Rutgers’ 1.4 megawatt solar farm on the Livingston Campus is one of the largest both in New Jersey and at a single campus in the nation. The photovoltaic installation, which officially began operating in October 2009, is exceeding expectations by generating approximately 11 percent of the campus’s electrical demand, up from a projection of 10 percent, and reducing the university’s carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1,300 tons per year. The solar farm is expected to save Rutgers more than $200,000 in its first year of operation.
We Are Green
From our own Green Purchasing program to our Climate and Environmental Change Initiative, Rutgers’ scarlet ways are increasingly green.
Livingston Solar Farm Exceeding Expectations
3,057,867
That’s the number of pounds of recyclables Rutgers collected in 2011 to retain the Gorilla Prize in the national RecycleMania contest. Rutgers bested more than 360 other colleges and universities in gross tonnage of recyclables collected for the fifth straight year.
Lighting the Way to Energy Conservation
Following a 2009 lighting audit for the entire university, Rutgers is now partnering with PSE&G on a $5 million lighting retrofit project through the company’s Direct Install Program. The project replaces existing lighting with high-efficiency lighting and sensors and touches every campus at the university. Eighty percent of the cost will be covered by PSE&G and 20 percent will come from Rutgers. Through this project the university will save 6,426,905 KW per year, for a financial savings of $938,000 per year. The project will also bring much needed jobs to the economy.
What Is Green Purchasing?
As good stewards of the environment, Rutgers buys products that conserve energy and other precious resources. Green Purchasing minimizes negative environmental effects through the use of environmentally friendly products. Environmentally Preferable Purchasing or Green Purchasing refers to the procurement of products and services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose. This comparison may consider raw materials acquisition, production, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, reuse, operation, and maintenance or disposal of the product or service.
Recycling Program University Facilities makes sure that the Rutgers Recycling Program is one of the best in the nation.
Green Cleaning The Rutgers Green Cleaning program has introduced the use of bio-based ingredients instead of petroleum-based ingredients whenever possible to reduce the health hazards associated with the toxins in standard cleaning products.
Green Centers
Rutgers research and outreach centers focus on green issues, from local pesticide use to global climate change. Here is a sampling of those centers.
- Center for Energy, Economic, and Environmental Policy
- Center for Environmental Prediction
- Center for Green Building
- EcoComplex
- Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute
- Highlands Regional Information System
- Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
- National Center for Neighborhood and Brownfields Redevelopment
- New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station
- New Jersey Environmental Digital Library
- New Jersey Sustainable State Institute
- New Jersey Water Resources Research Institute
- Pest Management Office
- Rutgers Cooperative Extension
- Rutgers Energy Institute
Rutgers LEEDs the Way
Visitor Center Meets Green Building Standards
The United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program sets environmentally sound design standards for new building construction and renovation. Since 2007, Rutgers building projects have met the LEED Silver Rating, including the Visitor Center, which opened on the Busch Campus in Piscataway in October 2009. Inside the building, the contractors used low volatile organic compound (VOC)-emitting paints and materials, energy efficient lighting, and low-flow plumbing fixtures that reduce the amount of water released per use. The installed carpeting was made from recycled materials. And outside, a no-irrigation, native plant landscaping plan was employed.
