The Office of Sustainability provides leadership and direction for sustainability programs at WPI. The Office coordinates efforts across WPI’s administrative, academic, and facilities areas in order to reach WPI’s sustainability goals. The Office includes a Director, Associate Director, a group of dedicated student interns and WPI’s Sustainability Advisory Committee. Each year the office issues an Annual Report documenting WPI’s current status with regard to sustainability aspects ranging from greenhouse gas emissions to energy research projects and community engagement. Through these efforts, we strive to position WPI as a leader in sustainability efforts on campus, in the Worcester community, and globally. For questions or comments please email green@wpi.edu.
NOTICE:
Gompei's Gears Bikeshare is not operational over the summer 2020 due to social distancing requirements and the reopening of WPI's campus. Bikeshare plans for the fall are still being determined.
What's New
WPI's 12th Annual Sustainability Project Competition
WPI students have submitted sustainability-themed projects in one of three categories: first-year, undergraduate, or graduate. These projects each address a present societal need without compromising our ability to meet the needs of future generations. Projects address environmental, social, and/or economic topics that relate to sustainability. Judges for the competition include WPI staff and faculty as well as regional sustainability experts.
Please join us in the opportunity to share and celebrate the hard work and many ways in which the WPI community is contributing to a sustainable future by visiting the virtual exhibition!
The 12th Annual Sustainability Project Competition, an event held to showcase students’ projects related to research in one or more of the three aspects of sustainability (the environment, social justice, or economy), was a virtual competition this year because of COVID. Social distancing guidelines did not minimize this event, however, as we had a record number of student projects submitted - 39! These included 6 first-year projects, 26 undergraduate projects, and 7 graduate student projects. The complete slate of projects can be viewed here: 12th Annual Sustainability Project Competition.
Winners in the three categories are:
First Year: TIE:
- Project #1, Land Use Analysis of Polar Park, Tarang Shah, advised by Suzanne LePage
- Project #6, Water Consumption and Invasive Species in Cape Town, South Africa, Bethany McCullars and Marcel Paolillo, advised by Katherine Foo and Beth Eddy
Undergraduate:
Project #19, Developing a Sustainability Plan for Hammams in Morocco, Payton Bielawski, Nathan Kaplan, Brian Preiss, Alyssa Sousa, and Rebekah Vernon, advised by Laura Roberts and Mohammed El Hamzaoui
Graduate:
Project #37, Realizing a World without Waste through Catalytic Conversion of Food Waste, Heather LeClerc, advised by Andrew Teixeira and Mike Timko
Nineteen judges from WPI and the Worcester region served as judges for this event:
- Curtis Abel, Director, WPI Foisie Innovation Studio and Innovation & Entrepreneurship Integration
- Kojo Asenso, ECE 2009, Energy Industry Professional, National Grid
- Steve Bandarra, Manager of Sustainability, Worcester State University
- Mike Barney, Director, Mass Academy
- Eric Batista, Director, Office of Urban Innovation, City of Worcester
- Corey Dehner, Associate Teaching Professor, Interdisciplinary and Global Studies Division
- Paul Gaynor, CEO, Longroad Energy
- Rory Flinn, Assistant Dean, WPI Graduate Studies
- Mary Beth Harrity, Assistant CIO, WPI Academic Technology and Support Services
- Jenny Isler, Director of Sustainability, Clark University
- Rachel LeBlanc, Assistant Vice President, WPI Corporate and Professional Education
- Karen Pelletier, Executive Vice President, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce
- John Orr, Professor Emeritus, WPI Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Marc Printz, Community Manager, WorcLab, Management, 2019
- Kerry Reed, Senior Stormwater & Environmental Engineer, City of Framingham
- Peter Shanahan, Consulting Engineer, HydroQual, Inc.
- Ingrid Shockey, Associate Teaching Professor, WPI Interdisciplinary and Global Studies
- Sarah Strauss, Professor, WPI Interdisciplinary and Global Studies
WPI’s 2020 Reyclemania Results
WPI celebrated its tenth year of Reyclemania participation by scoring both its highest recycling rate ever - 45% - and by claiming Honorable Mention for the Food Waste Category!
Recyclemania is a nationwide recycling competition between colleges and universities. Over 300 colleges across 43 states joined in the friendly competition this year, recycling over 48 million pounds of waste. WPI competed in three categories: Diversion, Per Capita Classic, and Food Waste. Results after a COVID-forced five-week abbreviation of the competition which typically runs for eight weeks from February 1 through March 31, showed that WPI achieved a 45% diversion rate (ranking 40th among all institutions); a Per Capita Classic rate of 9.86 pounds of recycling per person (ranking 42 among all institutions), and earned an Honorable Mention in the Food Waste Category, following the first place ranking of Stanford University.
See the weekly results here.
Gompei's Gears Bike Share
Members of the WPI community can rent bicycles for up to 8 hours with this free service
Student Night Assistance Patrol (SNAP)
Need to travel to the main campus or to residential halls that are farther away at night? Use SNAP!
Gateway Shuttle
Hop on this shuttle to travel between Gateway and the main campus throughout the day
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More Transportation
Looking for additional modes of transportation around and off campus?
GREEN2GO
Enjoy your to-go meal with a reusable container at the Morgan Dining Hall, Campus Center Food Court, Goat's Head Restaurant, and Gordon Library Class of 1970 Cafe! This program encourages sustainability at WPI by reducing the amount of waste from disposable containers. Ask a staff member at any of these locations for more information.
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STARS Gold Rating
WPI is proud to announce that we have earned a STARS Gold rating! STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education. With more than 800 participants on six continents, AASHE’s STARS program is the most widely recognized framework in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college or university’s sustainability performance. Participants report achievements in four overall areas: 1) academics, 2) engagement, 3) operations, and 4) planning and administration.
Official Citation by The Massachusetts Senate
WPI has been recognized with an Official Citation from the Massachusetts Senate. The Senate congratulates WPI for its involvement in the MassEVolve program and its continued efforts for promoting clean transportation.
MassEVolve is a state-run program to help companies in Massachusetts to promote zero-emission vehicles (ZEV). Participates must create and implement a ZEV action plan to increase access to clean transportation. Over the last few years, WPI has participated with MassEVolve by facilitating the adoption of electric vehicles on campus with electric car shows and installing electric vehicle charging stations on campus.
This awesome comic was made by Isabelle Cordova and Colette Webster as part of the WR 2310 class.
