Thinking Green

Did you know that 25 percent of the overall energy used at Suffolk University is being offset by renewable energy?  Or that the natural air circulating in Miller Hall is able to heat the entire 19-story building? 

These are some of the fun facts that Suffolk employees learned while taking a Green Building Campus Tour, one of the many Earth Week 2019 activities created by the University to educate the community on its ongoing energy and environmentally friendly design efforts.

“The purpose of our Earth Week programming is to educate, empower, and enable students, faculty, and staff to lead more sustainable lifestyles,” said Ashley Lindsey, director of facilities and chair of the Suffolk Sustainability Committee.  

“We want people to learn about the various ways that they can make better decisions and have an impact on such an important issue as the environment because it affects everyone here at Suffolk and around the world.”

The informational campus tour was led by director of campus planning, design, and construction Andre Vega, who guided employees on an environmental learning experience with stops at Sargent Hall (fifth floor), the newly-named Leonard J. Samia Academic Center, and Miller Hall.

“The goal of the tour was to show people what Suffolk has done in the last few years to become more energy conscious and environmentally sustainable,” said Vega. 

“It’s about making everyone aware that we care about our campus and the environment, and how we respond to the need of becoming more ecologically proficient.”

Vega talked about how the fifth floor of Sargent Hall, reconstructed in 2015, and the entire Leonard J. Samia Academic Center are LEED (Leadership In Energy & Environmental Design) certified, and that Miller Hall is built to LEED standards.

“The LEED process is the standard for how college and university campuses are built across the United States,” said Vega.

He also mentioned that all three locations on the tour have received high points from LEED in six categories: indoor environmental quality, energy and atmosphere, innovation and design process, materials and resources, water efficiency, and sustainable sites.

Staff member Shaowei Wang, a senior integrated designer in the Office of Marketing and Communications, participated in the Green Building Campus Tour. 

“I’m always interested in how Suffolk works and I wanted to learn more about how efficiently, green, and sustainably things run on campus and in the community,” said Wang.

Other Earth Week events included: a first-ever Farmers Market; a film screening of To the Ends of the Earth, directed by David Lavalle; and an Earth Day Fair.

Lindsey and her staff also visited Save That Stuff, Inc. in Charlestown, the recycling and waste services company that Suffolk uses, to learn more about the business so they could share the information with others during Earth Week activities.

“This week is about promoting what sustainability means and showing how Suffolk is doing its part in being eco-friendly,” said Aashi Sethi, Class of 2020, environmental science major, and secretary of the Suffolk Environmental Club.  “We want to target everyone about the importance of protecting our resources.

“We’re always hearing about bad things happening that hurt the environment. The good thing is that we are able to educate people on why they should be aware and care about this cause.”