakeholders. In conjunction with a working group and advisory board, the office is drafting content for introduction to administrators, deans, department chairs and content matter experts. The goal is to finalize the plan by April.
"The most exciting aspects of the plan so far are the opportunities for engagement suggested by the 3,100 respondents to our campus survey," says Karen Blaney, assistant manager in the Office of Sustainability This will be a “people-focused” plan, recognizing that resource conservation efforts are most effective when implemented among a campus population that is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about all aspects of sustainability. "We are incredibly fortunate to have students, staff and faculty that want UT Austin to be recognized for its sustainability achievements, and will work collaboratively into the future," says Blaney.
Join the mailing list for updates on the plan!
For more information about the Sustainability Master Plan process, see our webpage!
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Forty Acres Pharmacy has been working hard to provide its UT customers with the food and beverage choices that it prefers. They now offer a wide selection of natural and healthy options throughout their aisles.
The pharmacy utilizes two different vendors to supply the majority of their food and beverages. Their primary vendor is C.D. Hartnett, which provides food and beverages to many convenience stores at gas stations across the south. Their secondary vendor, U.N.F.I., provides more natural and healthy options for faculty, staff and students. U.N.F.I. also serves establishments such as Whole Foods and Central Market.
"While the natural and healthy food items may cost more up front for the pharmacy to provide, those items are not marked up as much as other 'junk' foods," says pharmacy technician Amanda Fox. Fox stated that, in general, the pharmacy tends to sell a lot more of their natural and healthy items in order to even out the cost benefits.
In years prior, Forty Acres Pharmacy has sold fresh produce and prepared foods to its customers. Fox hopes to find new ways to provide customers fresh items, such as salads and sandwiches.
The Pharmacy is located on the first floor of the Student Services Building among a plethora of professionals who work mostly in the health field. Their motivation behind selling items that are natural and healthy, as opposed to the more traditional "junk" foods found at most convenience stores, lies in the fact that they understand the demands of their customers.
For more information about Forty Acres Pharmacy, please see their website.
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Date: February 9, 2016
Time: 9 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Location: CBA 3.304 (CBA Events Room)
Green Offices is officially launching spring 2016. This program will involve a multi-tiered certification process that empowers members of UT faculty and staff to elicit change in their work space. The program seeks to exemplify the university's commitment to sustainability and advancing economic vitality, environmental stewardship and social welfare. It creates a fun atmosphere to challenge offices to lessen environmental impact and get rewarded for it.
If your office is interested in participating in Green Offices, please visit the Green Offices website and register online.
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With the spring 2016 semester here, and The Speedway Mall project underway, Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) has a few important bike and pedestrian announcements.
Construction on Speedway is now in full swing, and will continue throughout this semester. The most dangerous intersection on campus will be at 21st and Speedway. PTS continues to offer bike safety courses each semester, and encourages individuals to take part. Sign up for classes here!
Due to construction in various areas across campus, PTS removed several bike racks from Welch, Speedway, the Engineering area and the AT&T Conference Center at the end of the fall 2015 semester. Many of these bike racks have now been repositioned in between the Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) and the University Teaching Center (UTC).
PTS advises all students, faculty and staff to register their bikes online! The service is free, provides a safety net should your bike be stolen or lost, and only takes a few minutes.
The Orange Bike project will be providing both semester and daily rentals on campus after January 25th. For more information about bike rentals, click here.
If you want more information about Parking and Transportation Services, please see their website or call 512-471-PARK.
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The Green Labs Team ran a fall "Green Labs with Green Goals" competition. This contest was designed to raise awareness of environmentally beneficial behavioral practices and lab equipment maintenance techniques among campus laboratories. The overall goal was to encourage labs to practice small changes that can have a big impact on energy and water conservation.
The competition, which kicked off on November 9 and ended on December 4, was a four week competition that required the participating labs to complete a weekly checklist of goals. All of the 27 currently certified Green Labs at the university were invited to participate. The labs that completed the entire four weeks received free breakfast for 10 lab members.
The five labs that successfully completed the competition include:
- Silverthorn Lab [College of Natural Sciences]
- Cardiovascular Aging Research Laboratory [College of Natural Sciences]
- Polito Lab [Jackson School of Geosciences]
- University Health Services (UHS) Laboratory
- Scientific Inquiry Across the Disciplines (SIAD) Lab [College of Natural Sciences]
The Green Labs program invites all campus-wide labs to participate in a spring competition. Labs can sign up at any time to become certified as Green Labs. For more information, contact the Green Labs team at utgreenlabs@gmail.com or visit their website.
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The Office of Sustainability at The University of Texas at Austin collaborates to advance ideas and programs that transform the physical, social and educational environments of campus for the enduring benefit of society and the planet.
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