Here is a recap of the Office of Sustainability’s August green tips.
For the month of August, the Office of Sustainability shared some New School Year’s Sustainability Resolutions via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. From bringing your own reusable items for lunch to planning a meatless lunch to unplugging at the end of the day, you’ll be sure to find a tip that you can transform from a small action to a planet-friendly lifestyle change. We hope you find some of these tips helpful and continue to practice them throughout the school year on campus or at home!
Bookstore Tips
If you’re looking for textbooks this semester, opt to re-use instead of purchasing new. Look for used options, rentals, or even open-sourced options that may come in a digital form! Seven Scholars Bookstore offers used, rentals, and digital options to students. These are great ways to not only reduce your environmental impact, but also save money.
Seven Scholars has a buy-back program for used books — you can get up to 50 percent back for a book that you sell back to the bookstore. The bookstore also has a rental program for textbooks. To get the biggest savings, opt for a used-book rental or digital rental if those options are available. Additionally, Seven Scholars Bookstore has an Open Educational Materials directory to help you find available free, open-sourced materials for your course. Visit the Seven Scholars Bookstore website to learn more.
School of Social Work’s Book Lending Initiative
This semester, the School of Social Work’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) has launched a pilot program called the Book Lending initiative for MSW students. This pilot aims to make textbooks more accessible to students by offering free books to lend out for the semester.
Incoming and advanced students may request books online, and books are available for pickup at the ODEI office on the fifth floor. Complete this form to request textbooks. Books are limited, and are requests are first-come, first-served. Want to give back? Former students and alumni are welcome to donate books for the program. Visit SSW’s ODEI programs and initiative page to learn more about this program and others offered.
In the Office
Small changes in the office can help reduce your impact. Reduce paper waste by utilizing digital copies whenever possible. Utilize programs like DocuSign for obtaining secure, digital signatures instead of printing, signing, scanning, and emailing. If printing is needed, consider printing in black and white, and choose double-sided printing to cut down on paper. Ink-saving fonts such as Calibri, Century Gothic, and Times New Roman also help cut down on consumption.
Say “NO” to personal heaters, which pose a fire hazard and can trip circuit breakers. Some tips to stay warm include grabbing a warm drink, layering up, and taking a break if you’re able to get up and move to get the blood flowing. Learn more about why space heaters aren’t cool in this Elm article. If you happen to find your space is beyond a reasonable level of comfort, consider summitting a work order request with facilities.
Energy-Saving Tips
You don’t have to make huge upgrades to make a difference and save energy. Simple things like dimming your monitor (or turning off a second monitor that isn’t in use) and dimming your keyboard backlight can save energy. When in a virtual meeting or webinar, if a presentation is up on the screen, consider turning your camera off to save energy.
Take advantage of natural lighting whenever possible instead of relying on overhead lights or consider using an LED task light. Unplugging devices at the end of the day, or switching your entire power strip off also can reduce “energy vampires” from continuing to draw and drain energy. You can learn more about energy vampires and phantom loads here.
Food-Related Waste-Saving Tips
Going out for a bite doesn’t have to feel so wasteful. Whether you bring your own lunch or get something to-go, be sure to bring reusable items to cut down on waste! Grab a lunch bag and stock it with a reusable utensil set, cloth napkin you can wash and reuse, and your own water bottle. Creating an easy-to-grab to-go kit will help you kick the habit of grabbing those single-use utensils that end up in the trash.
If you have the time, consider meal prepping at the beginning of the week. Cooking in bulk and portioning out lunches and/or dinners for the upcoming week can help save time and money. And reduce waste! Utilize your fridge to store meals that you’ll be using later in the week. Check out Save the Food, a campaign by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Ad Council, for tips on food storage and meal planning.
Eating Tips
Did you know you can also reduce your impact by what you eat? A planet-friendly diet means less meat and incorporating more plant-based, whole foods. If the idea of going completely meat-free seems daunting, try participating in Meatless Mondays to start. Check out this easy hummus recipe we tweeted about this past Veganuary for some inspiration (view all of our Veganuary tweets and recipes here).
When and where you eat is just as important as what you eat. Consider purchasing from local farmers markets and be in tune with what produce is in season. Have you checked out the UMMC Farmers Market at Plaza Park yet? It runs every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. from May through November. Check out the list of vendors on our Food System page (under University Farmers Market). There also are dozens of pick-your-own farms in Maryland that offer a variety of in-season fruits and vegetables to pick. Check out Maryland’s Best Pick Your Own Map for a list of farms.
Stay Well!
We hope you liked reading through some of these tips. Committing to reducing our environmental impact isn’t just healthy for our Earth, it’s also healthy for ourselves. So, keep on doing your best, be open-minded, and stay well!
Don’t forget to follow UMB’s Office of Sustainability on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You also can stay in the know by signing up for our monthly newsletter.