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Food, drink and rides on a Segway people mover are just part of the celebration of Campus Sustainability Day  Friday (Oct. 26) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The event at the James M. Johnston Center in Graham Memorial on Franklin Street begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 1:30 p.m.

Highlights of the celebration include the presentation of this year’s campus sustainability report to Chancellor James Moeser at 9 a.m. and a noon speech by State Sen. Janet Cowell on high-performance building and renewable energy legislation in North Carolina.

“Making decisions and investments that advance environmental quality, economic prosperity and social welfare is important to the future of us all,” said Cindy Pollock Shea, director of UNC’s Sustainability Office. “At UNC, the coursework we offer, the research we engage in and the way we manage the campus is reflective of an ever-growing commitment to sustainability.”

The 2007 report references many campuswide accomplishments in sustainability. For example, five Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design buildings are under design or construction on the campus. Three of the design teams aspire to achieve a LEED platinum level of certification, the highest designation available from the U.S. Green Building Council. The new FedEx Global Education Center, dedicated earlier this month, boasts two green roofs and is the first on campus to store rainwater that is used to flush toilets. Several areas — including the FedEx Center, the Ramshead Plaza and Hooker fields – store rainwater to irrigate the landscape. When the renovated Morrison Residence Hall reopened in August, it marked the debut of the first solar-powered hot-water system on campus. The campus also achieved a record 43 percent recycling rate last year.

In the classroom, UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School ranked 12th in the world and 10th in the nation for excellence in integrating social and environmental issues into its master’s of business administration program. Master’s of business administration students may take a concentration, or  major, in sustainable enterprise, the framework for integrating environmental and social considerations into business processes, systems and strategies. An undergraduate sustainability minor incorporates environmental science, business, policy and planning.

UNC’s Sustainability Office Web site: http://sustainability.unc.edu/

UNC Sustainability Office contact: Cindy Pollock Shea, (919) 843-5251 or cpshea@fac.unc.edu
News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415 or susan_houston@unc.edu

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