12 noon

Butler/Wu, Special Dining Room

Committee Members Present:   Kathryn Anderson, Jon Baer, Katharine Hackett, Robin Izzo, Tom Nyquist, Stu Orefice, Leila Shabender, Shana Weber

Committee Members Absent:   Michael E. McKay, Chair; Janet Gruschow, Emmanuel Kreike, Don Weston, David Wilcove

Other Attendees:   Jon Bradshaw, Amy Carmody, Jeffrey Domanski, Rebecca Nyquist, Mark Smith, Kelsey Stallings (Greening Princeton), Ruthie Schwab

Tom Nyquist welcomed everyone to the meeting; introductions were made.  The following items were discussed:

1.    Shana Weber read a  letter from the President to the PSC Committee thanking them for their work.

2.    PSC Subcommittee - UPDATES

• Committee Members for 2007-2008

Tom reviewed the PSC membership list and the recommendations process.  With the departure of two students this year, one graduate student and one undergraduate student will need to be appointed to the PSC by the Princeton Environmental Institute.  Shana would like to have these two new representatives at the next PSC meeting.

• PSC Working Groups/Sustainability Report

Shana handed out a working document for the PSC Working Groups to review.  Key strategies were reviewed and discussed by members.  A finalized version of the document will be presented to the Trustees in January 2008.  The draft consisted of Goals, Top Strategies and Metrics for each working group.

Shana gave an update on each working group: Construction & Sites, Transportation, Purchasing, Domestic Water Conservation, Solid Waste & Green Cleaning, Communications, Landscaping, Grounds & Storm Water Management, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction & Research, Education & Citizenry.

Rainwater storage, detention basins and other water collection systems for irrigation purposes, an educational campaign for students for water flow fixtures, green cleaning products, the Good Samaritan law and food waste recycling were also discussed.

3.   Sustainability Website
The website is up and running and some changes and improvements will continue to be applied to the site.  Mark Smith suggested a "Did you know...." story for the website might be useful and a question regarding greenhouse gas emission offsets.

4.   Farmers Market
To date, the farmers market has proven to be a success.  Everyone was very pleased with the turnout for the first week of the market.  The second week produced even higher profits for the participants and the third week continued to show momentum.  A question of signage/banners for the market was mentioned, perhaps drawing more patrons from town.  There may be issues with Princeton Borough and Township regarding permits for tents as well as other signage.  There will be student representation at future Borough and Township meetings throughout the winter to address requirements.

5.   Garden Project
Ruthie Schwab reported on the latest events of the Garden Project.  Future programs, such as a design charette for the garden conducted by the School of Architecture as well as design competitions, are in the works.

6.   Other Items
Tom Nyquist, Engineering Department,  reported the successful test of biodiesel fuel, approved by the DEP, in the energy plant.  Storage issues, running shuttles on the biodiesel, supply concerns, vendor prices and cost differentials were discussed.  Teleconferencing was recommended to help reduce the carbon footprint on campus.

Katharine Hackett, PEI, reported on current projects and initiatives in the Education, Research & Citizenry Group.

Mercury in light bulbs, disposal/recycling of bulbs, developing a campaign on the sustainability website for bulb collection and lighting and a purchasing recycling program underway were also discussed.  Professor Andy Dobson was recommended as a good contact for lighting issues.

Tom reminded the committee that the next meeting will be November 15, 2007.


Respectfully submitted,
Amy Carmody
Assistant to the Director
Engineering Department