Student Office of Sustainability

About Us

The Student Office of Sustainability is the point of contact for organizing your group’s environmental or sustainable initiatives on-campus.

Get in touch with SoS to:

Order an event kit for the event that you’re hosting. Event kits include: reusable large and small plates, cups, forks, knives, and spoons. Request by projected number of attendees.

Ask how you can get involved in EcoHouse projects or get support to start your own sustainability project .

Get in touch with a network of like-minded students, professors, and EcoHouse alumni with shared interest in helping the environment.

The Student Office of Sustainability is student-run. You can apply from the Campus Employment portal, a quick link on MyWC.

Hours: Because the office is student-led, availability varies by semester. Please drop by the SoS office in JCI to arrange a meeting.

Green Council

Plant Operations and EcoHouse have taken great care to incorporate sustainability efforts into the daily maintenance of schools grounds with the help of the Efficiency Fund allocated by the Green Council.

These maintenance efforts include:

Green-Seal Certified cleaning products used by Custodial Services
Pest control methods aligned with Integrated Pest Management practices, using green products
The use of beet juice salt to melt ice, which is organic and reduces corrosion
Utilizing cooling tower water treatment via environmentally-friendly tablets
The use of an electric car for the setup of campus events, campus grounds maintenance, and printing and mail services
Green-Seal Certified hand soap, toilet tissue, and paper towels used in bathrooms
Recycling of oil used by campus vehicles and mowing equipment

Westminster College has also made efforts to include sustainability initiatives into its renovation and development plans of school buildings.

These additions include:

Low-flow shower heads in College-owned student housing
Campus buildings are heated via high-efficiency boilers
Heating and cooling scheduled through computerized environmental control systems
Use of occupancy sensors to utilize energy-efficient lighting in Reeves Library and Quad bathrooms
Use of LED light bulbs
Classrooms, meeting rooms, and entrance mats made from mostly recycled materials
Campus roofs have Energy Star rated shingles.
Dyson “airblade V” hand dryers in the four bathrooms in Hunter Activity Center

Efficiency Fund

The Efficiency Fund, established by EcoHouse in 2015, is an endeavor that facilitates a greener and more sustainable campus. Each semester, students pay a small sustainability fee. This fee is deposited into the Efficiency Fund account and used to support environmentally efficient initiatives spearheaded by YOU! The Green Council (GC) oversees the account and meets each semester to review, select, and prioritize Efficiency Fund projects. The GC reports directly to the President of the College and includes appointed faculty, staff, and student representatives. GC Efficiency Fund projects are a great way for students, faculty, and staff to advocate for how they would like to see sustainability fees implemented on the Westminster campus. By proposing an Efficiency Fund project, individuals on campus actively foster a better, more sustainable WestMo.

Please note that GC can only fund the initial start-up of a project. Therefore, please create a plan that ensures the continuance of projects post-implementation as funding from GC is non-renewable. Applications are due on October 31^st and March 1^st of every year.

For Prospective Project Proposals: The GC divides the Efficiency Funds received into two subsets of funding. There is a small pool of money currently available to fund smaller start-ups. Upon approval of your proposal, these funds can be used to implement your sustainable ideas this semester.

A second subset of money is available for larger projects requiring greater funding and/or outside bidding; however, because of the nature of these projects, this funding will not be released until next calendar year.

Projects are prioritized and implemented as voted upon by the Green Council. No matter your project’s scale, help make a difference on campus by submitting your application today!