I.   Welcome & Campus as Living Lab Update

Shana welcomed everyone and introduced Amanda Rees ’12 who gave a presentation on her Senior Thesis “Bioethanol Production from Cellulosic Biomass”.  BambootoBiobutanol.pptx

II.   Policies/Initiatives

• Postering:   “Virtual Lamppost” app design competition – update coming in May
• Food waste solutions: On March 30th there was another field trip to Kean University to see a demonstration of their food in-vessel digester.   Food waste plus wood chips produces nutrient-rich compost.   We are exploring the possibility of having a digester designed for Princeton and the Township together.   Unit at Kean is well designed but we would need it to be automated.    Perhaps multiple smaller units would be even better. Question: Where to store compost?   Digester accepts 1,000 pounds of material a day, and produces about 600-700 lbs worth of compost.   Perhaps farms would want this as it enhances soil nutrition. Next will be an internal meeting, then reconnect with Township.

III.   Updates/Announcements

• UBikes is potentially transitioning to a Student Agency.   Sean Weaver, Assistant Dean and Director of Student Agencies, said they are recruiting for a student manager to run UBikes, which would launch in the fall. He asked if anyone can recommend someone to please contact him.   Person should be motivated and interested in entrepreneurship. No experience is necessary, but student should be willing to take UBikes to the next level. There is always a large waiting list for bikes. It is anticipated that UBikes will be still be similar to the program now in progress, but the program’s strategy would largely be up to the student manager.
• Shana gave an update for the Sustainability Steering Council: The Council is a newly formed smaller group of staff and students whose role is to be a complimentary group to the PSC Members to provide strategic thinking of the overall direction of sustainability at Princeton University.   A retreat is planned for April 10 and 11 with facilitators from Regenesis who have already been speaking with Steering Council Members ahead of time to ensure the retreat process is productive.
• Shana and Kristi attended the NECSC (Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium Conference) in Syracuse, NY April 2-3, “Climate, Community and Culture”.   This group is an incredible resource.   Let us know if you ever have any questions for them.
• Reunions: We want to ramp-up recycling efforts.   We are testing PLA cups in the Kean digester and finding out the cost to pick up these cups and have them composted through a third-party.   The Office of Sustainability has also provided a short list of recommendations on CO2 offset providers for Reunions attendees who wish to offset their travel. Local offsets would be ideal if verifiable; we will inquire with Yale as to how their program works. A list of offset providers could also potentially be used as a resource for faculty and staff travel, but we should first explore whether offsets would be reimbursed, including when used for grant-funded travel, and whether offsets could be integrated as an option on the University’s travel portal site. There will be two Green Tours on the Reunions events schedule.  
• STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System): Results have been shared with Working Groups and other contributors. The results are now publicly available.   Please go to stars.aashe.org to see the results. STARS 2.0 will be released next year, and we are providing feedback    
• Dylan Ackerman ’14 gave an update on the Bikes Colloquium.   USG (Princeton Undergraduate Student government) members are looking for a long-term solution for students, faculty and community demand for bikes.   They would like to see one fluid system.   First steps: 1) find a space for CycLab;   2) make bikes more available; 3) have fix-it stations.   They are planning to have a fix-it station outside of Frist where one could put air in a tire; change gears, etc.    They are suggesting covered bike racks or at least covers for seats and to increase the number of bike racks.   They want to make a bike policy.   Also, in concert with a potential “Bike to work day,” they’d like to plan a “Bike across campus event”.
• Fall 2012 Sustainability Open House:   We continue to have meetings to plan the Open House some time in October.   At the suggestion of Laurel Cantor, we are planning a sustainable art contest where the theme is a Sustainable Super Hero contest for local grade schools. We would also have a ‘Trash Tiger’ contest for college students. This will be open to our college and the community.
• Earth Fest is Friday, April 20 th on Frist South Lawn or if inclement weather on Frist 100 level.  
• April 20-21 is the BANFF Mountain Film Festival at McCosh Hall Room 10 from 7-10:30PM

     http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/special/

• Sustainability e-Newsletter:   We are working on expanding our sustainability  e-Newsletter. If your department has any related content, announcements, etc., please let us know so we can include that in our e-Newsletter.

Next Meeting:   May 2, 2012