Full story printed in Campus Rec Magazine on May 16, 2019
Constructed in 2009, the academic and student recreation center at Portland State University (PSU) holds a status of LEED gold and continuously works to improve it. “There is always work to be done and improvements to be made,” said Todd Bauch, the associate director of operations and student development at PSU. “Our process is not a ‘one and done’ — we are expected to re-examine our practices every year or two.”
Last year, PSU’s campus rec strategic plan committee created a goal to continuously operate sustainability. “With this goal, the committee encourages our staff to create specific, measurable tactics to work on throughout the year that promote our holistic sustainable measures,” added Tyler Baker, the facility coordinator at PSU. “These tactics are routinely checked in on throughout the year in staff meetings and workshops.”
One of the ways they implement sustainability is by creating a rubric to review rationale for anything they give away — food or product. Additionally, PSU uses local “swag” vendors to reduce shipping impacts on give-away items. They also consider packaging and the materials that go into making products.
One unique program at PSU involves partnering with PSU EcoReps and matching student volunteers with department sustainability projects. “The volunteers put dozens of hours into projects we have interest in but not enough time to do the deep dive to inform ourselves,” explained Bauch.
One such project is zero-waste events. “Departmental events serving less than 100 people use washable plates, bowls and utensils for events,” said Bauch. “If there is a bigger event and we know there will be paper, different food is selected to reduce waste.” For example, if they serve ice cream, they offer cones to eliminate the use for bowls.
Cutting the cords on fitness equipment is another sustainability effort at PSU. “We have begun to explore the motor-less treadmills,” said Bauch. “We have two Woodway Curves and a Technogym SKILLMILL.”
Additionally, they are debating about equipment with cable TV or internet built in due to most of their members having smartphones, resulting in no need for machines with these features. Wi-Fi would be the better investment.
In the end, PSU finds campus sustainability is all a matter of tradeoffs and values. “As people, organizations and communities, we need to work to reduce our footprint while impacting positive change,” said Bauch. “This is one of the reasons campus rec really appreciates the NIRSA sustainability model — it looks to sustain the environment, lift the people and propel organizations into the future.”