KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee has announced the adoption of a policy to establish the Knoxville campus as a model of environmental stewardship.
Chancellor Loren Crabtree announced the policy on Earth Day, April 22, in conjunction with a presentation by Paul Ehrlich, noted scientist, author and pioneer in sustainable resource use, population growth, and consumption.
The university will devise strategies to conserve energy, promote the use of renewable energy, and support waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting.
UT’s Committee on the Campus Environment (CCE) wrote the draft which formed the basis for the final policy, Crabtree announced.
CCE was created in 1999, following a recommendation by students Mary Anne Peine and Jamie Pizzirusso. Its mission is to advise the administration on promotion of environmental stewardship on campus.
“In recent years, UT has made a lot of progress toward greening the campus,” said Mary English, who co-chairs CCE with Professor John Nolt. English also serves as research leader with UT’s Energy, Environment and Resources Center.
English cited the university’s free mass-transit system, the addition of open and green spaces on campus, the student body’s recent vote to use electricity generated by renewable resources, and UT’s hire of a fulltime recycling coordinator.
“But much remains to be done,” English said. “The new policy will help make environmental stewardship a first-order priority on campus.”
With nearly 10,000 employees and more than 21,000 fulltime students at the Knoxville campus, UT is one of the largest public enterprises in the state, one of the largest non-industrial producers of solid waste, and one of the largest consumers of paper products and office supplies.
For more information, contact Mary English at 865-974-3825 or menglish@utk.edu.